Valentine Card Swap

A couple of years ago i participated in a valentine card swap.  It was so much fun to get 10 or so cards in mail - each one from a stranger across the country.  I made a pretty Victorian style card with vintage postcard images and pale blue ruffled streamer paper.  you can see how i made them HERE.   This year i was invited to join again - and i had so much fun the last time - so i asked some of my crafty friends if they wanted "in"!

4 of us ended up in the same group - completely at random, from the 60 people participating.  Here is my card design for the swap.  Normally i would "save" this until they were received - but i think the images don't really do the card justice - so they will still be pleasantly surprised!

I started with a plain white card - pre-scored  - probably from Michaels.  I layered a pink square, a pink and white heart, some torn pink mulberry paper, and a wee little heart cut from a book called The Art of Love!  I sewed, yes SEWED this little stack of pink goodness onto the card with some flower shaped ribbon, and left the threads to dangle.  I didn't measure or fret - just stacked, positioned, and sewed.

In some ways the outside was meant to be a tease!  The real good stuff is on the inside!  There i positioned a fun garland of assorted paper hearts, in descending sizes, also sewn together.  I added a little pink seam binding ribbon at the top and used a tiny glue dot to attach it inside the card.  I accordion folded the hearts in the card - they look a little like butterflies!.

  The idea is that when you open the card, the garland of hearts will flutter down creating a gasp of joy for the recipient.  

My wish is that the participants of this swap will gently remove the top heart from the card and use the ribbon to hang it somewhere.  Preferably where a soft breeze will gently swirl the hearts around with delight.

Finally i wrapped the cards in hand painted deli paper and created envelopes, simply glued together with rolling micro mini glue dots.  I printed all the addresses - including mine, on sticker paper - cut them out and positioned on the front of the envelopes.  Added stamps - and they are on their way - little visions of pink loveliness floating through the mail, like cotton candy.....