Love Is in the Air

Many paper companies released Valentine’s Day collections last summer. Those who didn’t only waited until October to do so. That was smart. Now, when Valentine’s is finally on everyone’s minds, those collections can easily be found at many retailers. Maybe it is because I am so bitter over never having had a Valentine of my own, but I hate this holiday. I do more to celebrate Groundhog Day than Valentine’s Day. Because of that, most of the products make me a little bit ill. The ones I put on here do not. In fact, several companies did a really nice job this year with making the day of love more tolerable.

Cosmo Cricket
Chemistry
I love Cosmo Cricket. With Chemistry, they are getting even closer to a Valentine’s line I can stomach. I basically like the colors and the idea behind this one, but it falls on the too-funky-for-me side of things. I may need some for some cardmaking, but I can generally skip this one. I’d still recommend it for Valentine’s that are just a little different. Next time, I’d like to see something edgier from the fantastic people at Cosmo Cricket.
B+

SEI
Lovebirds
I love the bird theme of this V-Day collection. I especially liked the “Love Nest” paper. Great idea. I am not wild about the shade of pink used in this collection though. Even worse, I don’t think the collection coordinates all that well. Since each paper is so unique, they needed to be unified with color and I don’t find that they really are here. These will make great individual sheets to be used on projects, but really don’t do great together, which I feel they really should. SEI paper is always great to work with, so still might be worth your time.
B

Basic Grey
Bittersweet
These are beautiful papers! Browns and pinks still look fresh together and the candy theme is delicious.. hehe. This is a very sophisticated collection that will make Valentine’s layouts really pop. Basic Grey keep getting better at putting together these collections. Negative note: I don’t like the names of the papers, which is rather insignificant to using them.
A-

K & Co.
Brenda Walton’s Sweet Talk
Quintessential Valentine’s Day! This collection is so perfect. It reminds me of being a kid and checking my white paper bag to see if I had received any Valentines that day. If you want to do it traditionally, this is the way to go! Quite likely my favorite of the Valentine’s Day paper collections this year, if only for the nostalgia.
A

Making Memories
Love Notes
Like Valentine’s Day at great-grandma’s house, but not necessarily in a bad way. I actually quite like the “Doily Hearts” paper and the “Sampler” paper. It is a nice collection that goes very well together and makes great use of kraft paper, which is one of my weaknesses. I love kraft paper! I think this is a solid collection from MM. They may not make me jump up and down, but the never disappoint me either.
B