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Adhere your postcard to the kraft base at a slight angle and hanging over two of the kraft base edges. The overhang will be trimmed off at a later point.

Using the handwriting stamp from Stamp Club ‘Patterns & Prints’ or something similar, randomly stamp in areas across both the postcard and the attached kraft base in ‘Metro Grey’ Nuvo Hybrid Ink

Covering the majority of the bottom right-hand-side, lay the ‘Simple Hearts’ stencil approximately as shown, secure into place and then, using a spatula, apply Nuvo ‘Coconut Sorbet’ Chalk Mousse. Try not to apply it to every heart shape or particularly evenly, this will help try and achieve a worn, distressed, uneven look. Set aside to dry.

In the meantime, using your Nuvo ‘Soft Suede’ Hybrid Ink, stamp out the rose image from the ‘Loveable Library’ set twice.

Colour the rose images using coloured pencils to resemble a similar colour palette to those in the ‘Beautiful Memories’ patterned cardstock.

Cut out your roses using fine detail scissors.

Once the chalk mousse has dried, in Nuvo Clear Mark Ink, randomly stamp both the larger and smaller ‘ink splatter’ images over areas of the page as shown. Then add the Copper Embossing Powder and heat set using a heat tool.

On some vellum, stamp out the feather quill image in clear ink and add some ‘Glacier White’ Nuvo Embossing Powder. (I find embossing powder likes to stick in many ‘unwanted places’ on vellum so an anti-static bag or homemade pop-sock containing cornflour is a really handy tool to have at hand.)

Cut out the feather using fine detail scissors and gently bend it along the centre to give it a curved, more 3D effect.

In clear ink, stamp out the rounder ink bottle shape and heat emboss in white embossing powder.

Using a clear mark pen, ‘colour in’ the centre of the ink bottle as shown. Then apply and set the copper embossing powder. Using a white pencil, colour the outer edges of the bottle to give it a ‘glassy’ look. 

Using a paper trimmer or long bladed scissors, trim off the overhanging edges to bring your base back to a rectangle.

On kraft card, stamp out the ‘I love you more than words can say’ sentiment in ‘Metro Grey’. Trim around it in a rectangular shape and stamp an off-set rose image in the background in ‘Soft Suede’. Using the same ink, distress the edges of the sentiment. Next, adhere to some ‘Olive Green’ cardstock and trim leaving a thin border. Hand draw an additional border on the kraft card using a white gel pen.

Cut out the ‘flower stamp with bee’ image from your patterned cardstock.

Attach your cardbase to your 7x5” white card blank. As the kraft card had slightly ‘warped’ from the heat tool, I found the best way to stick it down smoothly was to run tissue tape closely around the edges and use liquid glue in the centre.

Glue your ‘stamp’, glass bottle and first rose directly onto the page as shown. For the vellum feather, I used tissue tape (along the bent centre) so it wouldn’t show through.

On kraft card, stamp out the ‘I love you more than words can say’ sentiment in ‘Metro Grey’. Trim around it in a rectangular shape and stamp an off-set rose image in the background in ‘Soft Suede’. Using the same ink, distress the edges of the sentiment. Next, adhere to some ‘Olive Green’ cardstock and trim leaving a thin border. Hand draw an additional border on the kraft card using a white gel pen.

And there you have your final, mixed media crossed with shabby chic, ‘love’ themed card!

I hope this has inspired you to have a play around with combining lots of different media to see what effects and layers you can create or to consider perhaps a less traditional approach to your Valentine’s Day cards this year.

Either way, have fun and happy crafting!