DIY Valentine’s

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Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays.  It’s a day dedicated to love.  Not just the romantic type of love, but every kind of love and friendship.  Many call it a “Greeting Card Store Holiday”, however I look at it differently.  It is an opportunity to share our LIGHT with those we love.  One of my most favorite things to do for Valentine’s Day is to make my own Valentine’s for family and friends.  I begin pondering and preparing for it months before February, and this year was no exception.  I’ll post a few more as we get a little closer, but for today I want to share a Valentine’s Day project I’ve been working on over the past week.

I generally figure out what my cards or tags will be first, and then base my small gift from there.  This year I chose to go with “the true color of love” which historically, is actually green!  This will not surprise those of you who know me well, as I am as addicted to the color green as I am my caffeinated soft drink beverages. 😊  I make almost all my cards and tags on my Cameo Silhouette machine.  I don’t know how I ever lived without this wonderful machine!!!  It saves so much time and things turn out so much better than hand cutting . . . most of the time.

My married kids all love these “Chewy Peps” mint candies, so I ordered them on Amazon.  They come in these adorable tins in a two-pack.  The name is a little misleading as they are actually hard candies when you first put them into your mouth, but as you suck on them for a little while they get soft enough to chew. 

Your gift may come packaged super cute as is, however ribbons and hearts take any gift to the next level with just a little time and effort.  Because my tags are green this year, I went with green for my ribbon sprigs as well.  I often add a touch of gold for interest and variety. 

For the monochromatic green theme, I added a skinny strip of darker green velvet from my ribbon stash for texture and contrast.  I actually got this one on clearance at “J & J Nursery” in Layton, Utah at their after Christmas clearance sale.  https://jjgardencenter.com/giftshop/

I get the sheer creamy colored organza ribbon with a solid border touched with a little gold thread from Hobby Lobby.  I love how it brings in more cream and gold which helps to bridge the printed twill tape and gold cording into the ribbon sprigs.  Look for it when it’s on sale!  https://www.hobbylobby.com/fabric-sewing/ribbons-trim/ribbon/gold-striped-metallic-organza-ribbon---3-8/p/46505

I finished it off by adding different types of string and baker’s twine from my favorite ribbon company, “May Arts”.  This year I went with one strand of metallic gold, and two strands of celery green/white baker’s twine.  Here is the link for the baker’s twine. https://mayarts.com/ribbons/2mm-bakers-twine/?_gl=1*3imhca*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiA95fLBhBPEiwATXUsxMapbxbrRblLpy9ZUUPlhtWzg2AbMteVjriEJkbvi-jDHgk8PFOTiRoCfWcQAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAADPzBz2yp21eQy0SFT-XfUNBwUYAv

Here is the link for the metallic sparkle gold string.                             https://mayarts.com/ribbons/100-yard-string-metallic/?_gl=1*xbmpiz*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAiA95fLBhBPEiwATXUsxMapbxbrRblLpy9ZUUPlhtWzg2AbMteVjriEJkbvi-jDHgk8PFOTiRoCfWcQAvD_BwE&gbraid=0AAAAADPzBz2yp21eQy0SFT-XfUNBwUYAv

When I make my ribbon sprigs, I cut the lengths I’m going to use, then layer them on top of each other with the widest ribbon at the back, ending up with the thinnest pieces in the front.  Most of the time the thinnest pieces are the cording or twine.  I will often cut a longer piece to tie them all together in the center using a square knot. 

The gold metal hearts were on clearance at one of my favorite stores in Midway, Utah –“Haven House”.  They were actually part of their Christmas clearance, but many times Christmas ornaments are perfect for Valentine’s Day as well.  Sadly, they are now sold out, but I have added a link to their Valentine Collection for you to enjoy.  You could try doing a Google search for “brass metal heart bell garland” to see if these are available somewhere else.  https://havenhausco.com/collections/valentines?page=1

I cut the hearts off the garland and tied them onto my ribbon sprig using the center strand of baker’s twine.  One more tip about using baker’s twine, or any other type of cording or string.  These often ravel quickly after you cut them.  I tie an overhand knot at the end of each strand and leave a short tail.  This prevents them from raveling, and it also adds one more cute addition to your ribbon bundles and sprigs.

I will be adding one more heart to my tags, that will say “Sure Do Love Ya, Les” on them.  I printed and cut them, however as sometimes happens, they did not cut with the words centered in heart.  So sadly, I will most likely try one more time.  If they come out the same way the second time, I will just go ahead and use them as is as hard as that will be for me.  I like things to look balanced, and I’m not happy with how these turned out, but I also don’t have a lot of paper left to keep printing and cutting more.  They are readable, just not perfectly centered.

I’ll be posting next week on the Valentine’s I’m putting together for our grandkids as well as our Primary kids at church.  January can be a dark and dreary month.  What better way to bring some LIGHT into your life than to sit down and make some handmade Valentine’s for friends and family!

My wish for you this week is to light the fireplace, turn on a happy feel-good movie, and make some handmade Valentine’s for those who are Light Givers in your life, and for those who may be in need of a little more LIGHT from you!

Have a great week!  Love Ya, Les 😊