Valentine's Cards from our friend Kim & a Tutorial

Hi Everyone!  Before I get to the heart of my post tonight, I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for the heartfelt thoughts and warm condolences you have sent to me and my family concerning the loss of my beloved Boston.  The one thing I have always cherished about the paper crafting world is the amount of compassion there is between all of us gals (and guys).  You have all helped me so much over the past few days.  My heart still aches, but I continue to be strong and wait for her ashes to come home.  I know I'll feel better when she is home with us again.  Again, a thousand thank you's, hugs, and kisses to each of you!  You gals are truly THE BEST! (wiping the tears).

Now, on to more fruitful things...

My dear friend Kim B. was kind enough to offer sharing some of her beautiful Valentine's Day cards.  I love Kim's work, it always puts a smile on my face when she comes to the store with projects to share.  Thanks so much Kim for sharing and inspiring us!

I just love all the pink and browns (yeah, I'm partial to those colors!).

Kim was also gracious enough to share a brief tutorial on this last card.  I love the effect this technique made.  If you happen to try this out, please let us know so I can tell Kim.

The roses on this card aren't just any stamped rose.  Here is what Kim sent me about the technique...

The cards with the roses was made using a technique suggested in a Martha Stewart Living magazine. To make the large roses, I used an 8" length of corrugated cardbord from a box, rolled it (this takes a bit of patience as rolling cardboard is not as easy as you may think) and held the roll in place using a rubberband (placed it about an inch from the top of the roll). I stamped the end of the roll heavily with craft ink and pressed it firmly onto white cardstock. I would suggest making trial roses on scrap CS to get the desired effect. I found I had to re-roll the cardboard to get the center just right for me. I also did the exact same rolling technique with a 6" length of corrugated cardboard for the smaller rose. I used a leaf stamp with green ink and a matching marker in green to draw the stem by hand.

Thanks for dropping by!