Short History of Valentine Cards

January 13, 2026Leave a comment

Long before die cut hearts and doilies, Valentine’s Day began as the feast of Saint Valentine, a priest martyred on February 14th for performing marriages for despite a ban by a Roman Emperor. By the Middle Ages, poets were already linking the date with romance, and lovers began exchanging handwritten notes and verses to mark the occasion. Early valentines were intimate, the declarations of affection carefully folded and sealed with wax.

By the 1800s, new printing techniques and affordable postage turned those private notes into something more playful and decorative. Elaborate lace trimmed cards, colorful illustrations and clever verses filled Victorian mailboxes. In America, Esther Howland helped popularize these printed valentines, transforming the tradition into the greeting card exchange we know today.

Something that hasn’t changed is the heart of the practice: Valentine cards focus on taking time to say “you are loved” with paper, ink and imagination.

This card, inspired by the #creativechallengesu January sketch, carries history forward in a fresh way. The soft layers of Stampin’ Up!®️ Love Notes Mix & Match 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper give it a collage charm (nod to the past), while the stamped elements from the Valentine Kisses bundle dish a dash of whimsy (embracing today).

You can play along, as well! Create a card inspired by this sketch and post it on your social media with the hashtag #creativechallengeSU during January 2026.

Paper changes and styles evolve, but the magic of sending love through a handmade card keeps fluttering along, like a blue bird of happiness winging a love letter to it’s intended 💌

Interested in a longer history of Valentine cards? Visit this excellent article by Rare Bird Antiques!

For supplies to create your own Valentine cards, thanks for shopping my Stampin’ Store ~I’ll mail a hand-stamped thanks!

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Keep your creative juices flowing! 🍊🧡– Loni Spendlove

Two Bee, or Not Two Bee?

January 23, 2025January 23, 2025Leave a comment

Shakespeare would have sent these Valentines!

These are called “Floating Vertical Bandstand Pop-up” cards, and when I watched Susan Campfield’s tutorial video, the bees popped into my mind and off to the craft studio I ran!

First: YES, these cards fit inside an envelope:

Once you take them out, they pop up, and the elements “float” in front of the stage:

“But where do you write on these cards?” you ask? On the back panel!

Whether you choose one bee or two, you’ll love the newly re-colored “Cute as Can Bee” Designer Series Paper released in the Stampin’ Up! Scrapbooking brochure. TIP: If you are planning to make valentines for 2025…THIS WEEKEND is the latest you should be ordering supplies to create them!

Stampin' Up! January 2025 scrapbooking Brochure

While I used the Bee My Valentine stamp set and Bee Builder punch (shopping links below), DON’T MISS the new Meant to Bee Bundle with two sizes of bees and NEW dies!

The Sale-a-Bration Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins are a pretty way to add some sparkle, and they are a free option when your order reaches $60 before 2/28/25. I sprinkled them on the cards, along with a few hearts punched from the Petunia Pop glimmer paper:

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#creativechallengesu

Be MINE (Valentine Seagulls, again)

January 18, 2025January 18, 2025Leave a comment

It had to be made.

If you’ve ever seen “Finding Nemo”, you know how the seagulls squawk “mine! mine! mine!” over a french fry? This card was swimming in my head with the call of the birds until I stamped it!

Can’t you hear them?!

If you haven’t seen the other Friendly Seagull Valentines I created earlier this week using the Stampin’ Up! Friendly Seagull stamp set for Sale a Bration, you’ll want to see them, too (hint: there ARE french fries involved!)

The Friendly Seagulls stamp set could be yours FREE with a qualifying order from my Stampin’ Store by Feb. 28, 2025.

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It was fun to use the Mini Alphabet letters on the heart die from the “Spring Is In the Air” dies, which are a Paper Pumpkin subscriber exclusive add-on. If you aren’t a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, this is your sign!

Friendly Seagulls Valentine Cards

January 13, 2025January 13, 20251 Comment

Now is the time to plan and create your Valentine cards, and since it’s Sale-a-Bration time at Stampin’ Up!, I knew you would enjoy using one of the products you could get FREE (with a qualifying order before Feb. 28th). The Friendly Seagull stamp set was the first thing I chose, because it’s so stinkin’ cute!

This card was speedy to put together because I followed the TGIF Sketch #tgifc507

A bit of diagonal embossing keeps the background clean and simple, but adds texture, while the seagull’s favorite snack becomes the added embellishment!

But if you dislike fussy cutting, I get it. When I don’t feel like trimming around an image, I reach for a punch to do the work, like the Heartfelt Hexagon. It made both the Simple and Stepped Up version of this card easy to create:

For the Stepped-Up version, I added dimension with the light Pool Party Stampin’ Blends marker and embossed the sentiments:

TIP: Order early in January to select Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration items you love (like the Friendly Seagull stamp set), so you can order AGAIN in February for MORE FREEBIES! There are products to choose with each $60 you order, and some that are options at $120 orders:

Watch the tutorial for both cards here, plus get a sneak peek of a card I’ll be sharing later this week, then add the supplies to your cart below and start stamping your own:

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While the little heart patterned paper I used was leftover from the Bee My Valentine Paper from last year, there IS a re-colored version of the same paper just released in the January Scrapbooking brochure and it’s called “Cute as Can Bee”. You could mix up the colors and create a Petunia Pop/Bubble Bath version of these cards! The heart design is in the lower right corner: