valentine's day packages o' love

inspired by pinterest, here's a super easy valentine's day craft that is fun for kids and, let's be honest, adults too.

to start, cut out various sized hearts from kraft paper. be sure to fold the paper so that it's doubled-up & each heart has a front & back. decorate them with sweet messages & designs. I also think they look pretty just leaving them undecorated. 

sew around the edges, leaving a hole for stuffing. don't have a sewing machine? you can do this by hand with a needle & thread, making the stitches a lot longer. or seal using some fun washi tape on the sides. or heck, take a sharpie and color the top of some staples & then just staple around the edges. whatever works. 

now the fun part. fill with treats: candy kisses, lollipops, confetti, lip gloss, hamburger erasers... you know, normal stuff.

 stitch back over the opening so that it's secure.

pass these "packages o' love" out & watch your friends rip into them with joy & excitement. 


ps- what I made for robert last year for valentine's day. 

card catalog of love

although we aren't huge valentine people (we like to say we celebrate love every day of the year!), I wanted to do something sweet for my adorable husband for valentine's day. I saw this amazing diy project here & copied it, making dewey decimal catalog cards to document memories that we've celebrated each year.

I just used the card catalog number as the date, the book title as the name of our memory and the publisher as the location of the event. I printed them all out on cream card stock & put them into this box that I picked up an antique booth. I plan on adding new cards to the box every year, so many moons from now, we'll be able to look back and reminisce on our "chapters of love".

a dress into goodie bags

I used to really like this heart-printed dress, but it has a big coffee stain on the front that won't come out. so I cut it up & made little draw-string goodie bags for two of my favorite kiddos on valentine's day.

birthday party goodies

I mailed my good friend kristin a goodie box of stuff I put together for her 29th italian-themed birthday party in manhattan last week.  the template for these mustache straws came from the paper + craft book I got for christmas. and of course my first sewing project, the bunting (although I have to say I hope she didn't hang it on the door like that! sheesh!).

{photos by ty mecham}

baby blanket

I worked on my second sewing project this weekend, making a baby blanket for my friend holly's baby boy. thanks to this super helpful sewing tutorial on sewing minky (that soft, nubby, baby blanket material), it was actually pretty simple. in the time it took me to watch "garden state" & an episode of "it's always sunny in philadelphia", I made this sweet little blanket. I'm feeling pretty good about this whole sewing thing (knock on wood!).

my new friend

I just received the best gift ever... a sewing machine! given to me by a mother who solely glue-gunned our dance costumes for 15-straight years. yup, I am determined to learn how to sew. even after failing my joanns beginner sewing class (maybe I shouldn't mention that they were forced to offer an extra class for the "special people" who couldn't finish their project in the allotted month).

well take this, joanns! I made this bunting all by myself. ok so it's probably the easiest thing ever to sew. but  for me, it was a great start. I love my new machine! thanks, marmie!