Oh yes, it’s February and that means only one thing-heart themed craft! I was looking back at Valentine’s cards that I’ve made over the years and thought I’d share a few, partly to help me design this year’s and also to hopefully spread some love (and maybe inspiration!)
The amount of time spent on my cards appears to have a direct link to the age of my children at the time (and therefore how well they settled at night!)
This card was made when my son was 2 and I hadn’t had my daughter yet (but I was hugely pregnant and a bit tired!) Mr C had treated me to the Martha Stewart elephant punch so I used it to make a simple and quick card. Two elephants, a stamped greeting and die cut layers, two gems for eyes and some faux stitching and the job was done!
The next year we’d had our daughter too and I was really busy, with a full time (70 hours a week) job thrown in for good measure. This card was made entirely using my Cricut Cindy Loo cartridge in about 15 minutes, but the red, white and black made quite a striking mix.
Last year I had bucket loads of time and made a fancy pants envelope card with it’s own box! Docrafts Owl Folk was just the job, and I heat embossed some owls to enhance it. It was one of those cards where you get your stash out and decide to use all the things!
I haven’t got photos of my other makes but one year (pre children!) I made a rather fancy waterfall card. It’s been fun revisiting my previous designs to help with this year’s, hope they’ve inspired you too!
These are all so sweet! Love this post!
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Thank you 😊
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How lovely to look back at your old cards. I find it so strange how my style has changed in a short time, and Valentine cards tend to be out of my comfort zone anyway x
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I think my style varies by how much time I’ve had and what inspiration I’ve found from magazines and Pinterest too x
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Lovely cards 🙂 You can make all sorts of heart shaped things…I’ve been making little heart shaped sun catchers 🙂
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Thank you, I have a heart shaped tutorial Tuesday all ready 😉 sun catchers sound lovely x
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Looking forward to it!
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Lovely 🙂 I look forward to seeing what you come up with this year!
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Thank you, it’s still a mystery to me, so many possible ideas!
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Great cards, I like them all!
70 hours though! :-0
Xx
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I know, and it still wasn’t enough! Good job I quit and got a different job. 😊 x
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Lovely cards, and a lovely thing to keep and look back on 🙂
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Thank you, I’ve no idea if we still have the cards, I had to trawl back through my Pinterest and Facebook pages to find the photos, hence why they’re so bad! They are probably in a drawer somewhere though. 😊
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They all look wonderful! Sometimes, the simpler ones make more of an impact, as I think my favourite is the elephant one at the start. 😊
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Thank you, I like the elephants too 😊
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beautiful cards, Karen!
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Thank you 😊
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I love them all! I have to get a couple made for my grandkids yet. This is great inspiration. I have never had a Cricut and have always wondered if I would like one. Do you use yours a lot?
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Thank you. I don’t use mine a lot as I don’t have a dedicated craft space so it feels like a faff to get out, but it has it’s uses at times! I have used it for several of the same thing, e.g the year my friends all turned 30 I cut several ’30’s and bulk made some cards (my daughter was due the same month that 3 of the birthdays were in!) They seem fairly popular. 😊
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I have a couple friends who have them also. I always wonder how everyone likes them.
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It was a good buy, but I think the other cutters on the market are worth looking at (Silhouette, Brother Scan n Cut etc.)
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I am now, well past retirement age, and having made cards all my life. After my mum passed a few years back my brother and I were clearing out her house and she had saved every card I had made her. From a card I had made at 3 years or age with a sort of flower scrawled on the front to cards I had made in my twenties – still very dull by todays standards. I spent a number of hours going through them before reluctantly burning them. I have too many cards stored from my own children I really did not have room for all mums treasures too.
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It’s a shame but we too have had to clear out things, it’s impossible to keep everything. Lovely that you got to see them again. 😊
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The elephant card is adorable!
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Thank you, I like it too. 😊
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What lovely cards. Elephants are my favourites too xx
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Thank you! 😊 x
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How lovely to have some of your card making history to look back on! They all look great, and made with love, so they are perfect.
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Thank you, I’m glad I took photos. 😊
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How true the correlation between kids age and crafting time 😀 Lovely cards and so great you could find photos of them. I love that sweet elephant card. Hannah x
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Thank you, glad I’m not the only one who finds kids and craft time don’t always mix!
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I don’t have much call for Valentine Cards these days, but you have inspired me to make one for my grandchildren. I love all your ideas. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you for the lovely comment 😊
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So Pretty *_*
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Thank you 😊
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so nice, love the one with elephants.
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Thank you 😊
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These are really beautiful, inspiring.
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Thank you 😊
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I think simple cards can look so stunning. I did a very complicated valentines card this year but enjoyed every minute of the make.
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I agree, simple can be beautiful, striking and elegant. It’s also fun to spend a long time over special projects. 😊
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