Shabby Chic Valentine Wallet

Hello, Ribbon Lovers!  It’s time for a fabby new  ANYTHING GOES challenge over at the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog.  The RRR team has been generously sponsored by Polly’s Paper Studio, and I can’t wait to share this adorable Shabby Chic Valentine Wallet with you all.  It will make your little heart go pitty pat!

The papers, images and most of the ephemera used in making the Valentine wallet are from Polly’s Paper Charming Cherubs Valentine Creativity Kit.  I added beautiful mulberry flowers and ribbons from RRR along with lots of goodies found in my Closet of Shame.  Let’s take a peeky at how this little darling was constructed.

The  Valentine wallet style album measures 7″ x 5″ when closed.  And you’ll laugh when I tell you what inspired the design!  As you know, we have sold our large family home and are downsizing into a cute little ranch about 15 minutes away.  So I have been purging like a maniac.  When I was cleaning out a scrap drawer, I ran across 2 old manila file folders that I had set aside to upcycle.  I was just about to toss them in the trash (oh, the pain of purging!) when an idea streaked through my brain and before long I had sketched out the idea for this cute l’il Valentine wallet.  Sometimes, being a pack rat has a happy ending!

Both file folders were cut along the side fold to measure 7″ long by 5″ tall.  They were laid side by side on my work surface and joined together to create a tri fold wallet style album.  Then burlap was machine stitched directly onto the front side of the cover.  Before decorating the cover, I used 1/2″ Scor-Tape to secure a 30″ length of pink chevron striped twill ribbon as a closure for the album.  1.5″ Ivory Crocheted lace was added to the fold side of the album. I added flirty pink posies (cottage roses, chrysanthemums, cosmos daisies and deep ivory gypsophila) in clusters around my embellies and pretty pink satin bow.

The cover of the Valentine wallet opens to reveal a sweet decorated page.  I fussy cut around the angel wings and then taped it inside this embossed paper tag.  (Which I also found while purging.) The image is mounted on a glassine bag.  It’s the perfect spot to tuck in a little gift card, tickets to a show, an individually wrapped chocolate or tea bag, too.

The inside of the wallet has pockets filled with tags, photo mounts, love notes and more pretty papers and images from the kit.

I stuck with a pink, cream and brown color palette to unify the design.  The little tags are topped with bright pink gingham ribbon. I also added more mulberry flowers to my decorated pocket.

I love this stamp from 7 Gypsies.  I just stamped onto kraft cardstock with black ink, then trimmed the corners to make it look like a tag.

I thought it would be fun to add a slash pocket to the Valentine wallet where little love notes could be tucked in.  You could also journal on the back of these little tags.  I found the booklet in my stash.  It’s amazing what you find when you are getting ready to move!  The trio of cherubs is one of the images from the Valentine creativity kit.  I just fussy cut them and perched them on top of my heading.

A closer look at the love notes.  You could easily write these yourself, mount them on cardstock and tuck them inside.

The left hand side of this page is decorated with ephemera and images from the kit.  Aren’t they just swoon worthy?

Then, the pocket is stuffed with another cute stamped tag (also from 7 Gypsies) and more photo mounts.

This little Valentine wallet  came together fairly fast…a little more than an afternoon of paper play, which is not bad.  I love the way the burlap feels, and the contrast between the Victorian imagery and the rustic texture makes me swoon a little.

Now it’s YOUR turn!  First, go visit RRR BLOG where you will find loads of inspiration.   Then, create your own ANYTHING GOES project and link it up on the RRR Blog.  I’ll be popping by to see what you cooked up!

And, here’s a good reason to play along in this fabby challenge: Polly’s Paper Studio will be awarding one talented participant a prize of their choice of 5 digital items from their amazing shop!  So get out your glue sticks and get your craft on!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy