Jewelry Tree Stand

On top of everything I discussed in Unveiling the Valentine, my Valentine's Day gift was a beautiful, white Jewelry Tree Stand. It was even adorned with jewelry for me. The pictures I took show a mix of jewelry Johnathan got me along with pieces I already owned.

One of my favorite parts about this present was the presentation. The surprise and laughter.  Even moments before receiving my tree stand, Johnathan had me laughing, eyes covered, as he tilted me to the side telling me to watch my head. There's nothing above my head, we're in your room. I laughed. Whoa! Whoa! Duck down! He exclaimed, as he pushed on the back of my shoulder, and bent me over. You're being silly! There's nothing there! I giggled. He uncovered my eyes, and there on his dresser was a veil of bright yellow tissue paper covering my beautiful jewelry tree stand.

This gift is truly fantastic!  

Although I do not have lots of jewelry, what I do have tends to become a tangled, unorganized mess. And I'm getting a little too old to have my jewelry all knotted in a ball, even if it is hidden discretely within a deceptively pretty jewelery box.

At Christmas time my brother, Tony, also gifted me a wonderful jewelry organizer. It's a large jewelry box that hangs on the wall and appears to only be a multi-photo picture frame.  I like to imagine people visiting and admiring my photographs while I alone know that handfuls of rubies and diamonds lye behind each memory. Really there's just some plastic beads and a bit of sterling silver...but they'll never know! ;) I'd love to share it with you, but I'll have to share photos of it another day, since it is back home in WI at the moment.

Jewelry is just one of those things that looks all glamorous until you own it. Once it's tangled and piled under five other necklaces, the glitzy glamor of it quickly fades and you're left standing there wishing you had some new, pretty jewelry to wear.  Whereas, if we could just keep them on display all delicate and dainty, the temptation to wear them would last a lot longer; just like in the store, these tricks will get us every time.

Keep my eye on the sparkles

I'm also guilty of not remembering to wear the jewelry I own. Out of sight out of mind, I suppose. So this little Jewelry Tree will help keep my eyes on the sparkles and remind me to wear what I've been thoughtfully given.

It's also just right because it coordinates perfectly with the poster Johnathan created, tying everything together nicely.  This Jewelry Tree Stand was a sweet gift that helped me get a little more organized, and I just love looking at it!

Unveiling the Valentine

I feel guilty admitting it, but I've had more of a Valentine's Month.  I'm spoiled and I know it. I acknowledge it, and I appreciate it in ways I can't even explain.  My Valentine's Month started in a grocery store parking lot when Johnathan came to the car holding a bouquet of vibrant flowers for me -- no real reason. The first week of February holds no valid significance within our relationship, he just wanted to make me smile, I guess, and it worked.

Well, my flowers died quickly (as flowers tend to do) and I kept postponing their inevitable toss out.  Johnathan even brought it up,  informing me that they were dead and that I should throw them out.  I frowned. I will. Not yet. I know they're limp; they've wilted; they're brown. I just hate the end of a pretty bouquet.

The memory of that bouquet was quickly replaced, though. Two days later, during the second week of February, I received another unexpected bouquet of flowers.  This time they were intoxicating, fragrant Lilies.  I awoke to them, along with a raspberry jelly donut that I had been (verbally) craving for weeks! Johnathan had already left for work and missed my crazed reaction; I was thrilled!

One -- I got my donut! Two -- I have never, ever received flowers two weeks in a row! I wouldn't even fathom it as a possibility!  I just felt...adored.

                                                          

     I am so very lucky.

 I would never ask for these things. I'm not that kind of girl.  If he didn't do these sweet gestures I wouldn't doubt his love; I know he loves me.  Weeks of fading flowers isn't what proves love to me, it's the weeks of unfailing friendship and dedication that does.

The jelly donut on the other hand...I need that. To survive. If it weren't for donuts we probably would have dumped each other a looooong time ago. If you're disappointed in me, I must ask, did you see the photo above!?! ;)

 Don't worry, I don't just take-take-take.  I try my best to be what he deserves too.

As I said in the Can't Buy Me Love post, I don't believe in buying love cards.  Love shouldn't be proclaimed by a Hallmark harper, it should be proclaimed by thee lover. Making your own card also opens up recycling options! Instead of wasting, you're reusing.

So today I'll unveil this years homemade Valentine for Johnathan -- I promised I would!

To accomplish this I cut colorful schnibblets from a local newspaper I had on hand. As I cut them, I kept them in organized color piles so that it wouldn't take too long piecing my seahorse together.  I then drew the seahorse by hand, as you can see I somewhat diverged from my original drawing as I got gluing.  I also made sure to place a few newspaper words within my seahorse, such as "Valentine" and "Love You Easy."

Creating is about getting creative -- there are no rules!

It turned out to be a pretty crazy looking Valentine!  Best part is that this seahorse is an inside joke between Johnathan and I.  As I've said before, linking the crafts you make to the things that hold meaning will always turn out a great success; it's simply more touching and meaningful.  This Valentine took me longer than I thought it would, but it was totally worth it!

The tissue is holding a Lucky Bamboo plant I bought John for his desk...future post! :) And yes, I used my bouquet paper for wrapping gifts. It's pretty!

Did you make a Valentine this year? Perhaps you received a handmade card?  If so, I'd love to see it! Feel free to share a link to your Valentine in the comments section! I always enjoy hearing from you!

Can’t Buy Me Love— Cards

 

In recent years I stopped buying Valentine cards, not only because I wanted to save a tree, but because I find them somewhat odd; you go to the store, pick out someone else’s words, someone else’s artwork and proceed to sign your name to a sheet of paper you just spent $4 (or more) on, while chances are it will be skimmed once and tossed aside tomorrow. Not feelin' the love? Neither am I. Store cards are a waste of creativity, money and meaning.  Whereas, a handcrafted card stands a better chance of being cherished by more than the already spoiled trash. 

This Valentine’s Day, whatever you do, please don’t buy a card!  Make your lover (or the one you like) a sweet little Valentine, with supplies you already have at home. 

 Johnathan and I didn’t get to spend our first Valentine’s Day together, but I still wanted him to know he's damn fine.  So I baked him a huge brownie cake, and then I bravely struggled to make Valentine art... for a professional artist, mind you. I drew about six versions of the caterpillar from Labyrinth, and my first attempt looked more like an alien slug from a low budget sci-fi film. My drawing skills had definitely gone rusty, but I had the determination of infatuation on my side, and the end result turned out just as I had hoped.

  My lil "Ello!" caterpillar is recognizable, don’t ya think?

 And, my Valentine has graced the side of Johnathan’s frig ever since. 

The caterpillar card also started a tradition: I will always make my love his Valentine, because I know it means all that it is meant to.

Last year’s Valentine was a bit more simplistic, Gary from Spongebob was super easy to draw. Like the Labyrinth caterpillar, there was inside meaning between the two of us-- which is another Valentine rule worth following: The card should refer to something from your time together; it adds to the valuable “us” feeling of Valentine’s Day.

This postcard Valentine was made out of leftover cardboard from a soda can box and recycled paper  (I simply doodled my art on the backside of a used sheet of paper and wrapped it around the cardboard). 

I already know what 2011’s Valentine is, but I can’t share that yet. It would ruin the surprise! 
I promise you’ll get to see it…as long as it doesn’t go all sci-fi on me. ;)

“Tell me that you want the kind of things that money just can’t buy”

Make it to your Valentine’s frig hall of fame!

(Ha! Yes Man was even our first movie date...how suiting)

If you make a Valentine, please be sure to comment & share a link/ photo with me! :) Love it!