Valentine Swap

I just finished my 14 valentines and am ready to mail. I am covered head to toe with glitter. As are the computer keyboard, the desk and the carpet has a trail of silver from my craft room to the office. I think they came out cute, maybe a bit too "handmade" looking. But they are supposed to be victorian in feeling - so it isn't like Papyrus's was around in 1885, now was it? I started with pretty scrapbook paper in pastel prints. These will be the back of the cards. I cut them about 4 1/2" by 6". I used a bead of white glue to attach the aqua crepe streamer paper in a ruffle all around the edge. Just pinch the end and "feed" the paper to the ruffle -it catches the glue as you go and dries surprisingly fast. No need to clamp or anything.

I then attached a length of white vintage seam binding to be a tie for the card. This way it can be hung up and enjoyed. Next i selected 14 vintage postcard images i purchased on a CD. I chose images with some blue in them - avoiding overly pink or red. I printed them out onto matte photo paper 4 to a page - so they are about 3 1/2 by 5". I used scallop edged scissors to cut them out. I used the white glue again to attach the postcards to the the background paper - sandwiching the crepe ruffle in between.Next i added some glue in swirls and dots around the edge of the cards and sprinkled on silver glitter. This is where they look kind of messy. The glue just went on too thick. Next i added some little phrases - like "love birds", "be mine" and "happy valentines day". I printed them on regular printer and crinkled up the paper. Then i cut them out like little banners with pointy ends. I applied some aqua ink pad to them to tie in with the colours.For the envelopes i planned to use clear plastic protectors. I thought it would be really fun to get one of these in the mail. Provided the post office does not completely mangle them in the process. I printed out all the address labels on sticker paper nd cut them out with scallop scissors. I printed my contact info on clear sticker lables and attached to the back. I inserted the cards, trimming to fit if necessary and put an extra piece of tape on the back, plus added a little sticker.Now i am off to the post office to see if they pass muster. They might not be a standard enough dimension, which means i'll need more postage. Anyway - it sure was fun putting these together - i cannot wait to see the other 13 valentines i'll be getting in the mail!