Bear Hugs Valentine's Day Cards

Happy Valentine's Day week! Here are the Bear Hugs cards that I made and sent out this year. She's bringing lots of Valentine love to friends and family. I'll show you step by step how I made them along with the products I used. You can just click on the link in parenthesis for more details. 

First, I decide what stamp and die set I want to use. For this card I am using Bear Hugs stamp set and dies from Stampin' Up!. It's no longer available however, they do have a stamp and die set that is close, which is called Valentine Kisses (VALENTINE KISSES BUNDLE). Then I decide the color I'd like to use as my card base and then choose the colors for each layer. For this card I chose Crumb Cake paper (CRUMB CAKE 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK) from Stampin' Up!. I used Stampin' Up! Bubble Bath  paper (BUBBLE BATH 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK) for the first layer and embossed it with Exposed Brick 3D Embossing Folder. (EXPOSED BRICK 3D EMBOSSING FOLDER) I then made the banner with Stampin' Up! Real Red paper (REAL RED 8-1/2" X 11" CARDSTOCK). The banner dies that I used are no longer available but you can cat a strip down then cut the notch at the end yourself. The card base is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", the pink layer is then cut to 4 x 5 1/4. I used the banner die that fit at that was 1 3/4" x 3 1/2".

Next, I had to decide the color for the base of my bear. I tested it on basic white and Crumb Cake, which I ended up choosing Crumb Cake, which is actually really versatile. 

Ok, so now I had to choose a color for the actual color for the bear's fur details. I had to try a couple of different colors and ended up liking Pecan Pie (PECAN PIE CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD) from Stampin' Up. I love it on the Crum Cake paper.

So Sorry about the poor lighting. I quickly snapped the pictures while I was actually making the cards so I didn't have time or space to bring out my small photo studio. Maybe next time I'll make room so I can have it handy as I am actually crafting.😊 My video skills are not that great either but will be trying to make a few in the future.😊

My bear needed a pink skirt so I knew that I was going to be using Bubble Bath pink. It was soooo cute! I tested it out with few different ink colors first and ended I thought that Lovely Lipstick, which is no longer available from Stampin' Up! but Real Red ink (REAL RED CLASSIC STAMPIN' PAD) is very close. After choosing the ink for the skirt I chose the Light Bubble Bath Stampin' Blends from, you guessed it Stampin' Up!, (BUBBLE BATH STAMPIN’ BLENDS COMBO PACK) to color in the heart that will also go one the front of the card.

Now to cut out all of the cute bears and her skirts using the dies.

While I'm cutting out the bears and skirts I also cut out the hearts for her garland she'd be holding. I'm getting excited now because things are coming together. I know my desk is crazy with crafting clutter so don't judge. I like to do a lot of different crafts so there may be two or three types of crafts going on at the same time, hence no room for the photo studio. LOL

After I had everything cut out I made small slits in both paws of the bear so she could hold the red and white bakers twine. 

Once all of the slits were made I cut enough of the bakers twine to go across the front, thread the three hearts on and flipped it over and taped both sides down. She's SO cute! 

Now, I'll finish my card front by adding the bear and the "I Love You" heart. I did embellish the banner by adding a few small light pink hearts, the tiny pearls on her skirt, and the bows on the bear. They are actually nail charms that I got from a friend. She said they came from Amazon but I don't have the links. If you search Valentine, flat back pearls, or bow nail charms you'll find them. I just started using nail charms in my crafts and they're the perfect touch.

For the inside greeting I added a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Basic White card stock and stamped my greeting. Once that was done I filled in the hearts with the Bubble Bath Stampin' Ink Blends, but no picture of that. I didn't realize that until they were all sent out. Hahahaha!!

Here is my final card! I hope you like it. 

If you enjoyed seeing how I made these Valentine's cards please follow me for more crafting adventures. There are more to come. Also, I am no longer a Stampin' Up! demonstrator but I love the products so you may see them come up quite often in my paper crafting. 

Happy Valentine's Day!