My friend just had surgery and I wanted to give her something nice to look at during her recovery.  I love looking at the Heart Strings I made and so decided to try making them for her as a mobile.

I found a large wooden embroidery hoop at Joann and used it as the structure to which I attached the heart strings.

I was working on it at my parents house and found the lamp shade on a floor lamp was a good base to work on.  I set the wooden hoop on top of the lamp shade and tied the strings around it letting them hang down.  Later I hung it over their dining room table.

I knotted the strings to the hoop and dabbed glue on the knots after trimming off the end of the string. More strings tied to the hoop were used to hang the mobile, pulled together into a knot at the top.  To be honest, it didn’t hang perfectly even but I was satisfied with it.

I took it to my friend and she was delighted with it.  She said it cheers her up.  Her husband hung it right in front of a mirror so she gets to see it twice. As we visited, the hearts moved in a slight breeze from her open window, twisting and fluttering.

Speedy recovery to you, Princess!

Thanks for stopping by.

Last February I wrote a post about the tradition my boyfriend and I have of crafting a special Valentine item for each other. It is our Art from the Heart and this year we did it again.  There was some talk about discontinuing the practice or taking a break but we both came up with something wonderful.

I used a heart-shaped map idea after a card I saw on Pinterest.  I found a wooden heart at Michael’s, printed out a map of the world and decoupaged the map to the heart. I crafted a small banner proclaiming “You Mean the World to Me”, added a tiny heart sticker showing where we live and it was done. One of the easier projects I’ve done, and with a high satisfaction ratio.

Rem said he likes the Heart Map because he has traveled a lot and likes geography – he called it a perfect fit!  I gave him a bracelet for Christmas that has the longitude and latitude of our home and this goes hand in hand with that idea.

Several years ago Rem found the heart-shaped container that he used in this project.  He’s not even sure where he got it.  He wanted to fill it with hearts punched out of aluminum but the thin sheets of aluminum he had in mind were no longer available at Michael’s.  He looked around and found small bags of metallic confetti in the shape of x’s and o’s or hugs and kisses.

The container, a plump, plastic heart with a red base and clear top was stuffed full of the confetti, 70 hearts that he punched out of pink paper and 14 silver hearts punched from the one remaining aluminum sheet he’d been saving.  The 14 silver hearts represent February 14th. The 70 pink ones?  He punched until he had a big pile and called it done!

Rem said he was lacking inspiration this year and decided it was time to use this cute container.  The biggest challenge was figuring out what to fill the heart with.

It reminds me of a cartoon heart when you see a character falling in love and a heart shape thumps forward out of their chest.  It is packed full of hearts, hugs and kisses and looks like a celebration waiting to happen. I love it!

These two sweet hearts, marked on the back with the year, will be installed in our little Art from the Heart galleries, the walls of our bedroom, with mine to him on his side of the bed and his to me on my side.

The heart at the beginning of the post is from the tree trunk Valentine I made for Rem last year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rem and I are wearing our heart-print pajama pants from Old Navy and fleece slippers from LL Bean.  We’re on the bed and we each have a laptop (one MacBook Pro and one Toshiba).

We’ve exchanged our Valentine’s – I’ll takes some pictures and put them up in the next few days.

He’s watching a video and I’m learning how to say “I love you” in 100 different languages.

It’s a very low-key and relaxed evening.

We’re going to have dessert in a little while.

I made four little Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes last night.  Rem made vanilla ice cream.   It’s really an incredible combination.  The recipe suggested freshly made whipped cream (we have that too) but the contrast of the warm chocolate and the cold ice cream was just delicious.

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert was a good reason to have Ruby Red grapefruit and an egg white, mushroom and arugula scramble for breakfast.

Rwy’n dy garu. (That’s Welsh).

Here is a really cute little Valentine that is a combination of three recent projects.  It also highlights how helpful it is to have the right tools for your job: I used my paper trimmer, two sizes of heart-shaped punches, two kinds of adhesive, and a stapler.

Start with little cards like these in Itty Bitty Cards.  I have a Fiskars paper trimmer and I use it all the time.  These little cards are 6.5 inches (score and fold at 3.25 inch mark) by 2 1/8 inches. I’ve got little envelopes that they will fit in.  Of course any I want to mail will have to go into larger envelopes.  But putting the small envelope inside a larger envelope is an option.

Cut a mat out of colored card stock to layer on the front of the card, in this case, the blue piece,  (but don’t glue it on yet).  These are 2.5 inches by 1 7/8 inches.

Add hearts punched from vintage sheet music like the ones in Heart Strings.  My large heart punch makes a heart that is about 1 5/8  inches across.  Because the paper is fragile I use a glue pen or glue stick for adhering the heart to the mat.  My go-to Tombo double-sided adhesive would just tear the sheet music.

Next comes two smaller, layered, hearts punched from pretty paper.  This smaller heart is about 1 1/8 inch across.

Glue one small heart onto the larger sheet music heart (this is where I use my Tombo adhesive).

Now score and fold the second, matching heart in half and staple it on top of the first one like on the Fluttering Hearts Valentine Cards.

Finally adhere the mat with the hearts on to the front of your little card.

Finish up with your initials or signature on the back of the card and a greeting on the inside.

I usually do these in batches so I cut a bunch of cards, then cut a bunch of the mats, then punch hearts, etc. and assemble.

The best part?  Giving the cards out.

Thank you for coming on by.

When I first saw fat crayon hearts on Pinterest I pinned them to my “I Love This” board.  I love heart-shaped things (if you haven’t noticed yet) and these colorful, chubby hearts got my attention. I finally got around to making them just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Some of you may have broken old  crayons but I had to stock up.  I mentioned my shopping trip to The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse in this post and I picked up a whole bunch of crayons there.  I used some of the crayons in this post.

I sliced the paper wrappers and peeled them off the crayons. 

Update: Most of the crayons I used were Crayola, but some were other brands.  I’ve noticed that a few of the crayon hearts have places that don’t draw as well – they seem to have less pigment. I suspect it was the other crayons and I recommend sticking with Crayola or other quality crayons.

For awhile I just reveled in this wealth of crayon color.

Then I chopped them up.  I tried breaking them into pieces.  First with my fingers than in a plastic bag with a rolling pin.  But chopping worked out better.

For my molds I used heart-shaped ice cube trays from IKEA.  I sprayed them with non-stick spray.  I’ve seen Joann, Michael’s and Target all mentioned as good places to look for heart-shaped silicone molds.  The ones I used, as I mentioned, were not made for going in the oven, but they worked out fine for me.

Set the oven at 250 degrees.  Fill the molds with the bits of crayon.  I like them sorted by color family.

Set the mold on a baking sheet – I covered it with foil to guard against melted crayon.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until fully melted.  Different colors seemed to melt at different rates.

This was from a different batch…it was almost done but needed another minute or two.

Once they’re done, let them cool completely before popping them out of the molds.  They can be done in different shapes (mini muffin tins, for example) but the hearts are so darn cute!

If you want to give them as gifts they look great in small cellophane bags, tied with a bow.

I am giving them as Valentines so I decided to stick them on paint chips as a background. I used Zots clear adhesive dots (an old package – I think the label is different now), two on the back of each crayon heart, to stick the heart to a paint chip. If your hearts have a nice, flat bottom, you can probably do it with just one.

Here is a tip if you haven’t used adhesive dots before: press the item on to the adhesive dot, then peel it off the backing.  Don’t try and peel the dot off and put it on your item. It will just get gummed up on your fingers and annoy you.

I really liked the idea of the colors in the crayon and the the color names on the paint chips.  I cut the standard paint chip strips into two-color blocks.  I also found some really wide paint chips and cut those into heart shapes.

I used Sharpies to write my greeting: “Wishing you a colorful Valentine’s Day!“  For a few of them I wrote “Valentine – You color my life!“

I put the  finished Valentines  into cellophane bags.

Using more paint chips, I punched hearts for tags  and stuck the tags to the to the back of each package with Valentine stickers.

Don’t you love the color names?

I signed the back of the tags since my packaging is clear and each heart tag shows through to the front of the bag.  Choosing different colors for the Valentine and for the tag made each package more colorful.

Front:

Back:

A box left from Christmas was just the right size for holding the Valentines and I had fun decorating it with stickers.

I’ve accumulated quite a bit of heart-shaped embellishments over the years and what better time to use them?

Thanks for the stopping by.

Rem and I enjoyed an overnight in Calistoga a few weeks ago.  We didn’t go for any mud baths or other spa treatments and we’re not really much into wine but it was a lovely getaway.

We started with lunch at solbar, the restaurant at Solage, an upscale resort and spa.  My friend’s son is one of the chef’s and her mention on Facebook got me interested.

It looked like a lovely place to stay – each studio comes with a pair of cruiser bikes to use while staying there.  They also welcome canine companions (for a fee, of course) and it was fun seeing a few of the dogs at the resort.

There was beautiful landscaping, fountains, sculptures, bocce courts, and a huge swimming pool.  This water feature had a mini fire pit  in the center.

But what we really came for was steak frites: Seared flatiron steak, salt and pepper fries, beurre colbert and a bibb lettuce salad.  Although they are serving brunch on Sunday at that time,  I’d called ahead and asked if we could have the steak frites and gotten the ok from the chef (THE chef, not my friend’s son).

It would have been really incredible but for one detail: the fries were not piping hot.  But the steak and sauce were amazing and the salad (not pictured) was perfect.  It was worth the drive.

We continued our day with a visit Castello di Amorosa, a 13th century, 107 room, Tuscan style Castle and Winery.  There is an entrance fee and again, we felt it was worth it.

I had read the history of the building before our visit.  The owner had a passion and spent years bringing it to fruition.  Stones were collected from ruined castles in Europe and iron workers made every hinge, nail, lamp and lock.

We didn’t take the guided tour (for another fee) so missed out on the dungeon, armory, torture chamber and other details but enjoyed plenty in the rooms we were allowed to visit, including a beautiful little chapel.

We also saw the ramparts, courtyard and Great Hall.

The wine tastings take place in the arched wine caves.  I actually tasted wine (not generally  my thing) because I figured it was the right place and right time.  I still don’t like it but we did a chocolate pairing and that made it interesting.

We met some locals as we were leaving.

It was time to check in to our B&B, the Pink Mansion.

It wasn’t a recreated 13th Century Tuscan castle but it was quite nice with lots of character.  Our bathroom had a claw footed tub and there was a hot tub outdoors that we enjoyed under the stars.

I got up early on Monday morning and had a brisk walk though downtown Calistoga, starting before the sun was up. In fact, I came across a labyrinth in a dirt lot and was walking it as the sun peeked over the hills.  Further down the road I saw an owl fly by.  It was a wonderful start to my day.

Back at the Pink Mansion we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and packed up.  We had some geocaching on our agenda. As it says on the site linked here:

Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online.

We found a cache here in front of the Calistoga Mineral Water company in the vicinity of this rusty truck sculpture.

We logged about 5 caches that day.  Another one was at the CIA.

We stopped to look at another winery as we headed homeward, not for the wine but for the building.  Opus One Winery is visible from the road and has always interested me.  Rem went in to inquire about tours and we learned the reservation only tours were $55 per person.  The wine may be fantastic (though probably wasted on my palate) but they were closed.

Goodbye to the Napa Valley for now.  We will be back before too long.

Thanks for your visit.

I saw a flyer like this on Jean Steel’s Facebook page, Happy People Win Jean Steel.  After doing a little search, I found another Facebook page called Take What You Need Project. I really loved the idea and decided to make a handful of flyers and post them around the campus where I work.

It’s pretty simple: Make a sign.  Put it up. Take a photo. Go back later and take more photos. Share.

I made the Take What You Need part on my computer, printed it out and then wrote the needs along the bottom with a big Sharpie. I cut the bottom into strips for easy tearing off.  Then I took a walk and posted flyers in different places.

I like how this one looks amongst the other flyers. This kiosk has layers and layers of flyers.

This one is on an indoor office window.

I put one up on an outdoor column and when I came out of the building 15 minutes later, I found someone had already taken one of the needs!

They took what they needed: Love.

It is in a high-traffic spot.  I went back later in the day and more needs had been taken.

I was delighted to find people had been taking the things they needed!

Another location was getting some attention.  Someone had taken Faith and Hope.

This morning I went back to the popular one.

Everything was taken!  I’ll put up a replacement tomorrow.

I will be looking for new places to post flyers off campus.  Maybe on a telephone pole near my apartment .  I’m also trying to decide which needs to include, so I’m switching them around a bit.

I’ve made some special additions of the flyers for Valentine’s Day with hearts on pink paper.  I’ll put a batch of those up some time next week.

All the needs are Love.  Love is all you need.

Take what you need.  Share what you have.

Update:  I saw this note on one of the flyers.  It made me smile.

Thanks for stopping by.

My friend Eileen received this awesome Valentine from her husband, Dan, a few years ago.  It is a heart-shaped box made of vinyl.

Did I mention that Dan made it himself?  He does custom car upholstery and he created this wonderful see-through box out of vinyl, piped in red, complete with zippers.  I love it!  It even has little locks on it.

The card inside is pretty adorable too.  A picture of a dog with the caption: “I know I’m just a mutt. Could I be yours?”  Awww.

Dan: I salute your creativity and craftsmanship!

Even their kitty, Jakey, admired the work that went into this Valentine.

Let your creativity shine!

Thanks for stopping by.

I’m terrible.  The last thing I need is more craft supplies.  But I saw these two tubs of little mini stamps at Joann and I couldn’t resist!

Each tub has 18 rubber stamps and a small stamp pad.  The stamp pad is pigment ink which isn’t my favorite – it is more painty than water-based dye ink and slower to dry.  But no worries, I have plenty of other stamp pads.  Plus loads of colored markers for coloring in these little images.

The stamps are only about 3/4 of an inch by 1 inch and the designs are sweet and whimsical.  “Hoppy Birthday” and “Bee Happy” are just two phrases that come to mind.

We just had Jean Steel, a wonderful speaker, as a guest presenter on the campus where I work and she spoke engagingly about choosing your attitude, having more fun, etc.  I went into the program with a bit of an eye-rolling skepticism but she won me over with her humor, personal stories, and her extremely positive attitude. Some of the things that really stood out for me during Jean’s speech  and ideas that I am working on including in my life are:

• I choose my attitude – my attitude doesn’t have to match my circumstances
• Share my gratitude (like with itty bitty cards)
• Practice positive self-talk and affirmations (ooh, boy, I need to do more of this)
• Keep flowers and/or plants on my desk or in my office
• Offer assistance
• Ask for help
• Be respectful
• Create kindness rituals (I love this idea)
• Maintain a sense of humor
• Practice self-care
• Accept, value & appreciate differences

I decided these cute stamps would be perfect for making adorable mini-cards for my co-workers. Maybe I am just adept at finding the right reason for buying new crafting goodies, but  I have already cranked out a batch of cards and shared them with people at work to let them know I think they’re wonderful. I’m planning on keeping some of the stamps in my desk and I’m looking forward to making and sharing another bunch of cards.

It’s fun and fast making little cards.  I have some small envelopes and I measured card stock to fit inside.  It’s a great way to use up odds and ends of paper.

Did I mention fun?  They’re fun to make and from the feedback I’ve received they’re fun to receive.  I try not to underestimate how one small card might be just the thing to lift a friend’s spirits or give someone a smile.  I always benefit from some crafting time (or craft therapy as I like to call it) so it is really a win-win situation.

Thank you, Jean, for your wonderful presentation.

Thanks you, readers, for the visit – you’re awesome!

I’m in love with these strings of paper hearts.  Instead of a horizontal garland, these hang vertically with individual hearts twisting and turning gently at the slightest breeze.  They’re another use for pages from old books and sheet music (see here for a past project using vintage paper) and because they aren’t red or pink or too frilly and flowery, they don’t shout Valentine’s Day.  Which in my case means these beautiful heart strings will be hanging over my couch past that holiday.

What I really love about these heart strings is the story that goes with them.  My mom, seeing that I used some vintage sheet music in a previous post (the Punched Heart Garland, linked above) asked if I would like some of the pretty, old sheet music she had.  I said yes, but only if it was ok to use it in craft projects.  She said it was fine – better to have it put to some use.  She rummaged around and brought out a stack of old sheet music, most of which had belonged to her mother.

When my mother’s mom, Norma Williams, was about 15 years old, she moved with her family to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She started taking piano and organ lessons from the organist at the Presbyterian church. She also worked in a music store for a time and when someone wanted to hear what a certain piece of sheet music sounded like, she would play it for them.  She was an accompanist for vocal soloists and other instrumentalists.  The stack of music my mother gave me included pieces for voice and violin.  “Norma Williams” is written in careful script on the top corner of each piece.

After a time she became the assistant to the church organist.  Norma Williams married the pastor’s son, Hugh P. Cooper. When they married in 1924, the choir gave them a clock as a wedding present. Eventually the organist moved away and my grandmother took over the position.  The name of the organist?  Jennie Stevens Faw – my great-grandmother on my father’s side!

I love that our families had this connection before my parents were even born.  I have an image of the invisible strings connecting all of us together.  My parents, Nancy Cooper and David Faw, were married in 1954, in the same church as her parents. The clock given to my maternal grandparents as a wedding present, sits on my parents’ china cabinet.

Now back to the crafting: this is another project that I saw on Pinterest and one that was stitched up on a sewing machine.  Since I still don’t count sewing as one of my strengths, I did this with vintage paper, double-sided tape and Baker’s twine and I’m very happy with how it turned out.  If you’d like to try the sewing version, please go here, to Dottie Angel, a very cool spot that tells about the peachy crafty life of Tif Fussell, the person from whom I adapted this project.

Heart String

Supplies:

Vintage Paper such as old sheet music

Colorful Covers from Old Sheet Music

Decorative Paper

Double-Sided Tape (I used Scotch brand permanent double-sided tape)

Glue Stick

Bakers Twine or other string

Scissors

Pencil (optional, to trace heart shapes)

Scrap Card Stock (optional, to cut out and use as heart templates)

Large Heart Shaped Punch (optional for punching out heart shapes instead of cutting)

Directions:

Either freehand or using a template, cut various sizes of hearts from vintage paper.  Cut them in two’s because you use pairs of hearts stuck together with the string in between. For every 6 or 8 hearts that are black type on paper, cut some from the pretty artwork on the covers of the sheet music or from other colorful decorative paper.

I make some strings from all the same size and some I mix up. Get a length of string and a stack of hearts.  Decide which surface of paper for each heart will be facing outward.

Stick a piece of tape down the center of one of a pair of paper hearts.   Put a few pieces of tape near the top of the curved parts of the heart or use a glue stick  for getting around the edges.

Lay the string over the tape down the center of the heart and press the string into the tape. Put another piece of tape over the string.

Lay the second (same sized) heart on the tape (or tape and glue) and press to adhere the paper hearts together with the string inside.

Intersperse a colorful heart or two in between all the black and cream hearts created from the vintage sheet music  or other vintage paper.  The sheet music front and back covers are good sources for pretty paper and interesting graphics.

Repeat until you have a lovely string of hearts.   Tie a little loop at the end of the string.

Tape the string up and make some more heart strings.  I like to lie on the couch under my heart strings and blow and watch the hearts spin gently.

Thank you for stopping by.