A gift of sweetness...

Something Quick and easy..

I was scanning through pics of what I had created last valentines day. I came across these cute little gifts I made for my kids and co-workers. It always makes me feel good to hand make something and give to someone. 

Since my father passed away in July, my counselor who I have been seeing, talked to me about keeping busy this Valentines day. Valentines day has always been a tough one for me. My Daddy suffered from Alzheimer's disease for about 12 years.. It was BRUTAL, to say the least. I was always a Daddy's little girl.. 

Every year on Valentines day my Dad had two Valentine's. Me and my Mom. He would do something special for us every year. Whether it be flowers, jewelry (and boy do i have a collection from him), candy, and always a heartfelt card that really meant a lot! About 4 years ago, Daddy lost his ability to drive. The clue to us was when he got lost going Christmas shopping.. He was gone for 3 hours, had a cell phone (but had forgotten that he had it), couldn't find the store, and had difficulty finding his house he had lived in for over 10+ years to get home. It was horrible. Anyhow, that is when the ability to remember the holiday came. It was extremely hard for me. It just didn't make Valentines the same anymore. My Mr. Wonderful always makes it special, but it wasn't the same. I guess that's because I was used to getting a special Valentine from my Daddy every year. I always made it a point to call him on the morning of the holiday when he got to sick to remember, and remind him to go NOW and tell Mom Happy Valentines, Birthday, etc.... If i was lucky enough to escape the business of my own life, I would drive the 30 min trip (one way) to go get my "valentine hug/kiss" from my daddy... because it meant a lot. I was extremely deflated, but being a Registered Nurse, I know he wasn't doing it on purpose and could grasp the reasons. So to my Mr. Wonderful, I am apologizing to you publicly that my Dad set the BAR pretty High! ;)

I have always made Valentines Special for our kids. Even if its just a special little treat with a cute little tag to let them know we love them so much! Of course, It has to be done cute with a cute tag and/or packaging... because I love to craft. Mr. Wonderful used to always say, "Why do you spend all that time to make it fancy, when they are just going to tear the packaging off and not care". My response was, "They will always remember, and it makes me feel good!". Since then, I secretly think he likes it to!

Last year I purchased those little mailboxes in the Target $1 section. I modge podged cute paper onto them and filled them with treats and a love note on Valentines. I picked paper that they would like or would go with their room decor, in hopes that we would send each other mail. Unfortunately that never stuck... but my wheels keep spinning with that one. So, I went into their rooms and dug them out. I started a treat a day for 7 days before V-day! Today is day three. On our facebook  page (Go to our page and like it! Watch for some giveaways!) I have uploaded horrible quality pics taken with my iPhone to show what I have done. I have also started doing it for Mr. Wonderful. He has gotten a treat on the drivers seat each morning when he has gotten in to go to work! . Thank you to my counselor for encouraging me to make and give. It really is keeping my head up and heart full of LOVE this year. Make the day not as difficult! 

Do you all have any traditions you do in your house? 

Some cheap clear boxes I purchased at Michael's with an old Valentine Stamp set from Stampin' Up I had on hand, as well as the coordinating heart punch!

I covered the Hershey Treasure candies with coordinating scrapbook paper I had purchased from Stampin' Up last year. My distributor is Cindy Peterson! She is amazing! Check out her site Here

A close up of the cello bag! 

Another Version..

I love the trend of wrapping chocolate bars! These are so fun, and there is always so many options you can do. The thousands and thousands of products coming out all the time! 

Something more simple!

I hope you spin-off and create a Valentines to remember! 

XOXO,          Jan