Virginia is here to create an intricate layout with Valentine’s Day in mind but as always, there is a twist…see for yourself!

Sweet & Tender by Virginia Nebel

Here is Virginia with her tutorial:

I gathered a few heart shaped tools (and the brand new Kioshi collection from BasicGrey!) and came up with a few ways to re-purpose hearts to create some fun accents.

Assembly tips:

I cut out a large heart shape into my 12 x 12 paper. This is mounted on foam core to create the heart shadow box.

The grass is created by punching out hearts and using the negative shapes left over. When I use the heart punch, I flip the punch over to see where I am punching. I choose a reference point on the punch to keep the shapes the same. For example, to create the grass- the reference point I used is the tip where the two curves meet (photo a). After punching along the entire length of paper, I trimmed the strip to a 1.5 inches (photo b) and hand cut the fringes.

In photo (c), I chose another reference point (lower on the punch) to create a two-scalloped shape cut out. These shapes are glued under the large heart to create a scalloped ruffle. I also glued them side-by-side to create a scalloped border.

To create the butterflies, I punched out two hearts and stapled them together at the bottom. I curled up the heart on top on both sides to create the wing layer. I used brads to mimic the butterfly head and body.

To create the flower, I punched out hearts, folded them in half and layered them in a fan shape.

Hope you have fun creating your own “h-art-ful” creations!