Be My Valentine!

Personalized Cupcake Toppers by thepaperkingdom

It seems Valentine's Day was more special for me when I was a child than it is now. I remember the excitement of making our own mailboxes and taping them to the sides of our desks for the BIG DAY.

Valentine's Day Personalized Cards with Keepsake Mailbox by InkspotWorkshop

When the day came, we'd walk around the room playing mail carrier, delivering Valentines to everyone's mailbox. I think there was a rule that if you participated you had to give everyone a Valentine, not just a special few people. That way no one felt left out.

In Bloom Spring Colors 3 by simplysplendidstamp

I kept my Valentines for many years until at some point when I was a teenager I decided they weren't cool anymore, so I threw them out. I wish I still had them. :/

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here it is, the big V-day and the end of another week! I hope everyone had a great day with friends, family, or that special person.My day started out with my hubby sneaking off to Lowe's for some "stuff" and returned with a potted rosebush and two boxes of Girl Scout cookies for me! (Along with some drywall tape, a deadbolt lock, and other "stuff".)

My day was spent in the studio working on some new journals, catching up on emails, doing laundry and enjoying my well-again toddler. He's been sick the last few days whimpering miserably and bursting into tears over the littlest things. I've never been so glad to hear him happily chattering away!

We went out to dinner tonight to celebrate Valentine's Day, along with everyone else in the city. It was a madhouse out there! We intended to go to Olive Garden but it was a 2 1/2 hour wait, so we went to a steakhouse instead. We only had to wait an hour there!

I wonder how much of our lives are spent waiting...waiting in line, waiting for a table, waiting for the doctor, waiting for a call or someone to show up... The latter applies to my mother, she is late everywhere she goes. She runs on her own time, oblivious to the world's schedule. I just accept it as a part of who she is and tell her to be somewhere an hour before we're really supposed to be there. :>

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good day and didn't have to wait long for their dinner!

Be My Valentine

This week's theme on my blog will be Valentines, red, pink, roses, and all that mushy stuff! Valentine's Day can be a bummer if you don't have a significant other to share it with, but I've had fun in the past bringing Valentines to work or making little Valentine surprises for my family.

Here's a cute little project for a Valentine tea luncheon from MarthaStewart.com. Punch a heart (or cut one out) and add it to a tea bag, with a handwritten message.

This year's projects involve my toddler who is working on signing his name to Pooh bear Valentines for our friends and family. He started out with the best intentions, but his name degraded into a scribble after the first Valentine. Oh well, one lucky person gets his signature, the rest will just have to deal with it!

Valentine Mini Booklets from my shop

I remember in grade school how we made a paper pocket mailbox and taped it to the side of our desks. Then on Valentines Day, we all went around and delivered Valentines to each other's mailboxes. It was a lot of fun to play mail carrier and get Valentines from your friends in return.

Cottage Garden Heart Pendant from my shop

Visit Etsy.com for other great gift ideas!

An Exciting New Year

Ackk! I've been MIA from my blog for the last few weeks trying to get inventory and the tax end of my business figured out. I'm not much closer than I was before I started! I was caught off guard at year end not fully realizing I had to deal with all that stuff! I really enjoy the artistic side of my business, designing journals and pendants, working with customers, and networking, but the yucky business details I can do without! I definitely need to talk to my tax adviser. Ugh!
On a lighter note, my Caribbean Blue Journal (third row, far right) was featured on Etsy's front page last Saturday! My work has hit the front page twice within three weeks. Woo-hoo!
I've been busy working on new inventory for Valentines Day. Here is one of my Valentine Gift Tag Booklets just listed today.Here's a sneak peek at some of my latest pendants. I'm working on listing them tonight, hopefully. I haven't even thought of a name for them yet.

A big thank you to Tialey Vintage Clothing for the awesome feature on her blog! I was the featured Neato Stuff Shop of the Day on Thursday and she gave me a shout out on her blog.

So far my new year is off to a busy and exciting start. Best wishes to all of you for a healthy and prosperous year (despite this stinky economy!).