Craft it yourself: wedding favours
With the cost of a wedding now averaging at more than £18,000, there’s even more reason to Craft It Yourself — with more brides than ever looking for handmade alternatives to...
So, Valentine’s Day is coming up and you haven’t worked out what card you’re going to give yet. Well fear not, because the PaperCrafter team are here with an abundance of stunning Valentine’s Day cards and other crafts to make sure love is in the air come the 14th February. Read on for Valentine’s Day crafts involving all manner of techniques, from stencilling and stamping to embossing and hot foiling.
1. Stitched Valentine’s Day Card
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This magnificent stitched Valentine’s Day card from PaperCrafter designer Ingrid Vichova is the perfect way to kick off your loved-up crafting. Not only is Ingrid’s V-Day design a stitched card masterclass, but it also introduces you to the art of paint pouring. Combining this bright and beautiful crafting technique with a stitched Valentine’s Day card makes for something really special. What’s more, your paint pouring panel will be die cut into individual hearts, introducing yet another technique. A mixed-media marvel, this stitched Valentine’s Day card is not only a crafty challenge, but a gorgeous way to pour your heart out.
2. Valentine’s Day Embossing Card
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Raise your game and raise your motifs with a Valentine’s Day embossing card. Hot embossing is an enduringly popular technique amongst both the PaperCrafter gang and our crafty readers. From this embossed Valentine’s Day card, it’s easy to see why! Utilising the classic Valentine’s Day pink, but doing so sparingly and in an ultra-vibrant hue, this Valentine’s Day embossing card immediately catches the eye with that hot embossed arrow motif background – it’s as if cupid himself has been in town. The embossed element is then topped off with some clever layering that takes this Valentine’s Day card to the next level.
3. Nesting Hearts Valentine’s Day Card
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Love might well be in the air, but it starts in the craft room with this Valentine’s Day nesting hearts card. Greetings for Valentine’s Day are hitting their peak popularity at this time of year, and we like to make sure our readers are stacked with romantic options by the 14th February. Luckily, Colette Smith has just the thing with this nesting hearts Valentine’s Day card that makes brilliant use of that craft stash staple – the nesting die. An essential tool for all papercrafters, a good set of nesting dies keeps you prepared for anything, but this nesting hearts Valentine’s Day card showcases every one of your different sized hearts. It’s simply put together, too, and is a great way to practise using your die-cutting machine.
4. Valentine’s Day Easel Card
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We all love a freebie, right? Well, this Valentine’s Day easel card is not only a free project, but it also uses your FREE Valentine’s Day papers from Jane Farnham. They are out-of-this-world pretty and can be used to craft any Valentine’s Day project that you can dream up. To begin with, though, go for this Valentine’s Day easel greeting. It takes all the dynamism and depth of an ordinary easel card and makes it heart shaped – how adorable! Sarah Jackman Read’s design also utilises several different parts of the paper collection, to make sure you get the most out of your freebie. So next time you fancy experimenting with card shapes, don’t just go for a normal easel card, try this Valentine’s Day easel card instead.
5. Exploding Valentine’s Day Box Card
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Exploding box cards like this Valentine’s Day project are always popular with our readers and, frankly, we share your enthusiasm. This particular Valentine’s Day exploding box card is a joyous burst of colour that says ‘I love you’ with more panache than any shop-bought design. Eschewing soft pink shades for a collection of riotous reds, this exploding Valentine’s Day box card is eye-catching in all the right ways. Giving you good practice with your alcohol markers, not to mention precise scoring and folding, Colette Smith’s Valentine’s creation is a great chance to flex your creative muscles without attempting anything too tricky. Exploding box cards are surprisingly simple, and this Valentine’s version is no exception. Especially with our FREE template!
6. Hot Foiling Valentine’s Day Card
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Few techniques can impress your recipient quite like hot foiling. That’s why our very own Corinne Bradd has come up with this stunning hot foiling Valentine’s Day card for you to try out this year. The hot foiling technique may look daunting, but with the right kit the process is actually pretty straightforward, and this Valentine’s Day card shows it off perfectly. Combining a range of pink and purple hues, Corinne’s design is sure to stand out on any mantelpiece and safely deliver your love this Valentine’s Day. She’s topped it all off with a beautiful satin bow, because the only thing better than a handmade Valentine’s Day card, is a handmade Valentine’s Day card with a bow on top!
7. See-Through Valentine’s Day Card
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This miraculous see-through Valentine’s Day card takes your old friend acetate and uses it in a new and impressive way. Typically used for add-ons and apertures, acetate here forms the base of the card itself for an alternative see-through look. An innovative and charming design, Ingrid Vichova’s see-through Valentine’s Day card also incorporates heat embossing and plenty of sparkle. It’s a technique-heavy project, but one that will leave your significant other extra-impressed. Ingrid’s use of a simple heart motif pushed to the max is particularly clever, and ensures that this see-through Valentine’s Day card is not just a gimmick, but has real wow factor too.
8. Valentine’s Day Shaker Card
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Another one that you can create using yourFREE Valentine’s Day papers, this sparkly shaker card is the ideal way to declare your love with style. Taking a glorious ‘more is more’ approach, Sarah Jackman Read’s Valentine’s Day shaker card is not only full of colour, but it makes great use of Jane Farnham’s paper designs. Combining all manner of reds, pinks and purples across the card front, this Valentine’s Day shaker card brings a fun, playful element to your romance. Plus, of course, it’s a shaker card, so is a perfect opportunity to practise one of the most fabulous of all papercrafting techniques.
9. Valentine’s Day Bunny Card
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By this point you might want to change up your Valentine’s crafting a bit. We have the perfect solution with this Valentine’s Day bunny card, which also happens to be a Valentine’s Day punny card. That charmingly silly sentiment is just one of the highlights on a card full of great crafting. That gorgeous inked panel is not just the perfect backdrop for a warming romantic scene, but it’s also a welcome antidote to the usual pinks and reds of Valentine’s Day crafting. This Valentine’s Day bunny card is also notable for its adorable die-cut characters and a mixed media card front that makes great use of baker’s twine.
10. Heart Stamping Valentine’s Day Card
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The simplest of crafting techniques is the hero on this heart stamping Valentine’s Day card. Using small but mighty mini stamps and different shades of pink ink, you can quickly and effectively create a beautiful background for your latest Valentine’s Day greeting. Surrounded by a vibrant hot pink border, this heart stamping Valentine’s Day card is a simple design but all the better for it. That stunning rose motif is so special precisely because it is the star of the show, with little to detract from its bold colours. For a quick romantic project that uses simple techniques, and gives you the chance to use your alcohol markers, look no further than our heart stamping Valentine’s Day card.
11. Digital Cutting Valentine’s Day Card
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If you’re looking to make use of your new digital cutting machine, then look no further than this digital cutting Valentine’s Day card. By combining a Brother ScanNCut or other digital cutting machine with our FREE templates, you can craft up a storm with ease. This digital cutting Valentine’s Day card is full-on when it comes to colour, expressing your love with wonderful maximalist style. An array of vibrant pinks dominates this Valentine’s Day craft, with just a touch of lush green to add a bit of balance. It’s the digital cutting elements that stand out the most, however, with that central checked heart adorned with simply splendid 3D daisy designs. Adding depth to this digital cutting Valentine’s Day card, these floral embellishments are guaranteed to take your love letter up a notch.
12. Paint Pouring Valentine’s Day Card
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Get ready to master the magical art of paint pouring with this stunning creation from Ingrid Vichova. Our paint pouring Valentine’s Day card may look a bit daunting, but that extra effort will pay off when your loved one receives something this special. The design of this paint pouring Valentine’s Day card isn’t too cluttered, and everything on there is brilliant. First, of course, there’s that stand-out sentiment that combines colours in an entrancing swirl, then on top of that is yet more pink with a flurry of hearts. Don’t forget the sparkly gold trim, either! It helps add a little something and take this paint pouring Valentine’s Day card to the next level.
13. Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Day Card
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If there’s one project that screams Valentine’s Day, it’s this heart-shaped Valentine’s Day card from Sarah Jackman Read. Made using multiple die cuts and a handy FREE template on us (you’re welcome), this Valentine’s Day craft goes big and gets spectacular results. It looks complex on first glance, but the key is in your selection of cardstock. By layering hearts cut from purple, red and patterned papers, you get a surprisingly varied look from just one shape. The effect on this heart-shaped Valentine’s Day card is to give the appearance of an exploding heart, simply full to bursting with your love. The use of mirri card for the sentiment is wonderful too, giving everything a gorgeous sheen to top off a top-tier Valentine’s Day design.
14. Valentine’s Day Envelope Card
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Whilst we’re all busy cardmaking, it’s easy to forget the humble envelope. So, why not attempt this Valentine’s Day envelope card for your loved one this year? By incorporating the craft world’s unsung hero into your card design, with nine mini envelopes on your Valentine’s Day card front, you also take your greeting to a new romantic level. Perfect for tucking in little love notes, this Valentine’s Day envelope card allows you to say ‘I love you’ in not just one, but ten different ways. Tracey Daykin-Jones’ Valentine’s Day craft is also another one of our mixed media marvels, using embroidery thread to add ornate stitching to your Valentine’s Day envelope card.
15. Foiled Valentine’s Day Projects
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If you think we’ve been treating you so far, just wait until you set your eyes on these foiled Valentine’s Day projects. Yes, it’s our old friend hot foiling again! This time we’re offering you not one but three Valentine’s Day designs using the hot foiling technique, all courtesy of our brilliant designer Ingrid Vichova. Her foiled Valentine’s Day projects are a joy to behold, each one showing off shimmer and sparkle in a new and exciting way. Although this will be a new technique for many crafters, Ingrid guides you through to make learning foiling as simple as possible. So get ready to make some of your most stunning loved-up crafts yet, with our trio of foiled Valentine’s Day projects.
16. Valentine’s Day Heart Garland
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To finish off your Valentine’s Day crafting, why not try something different to go alongside the traditional cards? This Valentine’s Day heart garland comes from the wonderful Corinne Bradd, and is the perfect home décor make to add a touch of romance to your life in the run up to Valentine’s Day. It’s colourful, it’s intricate and it will adorn your walls with a whole heap of lovely hearts. Even better, it’s easy to make with our step-by-step guide and handy visual cues. Honestly, what more could you want!
If all of that Valentine’s Day crafty goodness isn’t enough for you, then we’ve got even more crafty extras on the PaperCrafter website including FREE Valentine’s Day papers, a Millie Marotta colouring printable and one very adorable bookmark.
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