“If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.”—Love Actually (2003)

I think Valentine’s Day is the most perfect holiday for crafting!  And I also think handmade valentines are the most perfect craft.  Make them.  Give them for love, like or appreciation.  One thing is for sure: no one will ever say they hate a handmade card…except for that Tiger Mom lady. 

This year I decided my handmade card efforts would be directed toward my coworkers.  You see, I have to brag.  I really like these folks.  We all work in the business of helping people, which sometimes leaves me in admiration of their patience and kindness.  The best part is sometimes they don’t know they’ve done anything at all other than do their job, which is pretty cool.  Since my valentine will be out of town and I will be spending the bulk of my V-Day with them, my coworkers will be receiving the reward of my handmade hard work. 

I knew I wanted to make very traditional cards.  And I, also, knew I wanted to use my “All You Need Is Love” rubber stamp I bought on sale last spring.  It’s one of my favorite Beatles songs and featured in Love Actually, one of my most favorite movies ever.





I thought I had hit the jackpot when I found dark red, heart-shaped cards at Michaels for the amazingly low price of ten for a dollar.  But when I got home and opened them up, I found out they weren’t exactly work appropriate.  Though they came in a clear plastic wrapper, the strip of paper on the front announcing the package’s contents covered an “XO” cutout right in the middle of the card.  It is one thing to remind my coworkers all they need is love, but hugs and kisses are another thing.  I thought at first it would just be a craft challenge to hide the “XO”.  Then I came to my senses and took the two-dollar hit.  (I bought two packages in case I had a crafting stamp disaster.)  I headed back to Michaels a few days later to purchase plain, square, red cards with plain red envelopes.

With a little help from Martha Stewart and her sale on wedding scrapbook stickers, as well as the funky letter stamps I bought on sale a few weeks ago, I ended up with a very simple and traditional Valentine’s Day card.