April Lilli Design Team: Easy Valentine Cards for Mass Production

Last year for our first Valentine's Day in the US, we knew little about the significance this day had in the school year and that children exchanged little gifts. So my sons were ill prepared and we ran to Target the day before the class party to get the last cards that were left on the shelf. I really hate buying those little plasticky toys that get thrown away immediately and was so annoyed about the crap my sons brought to school. I love to give things that can be used up, so this year I am better prepared. I reused an idea from a card that one of my sons received last year and made it work for us.

I searched the silhouette design store for cut files with fish and finally settled on this very basic shape. In the software I deleted the heart and resized and multiplied the shapes to fit on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper since I have a Silhouette Portrait. I ended up with eight fish on one paper.

If you do not have a printer like me, this might be interesting for you: it is "print and cut" vintage style. I then took white cardstock, traced one of the outlines where I punched out my fish and typed the sentence into the shapes of the eight fish using my old typewriter. Then I went to Staples and had them copy my text several times on cardstock, which I then also ran through my Silhouette Portrait.

I then glued one patterned fish and one white fish together, added wiggly eyes to both sides using my Glossy Accents and punched a hole into the fishtail to attach a snack size Goldfish package.

Now we are all set for Valentine's Day! If you still need an idea, this is a fun and quick project that you can create with your kids. Have fun! If you still need pretty paper for your cards, head on over to the April Lilli shop, where you can get this collection for 20% off the original price during February 2017. There is also a video on youtube where you can have a closer look at the Crate Paper "Heart Day" collection.

Cardmaking. 5 Cards. Edition 2.

When I stopped blogging in the end of March I didn't stop being creative. During springtime I made several sets of cards to give away as gifts. Often I would use leftovers from my scrapbooking kits and try to make a matching set of five cards. For this set, it just didn't work out the blue "hello there" card stands out no matter what. But I like it nontheless.

I usually take a leftover branding strip and wrap it around the cards, then seal it with this stamp that reads: "For you - handmade with love."

Cardmaking. 5 Cards. Edition 1.

I really love receiving happy mail and since I am so far away from my friends and family back in Germany, I thought it was a great thing to send them a little bit of happy mail every now and then. (And maybe get some back ... *hinthint*) Since sending international mail is so expensive here, I am always trying to find "flat" stuff. This set of 5 cards was sent to a friend in February.

I pulled out several pieces from my stash and worked only with these papers, embellishments and stamps, so that I would end up with a cohesive set. I used different techniques: using a single piece of paper as a background, piecing different papers together as a background, stamping and watercoloring, ... I just played. And had a lot of fun!

*** DEUTSCHE VERSION ***

Ich bekomme total gerne Post und weil ich ja nun so weit weg von meiner Familie und meinen Freunden wohne, dachte ich, ich könnte immer mal wieder jemand anderem eine kleine Überraschungspost schicken. Hahaha! Guter Witz, wo es in Deutschland das schöne "Großbrief"-Schlupfloch gibt, mit dem man für 7 Euro ganz schön viel über die Meere schicken kann, hat die amerikanische Post gerade noch einmal das Porto erhöht und ich zahle Unsummen ... also versuche ich meine Briefe schön flach zu halten. Stoffgeschenke sind da eher hinderlich, aber Papier ... und sich verbrauchende Karten ... die sind optimal.

Ich habe mir aus meinem Vorrat ein Kartenkit aus Papieren, Embellishments und Stempeln zusammengestellt, so dass am Ende ein stimmiges Set herauskommen würde. Ich habe ganz unterschiedliche Techniken angewandt: ein einzelnes Papier als Hintergrund, einen Hintergrund aus verschiedenen Papierstreifen, Layer mit Papierschnipseln, ein Hintergrund gestempelt und mit Aquarellfarben ausgemalt, ... ich habe einfach gespielt und probiert. Und dabei viel Spaß gehabt!