Julie Finn
If you know me, you know that I heart myself some holiday crafting. I made a bunch of crafts for autumn, I made a bunch of crafts for Christmas, and now I am your fairy 30-something godmother of Valentine crafting. Don’t believe me? Then let me tell you this: Y’all, I received SEVEN handmade Valentines in the mail yesterday. And yesterday, I myself mailed out TWENTY-FOUR handmade Valentines. To people I have never actually met in person. I’m not quite finished with the super-special ones going out to people I have actually met in person.
Uh-huh. You can feel safe with me.
With that being said, here are some of my favorite online Valentine projects, tutes, and crafty downloads from some of my favorite online people:
- Heather Bailey has a way to fancy up her free paper globes pattern (check her sidebar for the Free Patterns header) with pink and red cardstock (may I suggest recycled/thrifted/vintage Valentines?) and a little felt heart to dangle from the bottom (However you stand on the felt controversy (and let’s keep the comments clean this time, friends), I assure you, there is a felt for you).
- If you crochet, Bella Dia has a pattern and tute for some sweet little crocheted Sweet Hearts. If you don’t crochet, then I suggest that you spend the next year stalwartly encouraging someone close to you to learn to crochet. Then, next January, ask them to crochet these hearts for you.
- This set of patchwork heart sachets from CraftyStylish is likely more appropriate for a confident seamster than for a newbie, but seriously? If you don’t know how to crochet, the least you can do is learn to sew.
- For those of you who drink tea and not fully caffeinated black coffee (True story: My mother-in-law, while visiting last weekend, asked me to make her a cup of tea. I’m all, “Um, I don’t have any tea.” She’s all, “You don’t have tea?” I’m all, “Dude, I don’t have any tea! I don’t drink tea!” So the next day, she says, when I see her sitting on my couch drinking a cup of tea, “Julie! I bought you some tea and put it in the cupboard for you!” So I can start drinking tea? Or so I can keep it for her when she visits next year and then she doesn’t have to go out and buy tea? If you’re a mother-in-law, PLEASE tell me what that tea is FOR!), Creature Comforts has a download and tute for a really cool-looking Valentine teabag. My favorite part is the cute little heart that dangles from the string down the outside of the cup–maybe I could put more coffee grounds in a Valentine teabag and have that in my cup, and then I could have the cute little heart on a string, too?
- If you can bake something, you can bake it in the shape of a heart. Skip to My Lou, using her own miniature heart-shaped cakes pan, bakes up little heart-shaped cheesecakes. It’s so weird, but right now I can’t think of ANYTHING I need more than little heart-shaped cheesecakes.
See, aren’t you excited for Valentine’s Day now? No?!? Fine, then, be a pooper, and go check out the Black Heart Anti-Valentines Day Contest over at Dabbled. See? Your fairy 30-something godmother will hook you up whether you’re festive or not!
Oh what fun ideas. I especially like the paper globes.
I’m not a mother-in-law, but I am an avid tea drinker. I drink tea because the warmth gives me a well warm fuzzy feeling. It tastes better than water and can become something of a ritual. However, if you are a coffee person you shouldn’t feel pressured into drinking tea.
I’d say it sounds like she got the tea to share with you. Besides, old tea isn’t flavorful anymore. But like I said, don’t feel pressured :-p
I love these ideas!
I’m not a mother-in-law (but I have one) but am a tea-drinker. I used to be an avid coffee drinker and while I still enjoy it, I find tea infinitely easier to make well at home.
It’s soothing and as Esther mentioned, is a lovely ritual.
However, I’d keep the tea (sealed up well, I keep my loose tea in glass jars) for her or any other tea-drinking guests.
Okay, so maybe it’s a hostess thing? So the next time someone comes over and says, “Will you make me a cup of tea?” I can say, “Sure!”
“You like Lipton, right?”
Those heart shaped cheesecakes look wonderful!
Don’t they seriously? I’ve got some of those shaped silicon molds, and I only use them for molding crayons and soaps because I wasn’t happy with the way they didn’t really hold their shape with baked goods.
It never occurred to me–bake stuff that doesn’t rise!