As I've mentioned before, mini Valentines are some of my favorite products to create. These adorable minis come in packs of 8 so you have plenty to go around. I prefer to give them along with a little candy or chocolate.
But just who is deserving of a mini Valentine?! Here's some ideas of who to give out mini Valentines to:
- Classmates
- All of your grandkids
- Secret (or not so secret) crushes
- Your office co-workers or your employees if you're the boss
- Your students (as a former teacher, I loved giving out Valentines to my students)
- The important people in your life in need of a little love: the postman, the FedEx delivery guy, your hair stylist, your dry cleaner
- Your group of girlfriends
- Your exercise buddies, bridge group, or sewing club
- Your parents, in-laws, brothers, and sisters
- Your neighbors
Just a few weeks until Valentine's Day! While I believe that a special love note is appropriate any day of the year, I can always get behind a holiday that encourages people to send cards to those they love and appreciate. Here's some of my favorite Valentine's Day and everyday love cards in the shop. Shop the entire collection here.
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One of my favorite product lines I've released are my mini Valentines. I launched the Friendly and Fruity set in 2014, the Sweet Sayings set in 2015, and am now sharing the latest group to join the line - Little Hearts!
Each pack comes with 8 cards, 2 of each design. They measure 2.5" x 3.5" and are paired with tiny, sealable white envelopes. Another favorite feature - they are printed on soft white cotton paper!
They are perfect for kiddos to pass out to their pals at school, for your workplace colleagues, students you teach, family members....the possibilities are endless!
Find the mini Valentines and Happy Cactus' entire collection of love cards in the shop here.
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In addition to the Rainbow Dot Heart card released earlier this summer in celebration of the Supreme Court's decision on marriage equality, I'm also excited to share two new love cards I've just added to the collection! I really enjoyed my time hand painting new designs this summer and love the end results. You can shop all of the new cards here.
Happy Valentine's Day from Happy Cactus Designs! Hope you have sent sweet greetings to the loves of your lives. I certainly love knowing that many people are receiving handwritten cards from their sweethearts.
The minute I shared a glimpse of my new I'm Bananas for You card on social media, I could tell it was going to be a card people liked and responded well too. I sent out samples to different retailers, and Emily from Clementine in Middlebury, Vermont, gave me some great feedback: that this would be perfect as a mini Valentine that kids could give to their classmates and buddies. I shared some brainstorming ideas for other card designs I had with her and embarked on developing a set of little cards.
I rounded out the collection with You're My Main Squeeze, You're The Apple of My Eye, and We Make a Great Pear featuring simple and modern hand-drawn fruit patterns.
I love this little set and think they are perfect for kids and adults alike - whether you are giving them to your classmates with a box of Sweethearts (my favorite!) or to your coworkers.
Each card measures 2.5" x 3.5" and is printed on 100% cotton tree-free paper. The backs are blank, leaving you space to write your own little love note. They are paired with tiny white envelopes, too. Find them in the shop here.
Much to my surprise, my Be My Valentine card was featured on the Etsy blog late last week!
The product photo accompanies a blog post about a great initiative from Etsy to collect Valentine's Day cards that will be given to the elderly alongside warm meals on Valentine's Day. It sounds like a great project, and anyone can participate!
I shared my favorite best-selling Valentine's Day in Part 1. Here in Part 2, I'm excited to share my latest releases for Valentine's Day with you!
I'm Crazy For You Foxes: I drew these sweet little foxes and the sentiment just paired so well with it. I also love the minty green and white heart background.
I'm Bananas for You: While brainstorming new designs, I had a list of sweet love sentiments and I kept coming back to this one. I created a simple banana pattern using a thick brush pen. The hand-lettering is bold and declarative.
Hubba Hubba: This design always reminded of this clip from The Simpsons. I experimented with a new fat brush pen to create thick letters, and then created an XO pattern to add some depth to the design.
Be My Valentine: While many of my designs are pattern-driven and intricate, I wanted to design a card that was simple, yet bold in its declaration. I like the mix of simple cursive letters with thicker capitalized letters.
My Sweet Valentine: Sometimes the smallest doodle in my sketchbook becomes the basis for a card's primarily design element. I sketched a simple heart with tear drop shapes extending from it and knew it would make a great border.
Shop all of our Valentine's, love, and friendship cards here.
In the stationery industry, seasonal designs are planned well in advance. For Happy Cactus, Christmas 2013 designs were first released in May, with a second release of additional designs in early August. It's has been a little tricky for me to create fresh designs for a holiday so far in advance, but it's becoming more natural as I become more seasoned as a stationery and greeting card designer.
Out of a variety of card categories, my love cards have been my strongest sellers to date, and I am very excited about the latest cards I'll be introducing this season. While I love a great Valentine's Day card, I prefer general love cards that can be used for a variety of occasions - a new relationship, an anniversary, a wedding celebration….the list goes on. Here's a round-up of some of my old favorites and best-sellers:
Love Birds: The teal green background makes the sweet and colorful flowers really pop. I love the "Love Birds" hand-lettered sentiment.
Be My Valentine: The sentiment is surrounded by tons of tiny hand-drawn hearts. The hearts remind me of little doodles you might draw in your notebook when pining over a new love.
Love Heart Blocks: Spell out your love with letter comprised of tiny hand-drawn hearts. I love this combination of colors and used a similar scheme for my Thank You Zigzag card.
I'll be sharing my new releases for Valentine's Day soon, so stay tuned!
