I took part in this year's
Aunt Peaches Valentine Swap - the premise is simple, send a few strangers a handmade Valentine to spread a little bit of crafty love. What could be better? (Click that link, it's neat blog, and she has few enough fucks to give that she called out a reader who failed in their Valentine making. That's my kind of sass!)
I wanted to spread bright, bold, colorful, fun around the world. Not light, fru-fru business. I already had the watercolors out (see my
previous post) so I made colorful backdrops for stitching. I cut out a pile of hearts from a scrap of bold geometric print.
Each card got four hearts stitched on to them. It's remarkably easy to sew on paper, though it has no stretch so I got some bunched fabric. The best part is that the stitches form a nice image on the back of the paper as well.
I used this "blank" side for my writing. The message - The Universe Loves You! - was surrounded by doodles and swirls. I knew all that scribbling in the margins of school papers would come in handy one day...
I happened to have a bundle of Astrobright oversized envelopes, good thing since I didn't consider my card size before I started. (Might be a lesson in there, I'll let you know if I figure it out.) I sent all that love out to the world!
I love the idea of spreading positive thoughts, compassion, and excitement to the world! It's a good practice to remind us of our power, and the importance of caring for others. I might meet the woman who received one of these cards one day, and I would never know that I had already touched her life in a good way. I'd hate to mess that up, so I try to think of every person I see as someone potentially worthy of a Valentine from the Universe.
And of course, the Universe reciprocates! I got a mailbox full of happiness. And yes, that is a flip-flop. Did you know you can mail anything so long as you can glue a stamp to it and read the address? Use that knowledge only for good gentle readers...
Are you making and sending Valentines this year?
Guess what time of year it is?! That's right, time to pray on the romanticized views of romance and force couples to spend money on each other... I mean... uh. Time to celebrate the season of love! Hearts are starting to pop up just about everywhere.
I shy away from making items that are too specific to a holiday. Who wants to own something they only use one month of the year? Fortunately hearts are universal enough that one can carry a heart covered bag without looking "out-of-season".
And it's a great way to explore color groups and have fun with little bits of fabric. I can use even very small pieces so long as they are a good shape! And if anyone ask about the pile of hearts growing on my cutting table, I'm in love with life or something cheesy like that...
