Love is in the air....

Happy Valentine's Day!

click to enlarge photos

i have been a busy little valentine's day bee this week! first we made valentine magnet sets to send to utah. by "we" i mean the kids helped for about 5 minutes each and i did the rest.

i think they turned out really cute and will carry a little valentine love to our cousins, grandmas, and grandpas. the thinking behind this was that the kids can use these to hang their works of art on the fridge with style! it was hard to get a clear photo in my light-less home!

two tins, packed and ready to go, with valentine message enclosed.

here is a tin with the foamies confettii we packed in each tin. sorry utahns, if this is a spoiler!

class valentines. we made 25 of these in just a few minutes. i'm really pleased with how they turned out! i think they are adorable and festive. i will print off labels saying "happy valentine's day! from, Alexander" and stick them on the back. contemplating whether it's worth a trip to staples to get printable labels or whether i should just stick them with glue or double-stick tape.

another shot of the class valentine packets. in case anyone is wondering, all i did was get some mini cellophane bags from michael's (candy-making section, near the sucker sticks), bought some valentine candy in bulk (valentine m&m's, conversation hearts, juju hearts), scooped in a scant 1/4 cup candy, cut paper tops from 12" scrapbook paper (size is 4.25" x 3") -- i used a paper cutter, so it only took a few minutes -- then just folded the bags down, folded each card in half, and stapled in the center. the kids had fun helping with the folding, stapling, and filling bags. they were really easy and look like we put some effort into them, when it was very minimal. i think i will use the candy bag idea again for small gifts and treats.

for valentine's day, i wanted to surprise alan (and treat myself) to a romantic new bedroom restyling. i couldn't wait, so i did it yesterday. here is the BEFORE photo. scroll for the after, my blog program messed up the photo order and i'm too lazy to go back and fix everything!

keep scrolling....

this is a (bad) photo of the throw i received from the mormonchic craft swap i organized. i love it! it's double layers of fleece, so it's extra soft and warm, and i love the embroidery detail on the front. it's chocolate brown with tan on the reverse that matches the embroidery. it arrived yesterday, just as i was putting finishing touches on my new room and it fit in perfectly! i was so excited! (photo of it IN the room and in context are below).

AFTER: (TA-DA!)

i think it turned out really nice! i was worried because i got a bit here and a bit there and i was hoping it would all pull together nicely -- i think it did! the walls in our room are sort of a soft, sage green, but with the new bedding, they look more like a pale aqua, which looks great!

view of the room from the doorway...notice my new and improved chair? yes, it actually WAS black before, but thanks to a few safety pins and a cream-colored twin sheet set, it looks great and coordinates much more with the room. you can also see the throw in action -- since the chair is a make-do fix, i think the throw makes it look much more finished and detracts from the fact that it's just covered in sheets! the funny thing about this is that i didn't even know i HAD cream-colored twin sheets until i happened upon them in a box last week. i have NO IDEA where they came from, but boy was i glad i discovered them!

a closer view of the chair with the throw.

finally, some pictures of me wearing my new favorite piece of jewelry, which is the necklace alan got me for christmas! due to an unfortunate shipping mix-up, it was not in utah for christmas, so i had to wait clear until the 6th of january to recieve it! there is a close up (but not a good one) below.

the necklace is tumbled garnets, which are my birthstone. i love the tumbled rather than the cut, faceted type because they remind me of pomegranate seeds. the center stone is blue topaz, which is sentimental to me, because i wore my mom's blue topaz ring at my wedding for my "something blue". i LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

have yourself a great valentine's day, and kiss someone you love!

xoxox