12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 8: Make A Scrapbook Paper Runner

12 Days of Valentine’s Day: Day 8: Paper Runner. A few years ago I made this pretty pastel runner (top of photo, above) for my kitchen island out of pieces of coordinating #scrapbook paper in shades of pink, aqua, cream & blue, stuck to a length of contact paper. It was unique and original and 100% my original idea. Today I made one for Valentine's Day out of the cute scrapbook papers you see spread out above, with a solid red heart paper place mat as the focal point...  

IT'S SO CUTE! I could not be happier with how this Valentine's runner turned out. I am having some ladies over for a casual Valentine's Girl's Night Out on Thursday and I know we will stand around in the kitchen talking. This will be a very festive focal point.

How did I do it?

I bought about 20 square sheets of American Crafts scrapbook paper at Joann Fabric. I trimmed off the edge with the corporate details and cut the paper into wide strips, large squares or big pieces. Then I arranged them on my island in the same width as a standard roll of clear contact paper and as long as I wanted on the island. When it looked good, I unfurled the contact paper (sticky side up - this takes courage) and taped each end down with a few pieces of clear tape for stability. Then I arranged the pieces of paper like a quilt until I was finished! Tah-dah! Yes, I've over-simplified, but you get the idea. 

Happy 12 Days of Valentine's Day, Day 8.

#12daysofvalentinesday #day8 #Celebrate #beautyofeverydaylife #finddelight #papercrafts #americancrafts #scrapbookpaper #thiscreativelife #makersgottamake #seattleblogger

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 2: Send Letters in the Mail

Could any of us really be too busy to write? I have chosen "Mailing Valentines" as my activity for Day 2 of the 12 Days of Valentines Day. You can do whatever you want to mark the occasion, no pressure. I just like to tell you what I'm up to so that you have ideas to work from.

I'm going to take an hour after dinner and hand-write notes to some of my oldest friends. I haven't done this in ages and I know that they will love getting something in the mail as much as I do.

Don't you love this Vintage Valentine? I found it at an antique show and knew that it would be fun to share here. I hope that even if you have been going on long walks in the woods, you still aren't too busy to write your friends. Happy Day 2.

#12daysofvalentinesday #beautyofeverydaylife #valentinesday #writeyourfriends #finddelight

Happy Valentine's Day: Cookie Decorating

Happy Valentine's Day! This day holds a special day in my heart as it was the day in school that we celebrated my August birthday. I was always in charge of the class treats and I loved it.

This past Sunday, I attended a cookie decorating experience that I had signed up for on a whim. I am very new to my area and I thought that an hour of cookie decorating could help me to meet some people who live nearby. 

The brainchild behind "come use our frosting and sprinkles to make some sweet treats for your family" is Katie from Steve's Doughnuts in Snoqualmie. She had everything ready and we could make 6 masterpieces for $5. These are my edible works of art. 

It was fun, unexpected and delightful. I met 3 nice women in the area and I the cookies were delish. Thanks, Katie.

Chocolate Hearts Melted Mine

Be still my heart - perfect chocolates for Valentine's Day! When I was picking up my caramel puffs, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by this shelf of real chocolate hearts.  I would buy 5 or 6 and tuck them around the sweets on a cookie plate. 

The maker of these has an artist's eye and I knew I had to show you. The French bakery is called Le Petit Prince and is located in Birmingham, Michigan.

Happy 12 Days of Valentine's Day! 

12 Days of Valentines Day

I think you should have fun for 12 days straight. I know, we don't always look at things that way, but that is the beauty of celebrating the "12 Days of Valentine's Day". You decide what fun little thing you want to do each day in honor of Valentine's Day and the people that you love in your life.

Celebrating the 12 Days of Valentine's Day helps make lovely gestures a habit. It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and yourself. Wear a pink sweater one day, put red food coloring in your cake batter, set the table with red place mats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people.

There is no set schedule. There isn't a "number" relationship between the days (meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10).  Nope, you just do what feels right and fits into your schedule on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  

When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, tell her it's The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it. And let me know how your coworkers and friends respond.

My suggestion for today is order a David Austin rose bush for your garden. You will never regret the day-after-day beauty you will enjoy this summer.

The 12 Days of Valentine's Day starts today!

When's the last time you knew you were going to have fun for 12 days straight?  

I know, we don't often look at things that way, and that is precisely the beauty of celebrating the "12 Days of Valentine's Day".  It's a time when you do little things to show love for family, friends and while you're at it, yourself. Wear pink one day, make a cake, put out red placemats - everything counts when you are celebrating the fact that you love a lot of people. 

There is no set schedule; Nor is there a "number" relationship, meaning you don't have to sneak 10 Hershey kisses into a loved one's pocket just because it is Day 10 (but what a great idea!).  Nope, you just do what feels right (and fits into your schedule) on any particular day leading up to Valentine's Day.  When someone compliments your pink scarf, just smile and say that its in honor of the 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  If your neighbor questions your sudden gift of 6 muffins, cite your inspiration, The 12 Days of Valentine's Day.  Have fun with it.

Remember, this is a gift of the heart, so any gesture, no matter how small, will be appreciated.

#12daysofvalentinesday #valentinesday #valentine #celebratevalentinesday #celebrate

Lemon Yellow Rose

Can you stand it? This gorgeous porcelain rose was a Valentine's gift from my dear friend, Dana. I received a small box in the mail on February 13th and nestled inside was this yellow rose and a note about her recent find. An antiques dealer had taken apart a grand (but broken) treasure (a chandelier?) and was selling the roses from it.

Dana was sure that I would love one and voila! I do! Now I'm sure she didn't expect me to display it in my kitchen in a bowl of lemons, but isn't it fantastic? I assure you, art is everywhere.

Thank you, Dana!

12 Days of Valentine's Day: Day 5

Wouldn't you like to find this in your mailbox?

My Mom has a collection of Valentines sent to her mother between 1910-1912. They have simple inscriptions and are charming little pieces of love.

I was able to scan them into my computer, and then return them to my Mom so that she could frame them. The best of both worlds. We have the antiques safely under glass, but the freedom to reproduce them as we like.

If you like the idea of vintage valentines, stop in a large bookstore this week and look for this Valentine Postcard book. It is full of reproduction valentine postcards that are ready to detach and mail!

Day 5: Make a list of who would love to receive a Valentine in the mail this year, then have fun selecting just the right ones.

12 Days of Valentines Day: Day 1

Today we begin celebrating The 12 Days of Valentine's Day! I want this to be a fun time for you. Talk with your friends and family about this celebration. When they realize that this is a mix & match series of fun moments, they may jump on board and start celebrating too!
The 12 Days of Valentine's Day is about expressing love and friendship to those around you.

Here are some suggestions that might help you celebrate:

Gestures can be as big or small as you like
Recipients can be anyone you know - friends, neighbors, family
Wearing red & pink "counts" as celebrating

Celebrating this way should make YOU (and everyone around you) feel good and light-hearted.

I will give you an idea here each day, but it is just to get you in the mood.
Would you believe that this gorgeous cake is from...IKEA!? I found it in the freezer section of the IKEA grocery department (read: buy it and keep it in the freezer until you are ready to celebrate). It is called "I love you gateau" - light sponge cake, vanilla custard, raspberry fruit filling covered with a delicious marzipan fondant. This delightful cake comes with a powdered sugar heart dusted on top! Love it.
Day 1: Plan on having a fancy dessert one night this week.

12 Days of Valentines Day

People all over the world are thinking about the 12 Days of Valentine's Day already.

I know this because they are Googling "12 Days of Valentine's Day" and coming to my site! In 2008 and 2009, I gave hints, tips and suggestions for making the 12 days leading up to Valentine's Day special for friends and family.

This is my philosophy:

The "12 Days of Valentine's Day" are about expressing joy and love for the great people in your life - spouse, parents, neighbors, teachers, friends, family.

It celebrates the fact that it is fun and inexpensive to eat heart-shaped food and wear pink. Seriously.

I can't possibly fit all the "celebrating" I want to do in one day, so the Twelve Days of Valentine's Day are perfect. It all starts on February 3rd.
In the meantime, look back at my suggestions from prior years and starting thinking about how you would like to celebrate the 12 Days of Valentine's Day. Make strawberry muffins? Put on the pink pillowcases? The tiniest gesture counts when it is done with love. And people love to talk about it, so spread the word.
And while you're at it, pick up some pink sprinkles. I know you'll use them.