valentine's gifting :: sewing & bath paints

In case you haven't noticed with all my Valentine posts, one of the goals I set for myself was that the majority of items that made their way into the Valentine mailbox be hand made.  Between knitting, sewing, and crafting I was able to stick pretty closely with my goal!

First off, I made little card holders like the one I did for the Valentine giveaway (and the ones that are available in my shop).  Instead of filling them with postcards, I had some simple photo books done using a gift card I won in December.  These weren't just any old photos, these were photos from our summer family vacation.  It was such a memorable time for all of us, and Joshua and Emma G were so excited to get these!  (Couldn't find Miss Emma's for the sake of the photo shoot!)

Thanks to a little incentive from Six Flags, the kids have been reading lots to each get a free ticket.  360 minutes later they've completed that goal but the reading continues!  I used some leftover mesh from the knitted nesting boxes and sewed them some simple bookmarks.  Of course, you can't give bookmarks without a book, right?  I ordered them each book through their school which means their classroom received a free book!

The last Valentine's sewing project was a simple drawstring bag.  In case you haven't noticed, the red and white fabric piece I found in the As Is section of Ikea was HUGE, so I've been using it for lots of projects.  Back to the drawstring bag, I found a set of 2 Star Wars guys at Target for $3.  One guy usually costs $7, so this was a score.  In keeping with my goal, I made the bag to hold all his guys.  He loves the new addition to his set.

Emma G has really been resistant lately to taking a bath.  I tried to convince her it is fun and all that, but it wasn't working.  I try to be a smart mama, problem solving these things but I was clueless until a friend mentioned that maybe she was bored in the tub.  That was precisely the problem.  Since we've been back, I haven't invested in bathtub toys of any sort.  I decided to make her some bath paints.  I had made these before, but she didn't remember.  When I ran the water for her evening bath, she said, "Now I have something to do in there!"  And I think to myself, "Why didn't I do this sooner..."

Well, that concludes my Valentine's gifting.  My crazy brain is already onto other projects...my birthday boy, and 2 birthday nieces!