xoxo

When it comes to holiday decorations, I like to keep things simple and inexpensive. This year, per my son's request, I wanted to put up something for Valentine's Day before the big day arrived (typically I only decorate right on V-day). I decided to put my 2009 Snow & Graham calendar to use and die-cut hearts for a simple banner. I can never bring myself to throw away those calendars...they are so lovely (last year I made these). I put a needle and thread through the hearts and tied them to these itty bitty hooks screwed into the base of our mantle. Total cost: $1.37 (the cost of using the scrapbooking store's die-cut machine).

Next up: handmade valentines with the kiddos. Since their attention span for crafts tends to be around an hour, making 25 Valentines seemed a little daunting for a young child. So I decided to purchase these French-inspired cuties for classmates and then help them make 5-10 Valentines for out-of-state relatives. It felt like the right balance and made for a fun, stress-free activity together. Sometimes having realistic expectations is half the battle :)

And last: "grownup" Valentines I made alongside my children. Last year when flea-marketing with Rachel in Paris, I found a stack of miniature vintage French playing cards for sale. After negotiating with the vendor for 10 or 15 minutes, he finally gave them to me for a decent price. I wasn't sure what to do with them until I spotted this tear in my inspiration binder. Playing-Card Valentines? Perfect. Especially since I already had a couple of glassine envelopes on hand (I'm all about trying to use up what I have to avoid unnecessary purchases).


























































Two other simple favorites that I'm head-over-heels for....1. these brownie bags and 2. these miniature candy boxes. Both are not-to-be-missed and definitely worthy of a bookmark!