Snow, Super Bowl and a whole lotta love.

I really did not fall off the face of the earth...but I am about 26" under it. Yes, we just received another blizzard and all the shoveling fun that comes with it. I actually saw some Penguins waddling into the area yesterday morning. So, because the last thing I want to see is another snow storm, I decided to get some summer pics out and scrap them.

As you all know, Valentine's is fast approaching and I now have all the goodies and cards completed for my dear husband and darling daughters. I even had some kit product leftover for a layout. All of these items below were made using the Bo Bunny Love Bandit Deluxe kit from Lil' Lambs Boutique.

I decided to make the die cut sheet my whole layout this time instead of backing it with 12x12 cardstock...oooo dare to be different I am. I also did two new techniques for me that I have seen around the scrapping world. I'll be putting up pictorial technique explanations in the next day or two.

Like those two tone flourishes...well you can make them yourself. The "faux pearl swirl" explanation coming soon. And look, there's some more of those dual colored paper roses.

Last month, Bo Bunny listed a free transparency title for download. I saw so many beautiful uses of it with winter themed layouts and thought the title fit well for Valentine/Heart themes as well. The "You Melt My Heart" phrase can be found here. I thought it would be cute to shrink my kiddos and add them to the background scenery. I used a swivel exacto knife to cut around the flower so it could sit on top of the added photograph. Neat little effect huh?

The background on my heart was a lot of fun to make and I'll be posting a pic by pic tutorial soon.

I used faux stitching along the ruffled edge of the heart. To create this ruffled edge, I cut 3/4" strips and used my scalloped deco scissors along one side. I then pleated the strips at various intervals. It took about 4-5 twelve inch strips to complete the heart. After gluing the pleated strips around the edge, I added the faux stitching on top.

Here's another look at both the background and the pleated strips around the edge.

Last week, I posted the 3 cards I did for the Lil' Lambs Boutique card challenge. Since I made coordinating gift bags/boxes to go with the cards, I added them back into the photos here, for the full collection.

The bag was part of the Deluxe kit and it's a decent sized bag, so that one goes to Dear Hubby. I used the Martha Stewart Deep Edge Daisy Fan punch for the top and bottom border and grabbed a tag/card from the Love Bandit Cut Out page.

Next up, are candy holders for my girls. The gift boxes were made with the Shutt-erfly template from My Time Made Easy™. Aren't they too cute?

I created this one below with one of the Love Bandit sheets.

I picked up the pink, faux stitched background from the card and added it to the gift box. The embellishments are cut outs from the tag sheet and a punched flower from the paper line.

Here's a view of the top. The packaging makes a butterfly closure at the top, so I added some matching accent paper and added the layered flower by gluing down only one petal to one of the butterfly tabs. (Note: do not glue the whole flower down or you will be unable to open the package.)

More cute cut outs from the tag page and hand punched flowers.

The kit had a sheet of Bo Bunny double dot paper. This "solid" colored cardstock is very sturdy and makes a nice gift box.

The Love Bandit line has so many adorable critters that make perfect accents for kiddie gifts.

I followed the card theme using the Martha Stewart Lattice Heart and Scallop Heart punch to add a border and top accents to the gift box. The flower is a combination of flowers and brads from the kit and a hand punched flower using the paper line. Again, I only glued part of the flower to one section of the top to allow for easy opening.

Here's a view of the opened box where you can see the attached flower.

Don't forget your honey or loved ones this coming Valentine's Day. And be on the look out for my tutorial posts this week.

And finally, a "heart-y" congratualtions to the New Orleans Saints!! A wonderful comeback and fantastic victory!