The Late Night Stampers issue a challenge every Monday, and yesterday’s challenge was to create a Valentine.  How easy is that?  If we wanted an extra challenge, we could make it a masculine Valentine.  And what could be more masculine than Sock Monkey?  (oooh, I’m gonna pay for that!  I’m talking BOY masculine, not MAN masculine, OK??)

• Sock Monkey and Contempo Alphabet stamp sets
• Whisper White, Ruby Red, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa card stock
• Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, and Pretty in Pink Class Ink pads
• Aquapainter, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Paper Snips and the Heart to Heart punch
• On Board Essentials chipboard, Sponge Daubers, and the Stamp-a-ma-jig
• Pretty in Pink 1/4″ grosgrain, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals, and Tombo adhesive

This was Round 2 for the Monkey in the Frame.  Round 1 was so busy it gave me a headache to look at, so I pulled it apart and started over.  I really hate it when I sit and stare at a project and can’t decide what to do with it.  Sometimes that happens early in the project, sometimes it happens late in the project, and sometimes the whole project, well, it shoulda stayed on the back burner a while longer.

By the way…do you have a pair of Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips (#103579, $9.95)?  If you don’t, you really should consider investing in a pair.  Yes, it’s an investment, not a glamorous sparkly kind of purchase, but every time you pick them up you’ll say “Wow!  Why did I wait so long to buy these things?? They’re AMAZING!!”  Tools make the project.  If you don’t have a good pair of Snips, you won’t want to cut out the Monkey (or the flower spray, or the heart, or whatever.)  And you’ll miss out on that satisfied feeling you get when you look at something and realize it’s Just Right because you trimmed it out so well.