Inchie twinchie spider

The card I made for Neil this Valentines day, I wanted to try a different style to the usual red hearts etc, so I went with a soft romantic feel and this Stampin' Up stamp seemed perfect

I distressed all the edges of the cardstock with the edge of my scissors

I received a not so subtle hint from my guy that he never gets a verse in his cards so this year I made a special effort to find some sweet words to finish the card.

I kept the embellishments natural in appearance to complement the feel of the stamp. The image was coloured in with Polychromos pencils.

This next project is one I completed last year but had requests to see it again, so here it is Anita, I have included some close-ups to give a clearer picture of how each twinchie has been made up. You can click on the images to make them appear larger.

I have created loads of projects with twinchies -  usually on cards or in frames, sometimes I have used them as the focal point of an atc, but, I decided to combine them this time with my favourite craft of all - scrapbooking, and made them into a layout of sorts, or it could be hung on the wall.

Each twinchie has been made up entirely from scratch, some embossed with the Cuttlebug and they have all been inked with the 'direct to paper' technique

I have kept the piece to a limited colour palette to prevent it from becoming too busy

All the embellishments have either been made up from punches, some have been stamped and others are just bits and bobs I have had laying around forever.

I always include hearts in projects like this, those along with words have become quite a signature style for me, not intentionally but it has just happened that way - must be something to do with being a Valentine baby.

Talking of which - I had a lovely birthday yesterday. I spent the day with my wonderful friend Anita, we enjoyed lunch and shopping and as usual a belly full of laughs. Just don't mention county baskets !!!

The rest of the day was spent with my family, we ate a lovely special three course meal at home and then all relaxed together for the evening. Amy had been busy planting little notes wishing me 'happy birthday' all over the house and I was still finding them as I was tidying before bed - bless her xxx

Thankyou to all my family who bought me presents and gave me money to treat myself. Neil bought me a gorgeous bronze Mulberry keyring in the shape of a solid heart as my Valentines treat -  he presented it to me saying that I would always have his heart with me wherever I went - awwwwwwwwwwww !!!

For my birthday he bought me a silver Thomas Sabo charm bracelet, he definitely is a fab gift finder - it was just what I had been secretly wishing for.

I must also say thanks to Anita, Nicki, Trish, Margaret, Chrissie, Victoria, Paulien , Helena and Janet who all bought me such lovely thoughtful gifts and thankyou to everyone who sent me cards, I had such a lovely day, but by far the best part was the news I received today, I can't share it yet as it is a secret but it made me cry with happiness - life is good xxx