Handmade Valentines, 2014

 Every year I make a new batch of handmade Valentines.  I started in 2011 by making little Valentines for my college friends.  In 2012 I made Valentines goodie bags for the kids in the after school program I was working with.  Last year was the first year I made Valentines to sell.  They ended up being very popular at the Urban Orchid, a local floral shop where I sell my books and cards.  Because none of them say "Valentines Day" anywhere, the cards also work well for anniversaries and other occasions where people give flowers.

This year I made many more Ohio cards, and some new ones with heart punched borders and a ribbon with a gem in the middle.  I also did some over-the-top layered cards with the heart punched borders.

Instead of doing a Valentines craft show this year I decided to focus more on Etsy.  I have a great selection of cards available, as well as minibook jewelry, and a few small handmade books.  Make sure to order by February 7th to guarantee delivery by Valentine's Day!

Handmade Valentines- 2013 Edition

Snow is falling, Christmas is long gone, and everyone has gotten used to writing "2013" on their checks.  That means it is time for this year's handmade Valentines!

Ohio cards are some of my most popular handmade cards.  This year's Ohio Valentines are a bit on the Pirate side!  Ohio cards are available by request in any pattern or color I have.  Stop by the Urban Orchid in Ohio City or the Bazaar Bizarre Valentines Show to pick one up.

Valentines Goodie Bags

I made these goodie bags for the kids in the after school swing dance group I work with.  The kids are in 5th-7th grade and I wanted to do something special for them at our practice on Valentine's Day.

The bags have pretty pencils, cupcake shaped erasers, heart shaped suckers, candy hearts, and small handmade notebooks.  I made the books out of lined paper and colorful cardstock sewn together with a pamphlet stitch.

I put all the goodies in a paper lunch bag and decorated the bag with red construction paper punched with different sized hearts.  The heart punches became confetti for the inside of the bags.

Making Valentines

Last week my college closed down for a rare snowday. Instead of braving the ice and snow, I stayed inside all day and made valentines! I bought a small pad of Martha Stewart valentine's themed paper, and a heart border punch at Pat Catan's a couple weeks ago and decided to put them to good use.
The border punch is neat because it lets you punch a section of border, line up the already punched section, and continue the border along an entire sheet of paper. I also decided to make some envelopes using brown craft paper that had been stuffed in boxes as packing material.