Many people don’t look forward to Valentine’s Day for many different reasons, but for me, it’s always been another opportunity to share light! For as long as I can remember, I have loved Valentine’s Day!!! Even during the years I didn’t have a Valentine to love me back. Sadly some view it as a holiday sensationalized to spend money on frivolous and overpriced gifts. Others view it as a time to remind them they are all alone. But not matter where we are in our seasons of life, Valentine’s Day can always be a time to share of our light!

As a child I loved making things for people . . . actually I still do today even as an adult! This is my love language, I love to make and give gifts! The gifts I give have no strings attached, and are a true heart-felt piece of me. Heavenly Father blessed me with “crafty” talents, and what better way to share them, than to give a gift of light filled love! Very rarely did I ever give store-bought Valentine’s as a child. Most often I would come up with some hand-made creation to give to my classmates, friends, and family members. It might have even been a poorly hand-painted rock I had gathered myself; however, it was always made with all the love my little heart could muster.

It isn’t necessary for Valentine’s Day to be shared with the love of your heart, although that is always nice too! February 14th is a day to share the love we have for anyone in our lives who has made a difference, or even to share some light with someone who is feeling downtrodden. It doesn’t have to be a romantic kind of love, big, expensive, or out-of-control, it can be as simple as you make it. Just like we make lists at Christmas for the people we give gifts to, I like to make one for Valentine’s Day as well! This is the perfect opportunity to let the most important people in my life know how much I love them, and to share some light. You never know what people are going through. Someone might be teetering on the edge of a cliff, and a small gift of light and love may be just the thing they need to back away from the edge.

Life is hard, and over the past year seems to be getting harder!!! Each day, I try to look for opportunities to serve and share light. I find the more light I share, the more I seem to have in abundance to keep sharing. I’m so grateful for a kind, loving and supportive husband who encourages me to use my talents to serve others, thanks Ronnie. All that we have has been given to us as a gift from the Lord. We both believe it’s not really ours, but the Lord’s, and He wants us to use the things we are blessed with to bless others. As we do this, we share light! The wonderful thing about holidays, is that it makes it easy to share because you don’t have to come up with ideas on your own – the holiday provides the idea for you!!! Even if it’s wishing someone a “Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day”! Give someone a roll of bubble wrap with a pretty ribbon and personalized tag! Or make up a holiday of your own, like “Green is the BEST Color Day”, and fill the world with something green!

I begin planning my Valentine creations months in advance, and order most of the necessary items generally before Christmas. It’s all about the presentation for me. I love to add my own quirky “Leslie touches” to the gifts I give. This generally includes some type of labor and time intensive tag, and always includes at least a few different types of ribbons, string, and twine. I love using many kinds of materials to add depth and dimension, as well as color. My favorite ribbons and baker’s twines are from May Arts. And DMC Pearl Cotton string in the #8 size comes in many different colors and finishes off a small name tag perfectly. My Silhouette Cameo works overtime cutting the many different sizes and shapes of all the pieces that bring the tag to life. No matter what time of year it is, I’m always on the look-out for little bits and pieces of things to use in my holiday gift giving. This year’s Valentine tag has the most adorable little skeleton key with a heart hole in the top. I bought them two years ago not knowing what I would use them for, and 2021 is the year they became the focal point of my Valentine tag. But then I’m also on the lookout for the perfect thing to tie that cute tag to.

For a few years, I gave fun and unique drinks that came in equally fun and unique bottles. Spruced up with some ribbon and a cute tag, they become a mini-masterpiece, and somehow seem to taste better too! “Fentiman’s Rose Lemonade” is so yummy!!! You should try it!!! Three years ago, I discovered the most delicious candy!!! I’ve always loved trying new kinds of candy, and this one is a fan favorite. They are the cutest, most yummy little gummy hearts made by “Jelly Belly – Petite Sour Hearts”. I don’t know why they call them “sour” because they really aren’t. They are just a handful of yumminess!!! You will never guess what flavor they are, and I’m not going to tell you. Buy some, and see if you can figure it out on your own! They sell out fast though, so you’ll want to get a jump on them for next year. I order mine straight from Jelly Belly, I find they are much fresher that way. You can purchase them in individual little bags, which I gave out last year inside a tiny little “Happy Bag” I ordered online from “Natural Life”. And as part of the “Leslie touch”, I added a tiny green mercury glass heart ornament from “Luna Bazaar” and ribbons. Did you know green is the original color of Love? The year before last, and this year, I ordered a ten pound bag of “Petite Sour Hearts” and filled the cutest little bottles with them! Being the germ-a-phobe that I am, I scrub my sink, disinfect everything around it, and wash the bottles until they sparkle. After drying them the best I can, I let them sit with a clean dish towel underneath and over the top to finish air drying for a couple days, before filling them with the yummy little red, pink, and cream colored hearts – wearing gloves and a mask of course.

The jar with the rose gold heart spoon turned out so cute. I used a “Welsh Spoon” as the design for the paper tag with the caption “A spoonful of sugar . . .” The jar came from Amazon, and the spoon came from the “Sundance Catalog” in a set of six. This year I discovered the cutest little heart shaped glass jars with a cork from “Whole Housewares”. I first saw them on Amazon, but waited too long to order and they were out of stock. So I searched online, found the manufacturer, and ordered them direct. The theme was perfect to use the tiny little skeleton keys with “Love is the Key”, and the subliminal message of “Key to my heart”. There’s just something endearing about tiny spoons and tiny keys don’t you think?

So if you’re one of those people who try to avoid Valentine’s Day for whatever reason, embrace it, share of your own light, and use it as a day to share a piece of your own heart with light and love, and maybe a “Jelly Belly Petite Sour Heart” or two!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Love Ya,

Les

Serve

Light The World With Love