Happy Valentine's Day: A Galentine's Party with My Neighbors

I had a great time preparing for and writing about the 12 Days of Valentine's Day this year. I hope you enjoyed it too. It culminated with a Galentine's Party at my house with a bunch of my neighbors.

 My sugar cookies were delicious, though they certainly looked homemade.

I made my popular raspberry punch with heart shaped ice cubes, made with cranberry juice for a deep red color. One friend told me she loved it so much that she drank 4 cups! Now that is a successful punch recipe.

We laughed; we ate sweets; we caught up with one another. It was a great party the night before Valentine's Day. I hope you are having a great week too.

#12daysofvalentinesday #valentinesday #valentine

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