My Dad... My "Valentimer"

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and has already consumed all the chocolate that was given to you. I don't know about you, but the longer the chocolate lingers around my house, the grouchier I become because I am constantly forcing myself to resist it... a losing battle most of the time. Therefore, I eat it quickly, savoring every bite, and then I do a few situps to control my shame.

Last Wednesday night I held my annual Valentine Workshop and here is the card we made:

Once again, I brought out the handy-dandy Big Shot and showed them how easy it is to texturize the cardstock with our Texturz Plates! Here's a closer look:

I absolutely love this diamond pattern, and since Stampin' Up! retired the old Print Pattern background stamp, I'm just tickled pink to have this alternative - I think it looks better, works perfectly every time, and there's nothing to clean up!

Since I already made a card for Michael (you can see it here), I decided to give this one to my dad. When I was a kid, my dad always gave us a box of chocolates and a card on Valentine's Day... and we called each other our "Valentimers" which came from my childish mispronunciation. It's a precious memory, and I wanted to continue the tradition by giving him this card and the matching box we made shown below:

This box was made using the using the Big XL Die called Box #2! This die makes it SOOOOOO easy! You only need ONE small piece of Sticky Strip to make it stay together, as the bottom folds up securely without adhesive. It is just too cool, and I highly recommend it!

We also got creative and textured the box before we folded it up. Here's a closer look:

Lastly, I wanted to show you the other option I gave the ladies for the card in case they preferred a more classic look. Here's a picture of it, but I only temporarily adhered the pieces on so you could see... that's why the ribbon doesn't thread through this label:

I still have yet to show you the cards I made for my kiddos... yes, I've been busy stamping away last week... utterly turning my nose up at the stacks of empty boxes I'm surrounded by! Can you tell which task I enjoy more?! ...and you may have noticed that I used grid paper as my backdrop this time? That's because I didn't feel like taking the time to clean up my stamp table for the photo shoot! ...hey, it's all about priorities, right?!

Valentine Recipe (cards & box):
Stamp Sets: Card 1 - Under the Stars, Family Phrases; Card 2 - Always, Sweet Thing (retired)
Ink: Black StazOn
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Confetti White
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon
Tools: Designer Label punch, Horizontal Slot punch, Scallop Circle punch, 1-3/8 Circle punch, 1-1/4 Circle punch, Big XL Die Box #2, Backgrounds I Texturz Plates, Watercolor Wonder crayons, Aquapainter, Stampin' Pastels