Shelli's Valentine's Day Challenge

It's been a couple of months since I entered something in Shelli's challenge on her blog. Of course, due to procrastination and our computer issues - I'm entering this on the last day possible! :-) This month's challenge is for Valentine's day, so I thought I would get in on this challenge because I love Valentine's Day - even if my husband isn't that big on the holiday! ;-) For those who don't remember or know, Shelli is the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up! She has a blog (link is on the left) and will every month or so post a challenge for demonstrators and customers - note: you don't have to be a demo to enter!

I did both of these cards a couple of months ago for a swap for the Holiday Mini. I was very happy to see that the stamp set I used is in the new catalog since I thought it is adorable. The set is A Happy Heart. I had fun using it for both a more masculine-flavored card (the 3x3 I"Heart"U card) and the regular sized card. A note about the Designer Series Paper (DSP) that is one of the layers - I used the Kraft Patterns paper that was part of the Fall/Winter Hostess Level 1 pack. The colors have been changed for the Spring/Summer Hostess Level 1 pack... but the Basic Gray that is in the new pack would be a great substitute. Or, you can use the Manchester DSP since that has a Kraft background color in some of its designs.

For the second card, I also used the Wonderful You set as both a background and used Stampin' Write markers to create the saying I wanted out of the word stamps from the Wonderful You set. I will admit, I need to work on getting those lined up better! Perhaps I should have used the Stamp-a-ma-jig. :-) By the way, the Wonderful You set is not in the catalog, but you can still order it. It just made its way over to the dormant list. It is kind of hard to see, but for the background, I embossed the outline of the leaves in clear embossing powder. Also, the three hearts that form the diagonal "win" are popped out with dimensionals.

Supplies:
3x3 card -
A Happy Heart stamp set
Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla card stock
Riding Hood Red Classic Ink Pad
Patterns Level 1 DSP or Manchester DSP (see note above)
Designer Label punch
Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware
Cutter Kit (distresser tool)

"won heart" card -
A Happy Heart and Wonderful You stamp sets
Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, and Very Vanilla card stock
Riding Hood Red and Regal Rose Classic Ink Pads; VersaMark Ink
1/2" circle punch
Ticket corner punch
Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware
Cutter Kit (distresser tool)
Blender Pen
Clear Embossing Powder
Embossing Buddy & Heat Tool
Stampin' Dimensionals