Valentine Card with Intricate Design

This Valentine card is an original design that I made and cut with my Silhouette Cameo machine.  I tend to prefer designs that are intricate and symmetrical.  I also like to test the capabilities of my machines by making cuts that are very delicate with lots of twists and turns. 

This was cut on thick pink shimmer cardstock. The cut settings were speed 3, thickness 33 and blade at 5 with a double cut. While this design appears quite complicated, it was relatively easy to create using the design tools in the Silhouette software.  I am curious to see what tools are available in the new Design Space that will control the Cricut Explore machine.  Just a few weeks to wait...

I wanted to raise the image above the card surface to create shadow lines showing the details of the cut.  The large foam dots fit neatly on the corners and I cut smaller dots in half to line up along the edges of the square.

I didn't happen to have any on hand but I think a thin foam tape would  be ideal for this type of application.  The trimmed dots worked well enough.  The card base is Core'dinations Cardmaker series in Scarlet Pearl and it is 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

However, once I placed the topper on the card base, I did not like the way it looked from the side.  So I set about finding a way to hide the dimensional dots.

I had some thin satin ribbon that just fit between the topper and the card.  I wrapped it tightly around the sides (if I had planned ahead, I would have set the adhesive a little further in from the edge).

I adhered the loose end at the beginning to the foam dots and used 1/8 inch ScorTape to adhere the end of the ribbon to complete the enclosure.

My design included some heart cuts in the center,  These hearts could have been used for another card but I decided to stick with the original concept and add them to the card.

When you want to place an image exactly in the same position it is helpful to use the "offcut" as a template.  I adhered the thin outline of the heart directly to the card front (it looks like it is off center in this photo but that is just because it is at a slightly lower level).

I wanted the center heart to be raised at the same level as the frame so I used some more of the same brand of foam dots to raise it at the same height.

The interior heart cut helped me to center the raised heart.

These "leftover" bits could be used on another card.  I hate to let anything go to waste.

Here you can see the difference in the levels of the card elements.

The card design is very delicate but it needed just a bit of dressing up - I thought pearls would be perfect.  I had pink pearls and white pearls but these light tan pearls looked the best.

I had to laugh when I looked at this lovely vintage label - 1962 isn't that long ago is it!

One medium pearl on the larger heart, two small pearls on the two small hearts...

...and four large pearls in the four corners.  Seven is a lucky number so this seemed like just enough.

I was happy with the idea of wrapping the thin ribbon around the card to hide the foam - maybe I should have done that around the heart as well.  I didn't have a matching color ribbon but it is hidden from view when you are looking straight at the card.  When you see the card from the side it is just a nice little surprise and the card looks more polished.

Of course, you could add a different embellishment in the center framed by the lacy loops for a different occasion.

I hope you had a good weekend.  I didn't get this post scheduled correctly so it is going out Sunday evening - I'll get back on the normal schedule this week.  I did get to spend some time crafting and I have lots of new things to post this week.

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