Two Valentines/One Sketch

Send a Smile 4 Kids' current challenge is "Valentine's or Love Cards 4 Kids." Since their deadline for Valentine's cards is January 15, I decided to make a few to send to them. These are two of the ones I made.

I got the "Valentine Bear" image for this card from the Dearie Dolls blog. The blog is run by Mary Ellen, and she frequently posts original digital drawings for free download. I thought this cute bear with his balloons would be perfect for a Valentine's Day card for a child.

I chose Operation Write Home's Sketch #239 as the basis for both cards:

To begin my first card, I printed the image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored the bear and balloons with Inktense pencils and blended with a damp paintbrush. I used Tumbled Glass Distress ink as a watercolor wash for the sky.

After double-matting the focal panel with 2 shades of pink cardstock, I cut the patterned paper pieces, from Recollections' "Valentine" and My Mind's Eye's "Love Me" 6x6" pads, to size. Then I adhered all those pieces in place, using a piece of light teal blue cardstock as the outer mat.

For the greeting, I stamped one from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Love from Cocoa" set onto a piece of white cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I die cut it using one of Spellbinders' "Classic Ovals LG" dies. With the cardstock still in the die, I sponged on some Worn Lipstick Distress ink, which provides the look of an additional layer without any added bulk. Since I was adhering this piece over 3 layers of cardstock/watercolor paper, I had to apply a bit of foam tape to the back, so there would be no bulges where it overlapped the layers underneath. Finally, I adhered the completed front to an A2 card base.

I created my second card basically the same way as the first. For this one, I used the "Heart Mouse" image from Bugaboo Stamps. After printing the image on a piece of watercolor paper, I colored her with Inktense pencils & a damp brush as well. The patterned papers are both from Recollections' "Valentine" pad. I created the greeting oval the same way as in my first card.

Both of these cards came together very quickly. Probably the longest part of the process was coloring the images. I hope these cards will bring a smile to a hospitalized child's face!