Is it too late to talk about Valentine's Day??

I know we are almost hours away from the end of February, but I would be slightly remiss to not document all the things I MADE here at MOM West coast for Valentine's Day.  This is usually not my favorite holiday as I kind of think it's a Hallmark holiday invented as another reason for people to buy cards, candies, etc.  Who cares where my lackluster attitude came from, this year I decided to change it.

Copying an idea I found on Pinterest, I found these cute mailboxes at Target in the dollar section.  Then I headed to my local Saver's thrift store, and found 3 mismatched candlesticks all made from different materials (ceramic, wood, glass).  Then I spray painted the candlesticks black and mounted my mailboxes on top. (Sorry, no cool before and after pictures!)

Then I selected, printed out, and assembled 14 days of Valentines for my kids.  

Looking back I should have probably done 14 different ones for my hubby, but I guess we all know what I'll be doing differently next year.  (Don't worry he didn't get forgotten all together!)  If you are interested in finding more Valentine printables and card ideas, you should check out my Valentine's Day Pinterest board.

About a week before Valentine's Day, Annee asked me if I'd seen the Liesl's, from Oliver and S, heart ornament free pattern.  I told her I'd pinned it just a day or two before she texted me.  She told me she was going to try to make one, and I decided I needed to jump on that bandwagon too, so away I went to my scraps.  Hot pink, and apparently pink, are my favorite colors to have in fabric, so I actually had a nice variety on hand of Valentine's Day color fabric.  This project is a simple one, but it is kind of deceptive when it comes to how long it might take you to make these.  I think I did it in a day, but only because Grace ended up being sick, so we were home literally all day.  And I mean, what are you supposed to do when your oldest is sick and you can't leave the house.  Sew!  In the end, the time it took to make these, was totally worth it.  I love my Love Tree and will enjoy pulling it out every year.

Somewhere in the midst of the daily Valentines I packed a bag (we travel light), and headed to my house in the South with my 3 little ones for a much needed vacation.  Since I was so close to Annee in North Carolina, I planned with her husband to pull off the biggest surprise I've ever dreamed up.  It went off flawlessly, and my Sew Sister was totally surprised.  We only had 24 hours together, but that didn't stop us from organizing her patterns, finishing one of her baby quilts, going to dinner, finishing a top quilt and backing, and talking and laughing.  Annee told me I could just show up at her door whenever, and I plan to do it again, but stay longer next time.  And I might just have to repeat the surprise it was so darn fun!

Okay, next up for me is a dress for Grace.  I've got patterns to choose from, I've got fabric staring at me while I sleep, so now I just need to find the energy to get the job done.

Til' I have a dress to share!