Kathy's Magic Window: Thrifty Gifty Valentine's Crafts

I have five people so far who have responded to my "Pay-It-Forward 2011" post on Facebook that I owe a handmade item to (although no one has responded on my blog---c'mon folks, get your freebies!), and I have decided that I want to do some kind of different type of craft project for every person. I'm not really super-talented at any one craft, I just kind of dabble in this and that with varying degrees of success. I did decide I wanted to do some seasonal crafts, and with Valentine's Day coming up, it seemed like a good time to make some homemade paper crafts.

Our autism support group is meeting next weekend to make puzzle-piece scarves to sell as a fundraiser for the Spring, so here is what Amanda, one of my "Facebook five," who signed up for a handmade gift, and is also a support group member, is getting:

I made the card using a foam double-heart stamp I got from Dollar Tree, a music note roller stamp by InkaDinkaDoo, and a large hearts and ribbons stamp by Stampcraft. The fragment of sheet music is vintage (and was already falling apart---I promise I didn't tear it up!) The butterfly sticker is a vintage Dennison one (remember those ones your school teacher had that you used to have to lick the back of?) This was part of a wonderful stash of vintage stickers I got for practically nothing at a yard sale when we lived in Virginia. I also used my vintage sign-making kit for the letters (thanks, Suesan, for the tip about using glycerin to try to restore them---I will try that!)

I made the magnets using my computer printer (all in Word.) The one with the paraphrase of Corinthians on it was just using a fancy fonts. On the other one, I used some medieval graphics from retrokat. On the gift bag I used a wooden love stamp, a foam rose stamp, and pink glitter glue from the Dollar Tree. Both the gift bag and the magnets also came from Dollar Tree.

Another little project I worked on with Ian was painting this little wooden Valentine's tree and ornaments I got 40% off at JoAnn Fabrics. I love little seasonal tabletop trees, and have wanted one for Valentine's, but hadn't found one I could afford. When I saw this one I thought Ian would enjoy doing something like this while the weather is too cold to play outside. He didn't want to paint it, though. He has fine motor issues, plus he's a perfectionist, so sometimes if he can't do something really well he doesn't want to do it. So, I painted the tree (I think I have fine motor issues, too---you can see why I'm not a professional artist!), and Ian just colored the ornaments. Can you tell I lived in Mexico as a little girl? I LOVE bright colors! I have never gotten the whole white on white decorating scheme myself, although I suppose I can admire it in theory as much as the next guy.

I keep hoping I am going to get around to doing some crosstitch or other needlework, but between work, and my being so active with the autism group, it's hard to find the time. Someday! :-(