Tags, Bookmarks, and Valentine Treats

Hello!  So sorry to have been absent for so long!  I have been busy and not crafting, so have had nothing to share.  My free time, when I have it, tends to get spend reading, and crafting falls behind more often than I would like.  I did get a chance to get to do some catch-up this weekend though, on some miscellaneous things.

First, I signed up for a tag swap through the PBS Swappers group.  Tags?  Never done them!  I was nervous, until I read on the swap board that most of the other participants had not done tags before either- so we are all beginners together!  The theme, inspired by Valentine's Day, is Love, but beyond that there are no requirements.  I had a vision in my mind from the beginning that had a scrap of paper bearing a love poem, so that is what I built on for my tag.  I went through a couple of revisions before settling on my design:

So, I found the "How do I love thee" poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning online, and that is what I used for the poem (or partial thereof), printed out on the computer.  I used a stamp for the gold heart and "Love" impressions, and found some great paper roses at Michael's for 3D embellishments.  I cut out the tags with the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4 dies, and just snipped off the tips on the top and bottom.  Oh, and I found these great little heart-shaped "Love' insribed charms at Michaels.  They were in the wedding section, and I got 20 for $1.99, so they were very economical!  They were silver though, so I distressed them with sandpaper, and that revealed a gold-tone underneath the silver finish, which was perfect for this.  A black ribbon tops the tag.  I"m pretty happy with how it turned out- my only concern now is how I will be able to mail these without ruining the roses!  I did not think about that before it was too late..now I have to worry about how these will make it through the U.S. mail without getting messed up.  A purchase of bubble wrap is in my near future, I think!

I have also begun to think about my Etsy shop, and adding some spring designs.  I've been researching color trends, and have found some really interesting data on what colors will be hot this year!  I'm not sure how much of it to pay attention to...so the result has been to look at what they say, and pick out what I like from the bunch,  LOL.  Here are a couple of new bookmark designs I put together recently:

 This one uses aqua and chocolate brown, using dyed daisies:

This one also uses dyed daisies in lavendar, paired with navy blue in this bookmark.

I haven't done any other bookmarks since the last set I did for the Christmas season, and am anxious to develop some new designs for spring, and clear out some of the winter designs.  I'm thinking of having a sale in my Etsy shop on those older designs, so watch for that!  In the meantime, I'm on the lookout for new, fresh color schemes for my spring collection- so please leave a comment if you have any ideas for colors you'd like to see in bookmarks!

Last but not least, we are nearing Valentine's Day, and I have been helping my daughter Meredith prepare for her school's Valentine's Day party.  I came up with a cool lollipop flower that is really fun- she is making these for all of her friends.

Aren't those cute?!  They are made with 3 layers punched from a 6-petal flower punch.  They are a bit of work to assemble, so we decided that we will just make a few for M's best friends.  They are fun to put together, and look so pretty when assembled!

That's all for now!  I hope to have more to show you soon.  I recently got a heat embossing tool and am looking forward to experimenting with that!  I have a few family birthdays coming up, so will be making some cards soon!