OK, there's still time for one last late Valentine, right?  Because I want in on this weeks In{k}spire Me #386!
I pulled out my Nine Lives set to pull off one more love card - I loved this set so much I finally broke down and got the cat punch, too, when I saw it!  Anyway, my kitty is all dressed up and ready for dinner out, with her pretty Lovely Lipstick bow and details.  I tell you, this Sale-A-Bration foil has really helped me see the light on Lovely Lipstick now, and the Grapefruit Grove, though I didn't use that one today.  Anyway, this stamp set makes it so easy to make pretty kitties!  Love it!
Nine Lives Stamp Set; Whisper White & Lovely Lipstick CS; Lovely Lipstick Foil; Memento Tuxedo Black, Crumb Cake & Lovely Lipstick Inks; Layering Circles & Sweet & Sassy (retired) Framelits; Cat Punch; Lovely Lipstick Glitter Dots; #IM386.

Oo, another new title for me at this week's Library Challenge #26 - The Note - looks like a perfect romance read for the beach!
I could have sworn that I had a double-decker bus stamp somewhere that I had intended to use, but alas, that must have been my imagination, lol.  I finally settled on our gorgeous pens in the Crafting Forever stamp set - perfect for a little note, right?  I also went with this sentiment I built from teh Paper Pumpkin All About Everything set - very romantic, as the book seems to be, and I love the font to go with these fancy pens - I could imagine writing this with a good fountain pen myself, lol.  I kept the design pretty clean and simple, with just a few touches of color, though I did add a few hearts!  I think this one will go in the Valentines!
Crafting Forever & All About Everything Paper Pumpkin Stamp Sets; Whisper White & Real Red CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Real Red, Granny Apple Green & Balmy Blue Blends Markers; Pink Enamel Hearts; #TLC026.

Here we go!  Joy of Sets #002 is back with a special grid to celebrate the month of love, lol.  Let's check it out!
After looking over the grid, I decided to start from a weird place for me - I picked a square, and then tried to figure out which way I'd go with it.  Today I picked "emboss," and decided to do the vertical from there - glimmer-emboss-white.  Easy peasy!  I browsed through my EFs, and landed on the retired Pretty Print, which I've always thought looked romantic, lol.  From there I pulled out another retired goody, Valentine Defined - I love this tree!  I snuck in some glimmer by punching some red glimmer hearts for some additional detail - it looks sweet, I think!
Valentine Defined Stamp Set (retired 2011); Whisper White, Real Red, & Glimmer Red CS; Real Red, Basic Black & Early Espresso Stamp-n-Write Markers; Pretty Print EF (retired); Heart to Heart Punch (retired); Stitched Shapes Framelits; Real Red /8" Taffeta; #JOSTTT002.

Oo, good times ahead - another collection challenge at this week's As You See It #193!
Holy smokes, this one was a tough one!  I wasn't sure I could pull it off for a bit there, but then I got to looking at my new Geared Up Garage set, and thought, hey, I could a see a car like that in Poppy Parade, lol.  It was all over at that point!  I played around, squeezing in all the details, and right up til then end thought it would be a regular old man card, but then that sentiment leapt out for my attention, and I realized I had a manly Valentine on my hands, lol.  Whew, it was a close one!
Geared Up Garage Stamp Set; Classic Garage & Botanical Butterfly DSP; Whisper White & Poppy Parade CS; Memento Tuxedo Black & Poppy Parade Ink; Poppy Parade, Pool Party & Smoky Slate Blends; Garage Gears Thinlits; Sweet & Sassy Framelits (retired); Striped Metallic Ribbon; #AYSI193.

The romance continues today with Hand Stamped Sentiments #307's LOVE theme collection - so pretty!
I pretty much couldn't take my eyes off that pretty red velvet cupcake in the inspiration pic - and I have just the set for recreating it!  I decided to do a cupcake cup in silver for this one - I love foil wrappers for their sturdiness, lol.  A little silver of that red velvet cake shows under the swirly frosting with its pretty sprinkles.  We're just covered in sweetness here, lol.  I fussy cut all my pieces here, BUT I'm super psyched for the coordinating framelits that are on the way!  SO many fun things ahead starting March 1!  Stay tuned!
Hello Cupcake Stamp Set; Whisper White & Real Red CS; Real Red, Gray Granite & Versamark Inks; Silver EP; Layering Ovals Framelits; Happy Heart EF (retired); Real Red 1/8" Taffeta; #HSS307.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is still on for Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

Well, Retro Rubber #103 sure has a sweet look back planned for us this week with their "ribbons of love" theme - let's go!
I actually had a hard time choosing a retro "love" set - I've kept a few that really "stole my heart," lol.  I finally settles on PS. I Love You, a beauty from 2012, that has just the cutest heart made out of tiny hearts, and the best sentiments to go with.  Another awesome aspect of this set was how pretty much the whole set had one punch or another for just about every stamp in it - ah, those were the days!  I'm a little shocked at how complete my suite of supporting products for this set still is - must have been true love for sure!
PS. I Love You Stamp Set (retired 202); Whisper White & Calypso Coral CS; Real Red, Flirty Flamingo & Calypso Coral Inks; Happy Heart EF (retired); Full Heart & Modern Label Punches (both retired); Calypso Coral 1/8" Organdy Ribbon (SO retired!); Pink Enamel Hearts (Be Mine Valentine Paper Pumpkin); #RR103.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

We're excited to have a new mix-up challenge for you this week at Try Stampin' on Tuesday #394!
Today I FINALLY get to use my adorable Hey Love set for the image I even got it for - the ape!  He's just so hunky and sweet, and as usual, my fave image is almost one of the last ones I use, lol.  I colored him in with some Blends Makers, and pulled out some pinks and hearts, so I could do BOTH sides of our mix-up - yay, me!  I pulled out some Real Red DSP to do my background, but left the Smoky Slate CS it's over fairly plain - the better to leave room for rhinestones, hee hee.
So, will YOU mix it up with us this week?  I hope so - see you at the challenge!
Hey Love Stamp Set; Real Red DSP; Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink, Blushing Bride & Powder Pink CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Smoky Slate, Petal Pink & Flirty Flamingo Blends Markers; Banner Triple & Heart to Heart (retired) Punches; Stitched Shapes Framelits; Basic Jewel Rhinestones; #TSOT394.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

It must be February, because the pink challenges are here!  We're even getting into it at this week's Fab Friday #156!
I can not tell a lie - this one was a doozy for me!  I'm pink-challenged on the best of days, and throwing in the Grapefruit Grove just made it even more crazy-pants!  It actually took me a few tries to come up with a card - I started over from scratch TWICE!  I finally went very minimalist - just a splash of color on this romantic bird, with a bit of background to set him off - very much like spotlighting!  ANYWAY, I can't wait to see what you all come up with - show me how it's done!
Hey Love Stamp Set; Grapefruit Grove, Lovely Lipstick & Whisper White CS; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Lovely Lipstick, Grapefruit Grove & Blushing Bride Stamp-n-Write Markers; Layering Circles Framelits; Lovely Lipstick Glimmer Dots; #FabFri156.

Thank You Cards Class Feb 7 & 9!
I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS need Thank You cards!  It's so handy to have a little stash on hand - and we have some gorgeous new sets for them right now, too!  Class will include all supplies needed for 6 cards and envelopes (bring your own snips and fave adhesive!), drinks, snacks and a special gift from me, all for $25!  Class could also be FREE with your order of $30 or more!  Class is on for Thursday, Feb 7, at 630 pm, or, Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 pm!  RSVP now to save your spot today! 

Very nice - Hand Stamped Sentiments #306 has a gorgeous purple and green color challenge for us - my fave!
As I browsing for a likely stamp set to play with, my latest order arrived - woo hoo!  Unpacking that, my eyes kept going back to the sweet new Valentine's set I treated myself to, Hey Love.  Yes, the otter and the gorilla will be big hits, but I decided that flirting crocodile would be perfect for these colors!  I aqua-painted my way along, and added a few details - I think the new Dot to Dot embossing folder looks just like crocodile skin, and that Scallop Oval Punch piece missing on the side is meant to look like a croc bite - does it work??
Hey Love Stamp Set; Whisper White & Petal Pink CS; Memento Tuxedo Black, Mossy Meadow, Fresh Fig & Petal Pink Inks; Dot to Dot EF; Scallop Oval Punch (retired); Basic Sequins in Petal Pink; #HSS306.

We have some lovely layered elements at this week's Match the Sketch #215!  I'll be combining it with this gorgeous inspiration pic from Just Add Ink #395 - reminds me of cherry blossoms back East!
So cherry blossom reminders means we have to pull out my beloved Sheltering Tree, of course!  I put together my little "loving tree," and then I realized for the FIRST TIME in all the time I've had this set how perfect the "you warm my heart" sentiment is for Valentines.  Sheesh.  I swear, I are a SU! demo.  Really I am, lol.  And just like that, the hearts keep creeping in!  Shhh, don't tell anyone about my girlie streak going on, lol...
Sheltering Tree & Weather Together Stamp Sets; Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette & Flirty Flamingo CS; Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette & Flirty Flamingo Inks; Love Notes (retired) and Sweet & Sassy Framelits; #MTS215; #JAI395.