As an individual, I don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day traditionally. But as a crafter, I simply can’t avoid it. It is a holiday ripe with creative possibility! And, I’m a bit of a sap, so one small gesture per year is allowed.

If you are in need a last minute Valentine for the significant other in your life, this one packs a big punch. Last year, I made a numbered list of each day that I had known Michael. I know, it sounds daunting, but with auto-type on Word, it’s super easy. I figured out important dates (like when we were in Argentina, I wrote in Spanish) and described them accordingly. To make it easier on myself, I often copied the same sentence over and over to complete the list. I rolled the scroll and tied it with twine.

So for this Valentine, you just have to have patience and math skills.

(Love to you all.)

   

I saw this amazing cabinet over on Joglosmart Furniture Design and it got me thinking of how inventive we can be with skyscrapers.

Goody bag display painted in the form of a cityscape from the May 2009 issue of Parents magazine.

Adorable skyscraper family Halloween costume from Martha Stewart.

February may seem to be a strange time to blog about wreaths, but lately I’ve become a big fan. Having grown up in a home where we didn’t celebrate Christmas, wreathes were the equivalent to having a tinseled, lit tree in your living room. But today I’m declaring that stigma over. For good. These delightful examples prove my point…

This beautifully crafted wreath would be amazing on the door at an intimate wedding. Felt flower winter wreath from The Purl Bee.

The color choices here are phenom. Felted ball wreath from Pickles.

Paper Wreaths by Haru, via Craftzine.

Paper circle wreath from Crafty Stylish.

Tie Wreath from Good Housekeeping.

Nature wreath from Parents magazine.

Birthday cakes are meant to do 3 things.

1. Taste good.
2. Look good.
3. Hold candles.
4. Excite eaters.

This cake does all of the above. (I assume it tastes good…how could it not?). It reminds me of the cake I made for my husband’s birthday last year with our nieces and nephew that I found here. But let’s be honest, it’s way better.

  

Other rainbow cakes, in case these weren’t delightful enough…

From Incredible Things.

If cake’s not your thing, try this from Tarehna.

And lastly, for individual rainbow love, cupcakes from Baking Bites.

  

For our rehearsal dinner at The Piggy Bank in Beacon, New York, my husband designed these place mats. He divided the heart like a meat cut chart with each section labeled with something about us. We couldn’t find pre-cut kraft place mats, so we bought sheets and cut them individually with a rotary cutter outfitted with a scallop blade. These were silk screened by local Brooklyn artist, Philip Sachs.

Perfect material for tags. From left to right: The Paper Addict ($5.75 for 50 tags); Scrap of Mine ($1.75 for 30); Anna Ruby King ($5.50 for 10 tags)

Book City Jackets (Bookshelf set, $11)

  

Perfect for table covering: Kid’s holiday table cloth, complete with crayons. Instead of place cards, write your guests name in the center of a red wine stain. Genius.