WOW Valentine Swap #Leadership 2013

I am really into Valentines right now!  I love the lavishness of Valentines!  I like the idea of telling our spouses, friends and family that we love them!  I love the colours and the sparkle!  My earliest card making efforts were Valentines.  We used to buy books of punch-out Valentines that we diligently assembled to give our friends at school.  Does anyone remember those?

Did you know that there were TWO St. Valentines?  Check it out here.  That was news to me, but I also did not know that St. Valentine's Day was celebrated much as we celebrate it today as far back as the 14th or 15th centuries!  Lovers back then would give each other cards called Valentines, flowers and candy!

So, with the weight of lengthy tradition behind me, I would like to share with you a card I created for Laura Fernsler's WOW Valentine Swap at #Leadership 2013.

I just love the colour scheme which I drew from the More Amore DSP, even though I haven't used any of it in this card.  Pool Party, Pretty in Pink and Primrose Petals  make a lovely pastel combinations with a splash of Real Red and Glimmer Paper to create a focal point.

The DSP on the back panel is from the Twitterpated collection.  Then I took some Pool Party Core'dinations card stock and embossed it with the Lacy Brocade embossing folder and sanded it to let the lighter core show through. 

The next panel I created using images from the Hearts a Flutter  and En Francais stamp sets on Whisper White and sponging over in Primrose Petals and Pool Party ink.  I then stamped the Sweet Floral background stamp in VersaMark and heat embossed it with Clear Stampin' Emboss powder.  I sponged over this with Pool Party ink again to bring out the Floral design, all creating a visually interesting, but not overpowering design.

I used a combination of the Hearts Collection Framelits and the Hearts a Flutter Framelits to die cut the various hearts.  I embellished with some Pool Party ribbon from the Sale a Bration Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack, the 5/8" Flower Trim from the Spring Mini as well as a flower from the Artisan Embellishments kit.  The tickets are stamped using That's the Ticket stamp set.

This was lots of fun to create and it will be a lovely Valentine for someone in my family!  (Not my hubby - not masculine enough for him!)  Have fun creating your own Valentine cards!

Stamps:  Hearts a Flutter (w129249; c129252), That's the Ticket (w128072; c128075), Sweet Floral (w122855; c122857), En Francais (w109521)

Paper:  Pretty in Pink (100459) and Whisper White (100730) card stock; Pool Party Core'dinations card stock (129321); Twitterpated DSP (125406); Red Glimmer Paper (121790)

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads in Pool Party (126982), Crumb Cake (126975), Primrose Petals (126858) and Real Red (126949);  VersaMark ink pad (102283)

Embellishments:  Pool Party Sycamore Street Ribbon (SAB 130812); 5/8" Flower Trim (126869); Artisan Embellishments Kit (129328); Stampin' Emboss Powder Clear (109130)

Tools:  Lacy Brocade embossing folder (127819), Heat tool (129053), Stampin' Sanding Block (129367);  Hearts Collection Framelits (125599); Hearts a Flutter Framelits (130359) or bundled with Hearts a Flutter stamp set (w131098; c131097); Ticket Duo Builder Punch (126883)