handmade valentine's day

Like I said last week, I'm a big fan of Valentine's day... but I'm also a big fan of handmade.  Combine the two and I'm a super happy camper.  You know what they say... it's from the heart:)

I usually send my nieces a little something for Valentine's day... this typically means a card and some stickers or something like that.  This year I scoured the house to see what I already had on hand.  I found some plain red cards and decided to just stamp a pretty heart on top and emboss it... similar to how I did last year's Christmas gift tags.

Then I used some of my trusty old shipping tags and a few paper scraps to add a little detail to the inside of the card.  It's not much, but I love the little vintage looking valentine paper.  I used a white gel pen to scribble a little note inside and then off they went!

I also wanted to do a little something for the girls in my community group.  I found these adorable little journals at Target the other day... and they were just $3.99 for a pack of 3 journals.

Then I bought these fun bracelets at Urban Outfitters about 2 weeks ago and thought they would be perfect.  Again... always trying to be thrifty... the bracelets were on sale for $5 for a set of 2... not too shabby.  And they are ridiculously cute... some have little hearts on them, and others have little wishbones.  Adorable.

I tied the bracelets to the journals with some fun ribbon and a little bit of raffia and called it a day.  I added a little love note to each gift and included a verse from Jeremiah 31:3... "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."  Very appropriate for Valentine's Day, don't you think?? :)

That was pretty much the extent of my handmade Valentine's Day.  I gave the journals to my community group girls last night and I think they were a success.  Thoughtful, yet inexpensive.  I bought Lance a Valentine's Day gift yesterday too... just a little something, but I think he will like it:)  What about you?  Do you get crafty for Valentine's Day this year?