Crafting: Vintage Valentine Placemats (free printables)

Making Christmas placemats from old cards got me thinking about vintage Valentine's...  I thought placemats composed of old school valentines would be really cute. And so easy, as it turns out!

Because they are laminated they are easy to wipe off and perfect for a kids' table. My girls love reading the valentines on their mats and sharing the often silly greetings with the rest of is. Keeps them occupied, but these are also great conversation starters for adults. For instance, it was interesting to see the traditional role models reflected in these vintage cards. Some of these would never fly now!

Rather than finding or duplicating vintage valentines to print out, I found a bunch of free vintage images online and composed some layouts. I've got four different versions, each with unique valentines. If you'd like some vintage valentine placemats for yourself you can download these images (they are very large files!) and print them at 12"x18".  Costco photo conveniently prints images at that size. 

Then just laminate and trim, and enjoy!

Vintage Valentine's Day Placemats

Sewing: Foxy Pink and Red Game Day Jersey Dresses for Valentine's

Since we're nearly to Valentine's I thought I'd share some lovey colored Game Day Jersey Dresses in one of my favorite combinations: pink and red. I have loved these two colors together since I was a little girl so I immediately fell for this cute Swafing "Freddi" organic knit. (This shop has it in stock.)

I found the bubblegum pink knit at Jo-Ann for a perfect match.

I decided on a Game Day Dress for Scarlett and a skirt and Game Day Tee for Tess. This skirt is the same I sewed for Scarlett in the launch post for this pattern. I think I'll turn it into an official pattern because it's so quick and easy and I love the options afforded by the panels.

Printables: Mustache Valentines (Free Download)

I've finally done it. I've given into the Mustache trend. Audrey was excited about some foam mustaches we found at Target so I created a quick printable Valentine to go with them. This is a great candy-free option for the card exchange. I was thinking of a line something like, "there's no disguising it, I want you to be my Valentine," but thanks to my Instagram friend, Mae, I landed on "I Mustache you to be my Valentine." Perfect!

This Mustache Valentine is a free printable for you. It will print two 5"x7" Valentines. The file is set up to print double-sided (be sure to flip on the long end and/or check to see the reverse is printed right-side up before you crank out a class-full).

You can use glue dots or tape to affix a purchased stick-on mustache over the mustache silhouette on the card. I found mine in the Valentine section at Target, but you can find some online (Amazon has some furry mustaches--affiliate link here). 

You can also cut your own foam mustache stickers if you have a Cricut or similar machine using this mustache .svg file and black sticky-back foam. 

I am laughing thinking about a class full of gradeschoolers wearing their fake 'staches. 

These would be cute with a mustache lollipop or wax candy mustache too.

Fold the Valentines in half and use some black and white Washi to tape them closed, and you're all set!

So, I really mustache ask you....

Sewing: Ruffled Rag Applique (Tutorial)

Happy Valentine's day! Were you up late last night making prepartions? Audrey, Scarlett and I were our own little production shop getting boxes of candy hearts labeled (I reused this idea for lack of other inspiration).

 

It's not my favorite holiday. A bit like New Year's... But maybe I'll get better at making it special for our girls with some family traditions. I'll start next year!

 

I did however make a little heart t-shirt for Scarlett to wear to her school party.

 

I have been thinking about this idea for a while, and was thinking of making a flower shape but couldn't resist the heart for February. It reminds me a bit of rag rugs--I love the seemingly random mix of fabrics and raw edges.

 

A heart for my sweetheart. I'm glad she likes it.

 

Want to make one? Click through for the tutorial. It takes a bit of patience, but it's easy!

 

Craft: Heart Doily Poms (Tutorial)

The most fragile things seem to be the most beautiful. I guess it's the fleetingness that captivates us. Paper hearts. Sometimes we have paper hearts.

For Valentine's this year I hung heart poms made from paper doilies. I had ideas for more--a rare Valentine's inspired brainstorm--but I didn't get to them. Maybe I'll go ahead and make some of them later anyway. A belated happy heart day.

I want to thank you for all your heartfelt comments on my last post. They were generous and beautiful and really did give me comfort. It's true that we all encounter heartache, and it makes me all the more grateful for the happy, pretty times. And I've realized (and am reminding myself again) that the heartache and the beauty often happen at the same time. You just have to lift up your eyes so you don't miss the beauty that is still there. 

So I made the hearts and hung them and my girls were thrilled to see them hanging over our kitchen table. We're going to have a happy Valentine's day. I hope all of you do too. If you'd like to include some doily heart poms, or take note for next year, click to read more and view the tutorial.

Cooking: Molten Chocolate Cake

It was a sweet Valentine's Day with our three girls. Bouquets of flowers in the morning. Dinner at home in the evening: filets, asparagus, roasted potatoes, salad, and for dessert, molten chocolate cake. This recipe is from my friend, Saren (not sure where she got it so I'm giving her all the credit), and I love it because you bake it in a large bundt cake pan instead of individual ramekins, and just scoop it out. A bit more casual, granted, so it is what it is. But it's great for a larger crowd (such a nailbiter to unmold a bunch of individual cakes before they overbake), and every bit as rich served this way.

If you'd like the recipe, click to read more.

Cards: Valentine Candy Heart Box Labels (Free Printable)

Audrey had her Valentine's Day party today at preschool, so of course, last night at ten o'clock I set to work. (Mommy is a bit tired.) Believe it or not, I wasn't really that into Valentine's boxes during my school days. I usually did something simple to make a showing but never had an elaborate box. That may change now that I have children because the simple class Valentines for Audrey were surprisingly fun! 

 

I had purchased boxes of Wonka Sweettart Hearts about a week ago because Audrey likes them. Nice how there are so many Valentine options these days, complete with places to write "to" and "from."  Although, I feel a bit sentimental about the Valentines exchanged when I was in grade school--simple paper cards in white envelopes, and if you were really generous, a few conversation hearts stuck inside. It just makes me smile to think about those bulky envelopes and the anticipation of opening one to find which conversation hearts (flirty or friendly?) had been placed there by the sender.

It's all modern now. And egalitarian. It's not really possible to play favorites when asked to bring Valentine's that are simply signed, not addressed. (Too hard for preschoolers to read and deliver the Valentines to the correct recipients--makes sense.) So I wanted to personalize them a bit for Audrey. I thought it would make it more fun. And it did, at least for me! I made more this afternoon to give to family and friends.

So I am sharing my "Treats for the Sweet." The PDF file includes artwork for labels to fit three different sizes of candy heart boxes (two Wonkas and a Brach's) because it seems each store carries a different variety.... I personally happen to love the Necco variety and it's a good thing the two stores I visited didn't carry them because I find it difficult to stop eating them this time of year!

You can download the PDF file here.  Print out on label paper (I used these Avery labels), cut out, affix to the candy heart boxes, and distribute to your sweethearts. Or open the box and eat!

Sewing: Rick Rack Dish Towels

I'm feeling like such the 1950s housewife these days. Home with the kids, shuttling to school and classes, keeping house, cooking (occasionally anyway) and sprucing up the kitchen with some new dish towels! I've wanted to do this rick rack thing since I bought some very similar to this in Christmas colors from Crate & Barrel a few years ago. Such a simple, graphic way to add a bit of color. I think it looks modern and vintage and a little kitsch all at the same time.  And it's an easy way to give a nod to Valentine's Day without adding too much clutter. I need to save room for Valentine drawings made by my two little artists: Audrey and Scarlett.

This project is pretty self-evident (to be honest, the most difficult part was finding plain white dish towels that weren't terry) but I created a little tutorial anyway. So if you'd like to see the step-by-step on making your own rick rack dish towels click to read more.

Sewing: 2008 Christmas Dress becomes 2010 Valentine's Dress

I made this dress for Audrey (and a matching one for Scarlett) for Christmas two years ago with a great green colored ribbon at the back of the neck. Since it still fits I thought it would be cute with bubblegum pink ribbon and these argyle tights from Target for Valentines.

Love this classic dress pattern and the pink and red remind me of one of my favorite outfits when I was a little girl. I think I was in fourth or fifth grade and asked my mother to make me a red velvet suit with a bubblegum pink ruffle collar blouse to go underneath. Pink and red is a great combination.