Belated Valentine Wishes

"Love Bird"

Hand stitched heart and denim die cut bird.

"Love Notes"

Vintage lace and reproduction soap label.

Mail From the Heart

My love notes are all buttoned up,

hand-stitched with love,

and they make my heart sing.

Happy Valentine's Day!
May it be filled with sweet mail and semi-sweet chocolate!

Found & Shared: Vintage Valentine

I couldn't resist this lovely vintage Valentine, slightly used, from Creative Reuse. I sent it down under to someone special who posted about her vintage Valentine project the very day I found this card. I think the girl on the card bears a resemblance to that sweet someone!

(Looking at the card again got me thinking: I don't think I have ever dropped anything heart-shaped directly in the mail! I should give it a try!)

My Lumpy Valentines

Ah, my lumpy Valentines. Look at those huge buttons and wooden hearts. I have to add some of my vintage 20-cent Love stamps to the new ones to cover the extra weight and bulk. I was thrilled to see the new Love stamps featured on one of my favorite design blogs, Felt & Wire.

These were the first few cards I made this year. They will finally go into the mail tomorrow, carrying my love and warm wishes through the post to family and friends, far and near.

I ended up making 22 designed Valentine cards, usually in a series of four (some lumpier than these!) as well as 18 packets of papery goodness to share. Many will travel to family and friends who don't often write back. I'm hoping the packets will encourage some of them to share the mail love, not necessarily with me, but with anyone they know who might benefit from a little something special in their mailbox.

My papery packets included a puzzle purse I learned to fold at LancasterHistory.org while I was visiting with them and their patrons on First Friday to promote the Lancaster County stamp. You can view their Love Letters exhibit online. The puzzle purse was also mentioned over on Red Letter Day. Be warned, once you start folding, you may not be able to stop!

While you are preparing your love letters for the mail, you could give a listen to this lovely interview with the talented Donovan Beeson of Letter Writers Alliance and the INtangible blog fame. Enjoy!

Fly Away with Me CPS 249

For some reason, I thought I might keep working on winter holiday cards; you know, get a head start for next year while I still have all the supplies at hand. My, do I have a lot of supplies for Christmas cards. When I cleaned it all up, I needed one of my old suitcases in order to store everything together (and I haven't tried to close it yet.)

Front of card, CPS 249

But alas, I remembered I had one more new Tim Holtz Sizzix die to try, the winged heart. I was saving it for Valentine cards. So, I've let go of Christmas (though I'll listen to the music a few more days) and I made a few Valentines. I used a simple sketch from Card Positioning Systems (#249) and went wild with glitter, vintage lace, buttons (French glass) and postage stamps. The paper is 7gypsies "Lille" and Papertrey cardstock on a PaperSource Luxe card. So many lovely bits collected and brought together on this card!

Interior of above card

I did some machine sewing around the edges, a straight stitch with zigzag accents. I had a few comments on a previous post where I mentioned machine stitching, and I am embarrassed to say I have yet to answer the questions, so I'll do that now!

I have a sturdy old Singer machine, Model 401A, that I use for all my sewing (fabric or paper.) I use a ball point needle when sewing on paper to avoid dulling sharps. (Ball points are normally used for sewing knit fabric, something my machine refuses to do.) Sometimes thread tension can be a problem, so I recommend sewing on a scrap of paper and then adjusting before sewing the final project. Longer stitch length will make fewer holes and therefore create less chance of tearing the paper. You can use an unthreaded machine to create perforations, if that's what you're trying to achieve. I have mailed postcards with machine stitching naked (without an envelope) and they seem to travel well. If I add buttons, the cards always go into envelopes. Better for the cards, better for the postal machines!

Happy crafting!

Indulging Postal Passions

Happy Valentine's Day!