more valentine love

I made a quick trip to the grocery today and couldn't believe all the craziness! Maybe I've avoided big stores on Valentine's Day in the past (after an exhausting day in a classroom full of sugared-up eight year olds, shopping is not usually in the picture), but today seemed worse than Thanksgiving or Christmas prep. Flowers and chocolates were everywhere -- including a giant flower display next to the beer section that made me laugh. The place was packed. I gave in and bought some heart-shaped sugar cookies, which was funny in that I used to force these upon people just to get all the sugar out of my classroom.

Anyway, I promised more valentines. This is one of the little pillows I made as part of a set. It's just heart-shaped pieces of felt embroidered and sewn together. Each heart is sewn in a different way. I realized too late that I didn't have batting at the house so I just used cotton balls, which turned out great. Apparently the cheap cotton balls I use are just pieces of cotton rolled up into a ball. When you undo them they are a lot like rolled batting. Perfect for this project.

I also promised I'd share some of my favorites from elsewhere in blog-land. If I had thought ahead I might have been passing these ideas along sooner -- sorry. I love this message in a bottle idea from Derek & Lauren's DIY Wednesdays at Design*Sponge -- I'll definitely use this for something in the future. These mitten cards over at Two Straight Lines are adorable -- the perfect teacher valentine. Orange Beautiful's valentine boxes are great for candy or other tiny treats. They remind me of something similar I used to make with the kiddos. But it's the Glittergoods post about gocco valentines that was my favorite. I'd love to start working with printing, but I promised myself I'd finish several other projects before diving into something new. *sigh* Maybe this summer?

Happy Heart Day everyone!