What Valentines Day Means to Me

I love Valentines Day! I love that ~ in the midst of the darkness and chill of winter, a day is set aside for love.
For flowers.
For showing affection.
A day for love.
As a young girl, Valentines Day was special. My Mom found something, albeit small, to gift to my brother and I to remind us of her love. That is after all what Moms do, and my Mom was great at this kind of thing. It was also in February that I usually caught the flu and would miss my classroom Valentines day party. The parties where crayon decorated brown paper bags were made into mailboxes with white scalloped doilies and taped to the side of your desk to hold Valentines from classmates. Where the Room Mothers brought in cupcakes and punch and math class was halted.
Valentines. The small envelopes, some pink, some red, some white got deposited into your bag. Some with stickers on the back. Each with your name on the front.
Tucked inside, the small illustrated cards bought in cellophane packs at the supermarket the night before and hurriedly signed by the obligatory classmate. Then every now and then you'd find one that said "Guess who?"..... a mystery that made your day...needing to be observed more closely later that night in the privacy of your bedroom.

Now I have a new appreciation for this holiday of red and pink. I love seeing these colors come to stores after the reds and greens of Christmas disappear. It's in the February that I generally feel the full thrust of winters' cold. When flowers are not blooming and an assorted sense of cabin fever and general malaise sets in. The winter holidays are over, the anticipation of spring beginning. A feeling that things to come are not quite here yet.

Anticipation.

Love that was.
Love that is
Love that can never be.
Love that never dies.

The most beautiful of all four letter words.
A verb that magnifies our lives.
Because if love is not put into action, it's merely an adjective to describe.
Love must be put in action to become fully alive!

That's what Valentines Day means to me.

With love,
Patricia

Valentines Boxes are Showing up at TattooDreams!

I have to be honest. Valentines Day is my favorite holiday of the year! It arrives in the dark cold of winter. The stores have fragrant flowers blooming and the color combo of red and pink decorations dazzle the palette! It was a holiday, that, as a child, my Mom made special. She usually served as a 'Room Mother' for my brother or I and that meant cupcakes were made and brought to school. Usually a small token of her love for us meant a little gift wrapped in special paper. My Mom loved detail and making small things fun and us feel special. She never missed the opportunity to hug us and let us know we were a gift to her. Some things are hard to forget.
In these last few frozen days, I've taken to my studio to create some fun Valentines Day boxes. They're slowly being posted to my etsy site and available right away - and free shipping is my gift to you!
This handmade cherry box measures 8" wide and 3 3/4" deep and 7 high. The top opens by way of a wooden lift off lid with a red knob and co-ordinating red feet with sweeping pink fringe. The bottom is lined in sultry jet black velvet. It will hold anything you wish to tuck inside - or nothing at all!
Stamped with a wide array of all things Valentine from my vast collection of rubber stamps. All boxes are finished in a protective clear coat and the images will not fade.

Every piece a one of a kind! If you like it, buy it!

My boxes are quietly making their way into esteemed collections around the world. They are handmade by my husband Jon in our Bloomington Indiana studio and finely crafted. He builds, I stamp. These are not flimsy boxes purchased and decorated from a craft store.

Patricia