Valentine’s day LOVE tiles- A Fun Tutorial

These scrabble love tiles are a great DIY Valentine’s day project. It’s also a great way to upcycle those “extra” scrabble tiles. These tiles can be used for anything. You can make one as a pendant for a necklace, attach one to a scrapbook or attach one to a Valentine’s day card for a little pop!

You can use any small photo for these tiles. For my love tiles, I used some old thumbprints of photos. You know, the kind that you get from Target, Walmart or Costco when you order photos. They fit perfectly on the scrabble tiles!

For this project,  you will need:

-Scrabble tiles
-thumbprint photos
-modpodge
-acrylic sealer (optional)
-scissors or square paper cutter
-decorative stickers or paper
-nail file

Since the thumbprint photos didn’t completely cover the scrabble tile, I used a sticker as the base. Luckily, I had a square hole puncher that was almost the same size as the scrabble tile. I used this to punch out the sticker to fit perfectly over the tile. But if you don’t have a square hold puncher, scissors and a steady hand work just as well. I placed the sticker on the scrabble tile first. Then I used modpodge to glue the picture on top.Then I used a nail file to file the sides down since the sticker went a little over.

I made some tiles without photos. Basically, I did the same procedure minus the photo (and the modpodge for sticking the photo on the tile). When I was happy with the finished product, I brushed on modpodge over the whole tile after I had placed the sticker and/or photo on it.

I placed the tiles on wax paper for easier removal after drying. I let the tiles dry for about 20 minutes, then I sprayed acrylic sealer to give it a glossy finish. This is optional. Sometimes, the modpodge is good enough, especially if you don’t prefer a glossy finish.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on Valentine’s day love tiles. I hope it inspires you to make them. Better yet, I hope it inspires you to create your own work of art or handmade treasure for your loved ones.

Today I am grateful for things handmade with love.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“When I saw you I fell in love and you smiled because you knew.”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

How to make a Valentine’s day coupon book

It’s almost Valentine’s Day! Here is a fun and quick handmade project that you can make for your loved one. A Valentine’s day coupon book is a fun way to show your love.

For this project, you will need:

-Hard cardstock paper for the front and back cover
-Construction or scrapbook paper for the coupons
-Valentines day stickers
-Paper cutter or X-acto knife
-Rubber cement or padding compound

First, cut the hard cardstock and the scrapbook paper so that they are all exactly the same size. The hard cardstock will be the front and back cover of the coupon book. The scrapbook paper will be the coupons for your book. Decorate the front of your coupon book with the Valentine’s day stickers.

You can also use the Valentine’s day stickers on the coupons. This coupon book is for Josh’s big sister. I wrote “This coupon is good for:” and had Josh write the rest based on activities that they already enjoy together.

I used rubber cement to bind one side of the book. You can also use padding compound. Spread a generous amount of rubber cement to bind one side of the book together.

Let dry overnight using a clip to hold it together.

The finished product! A homemade Valentine’s day coupon book for Josh to give to his big sister on Valentine’s day!

Sabrina is going to love this Valentines day gift from her brother! Wishing you a Valentine’s day filled with Love.

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.”
― William Shakespeare, All’s Well That Ends Well

Today I am grateful for Valentine’s days filled with love.

Confessions of a baby clothes hoarder: A quilting story

I have a confession. I’m a hoarder. A baby clothes hoarder. Because for 21 years I kept a bag of my daughter’s baby clothes. For twenty one years. I lugged that garbage bag full of clothes from residence to residence. I have been a faithful hoarder to that bag of clothes. Now, they weren’t all of my daughter’s baby clothes, just my favorite outfits and hats. I just couldn’t part with them. They reminded me of her special baby memories.

From the day I put those baby clothes in that garbage bag with every intention of hoarding them, my goal was to make a quilt out of them. I didn’t even know how to sew back then, let alone sew a quilt. But I figured that one day I would teach myself. I knew it would be a long time before I would teach myself how to sew. So I knew that the sentence for these bag of hoarded baby clothes would be long. Yes, they were treated fairly. They lived in a nice cool garage safely tucked inside a box. I sometimes forgot about them. Every once in a while, I remembered that I had them and reminded myself about my intention to teach myself how to sew a quilt. Well, finally, about a year and a half ago, I taught myself how to sew.

Then this happened:

I finally made my daughter a baby clothes quilt! 21 years later. I made it and presented it to her at Christmas. She loved it! It isn’t a perfectly sewn quilt. But it’s a quilt made from clothes that I put on her when she was a little baby girl. And it’s a quilt made with love.

My little baby girl. Now she is a grown woman and the proud owner of a very special quilt made by her mommy with lots of love. This quilt contains very special memories. Her special memories. My special memories of her.

First party dress from Auntie Sherri and her first Minnie Mouse hat from Disneyland

Like her first baby gap outfit that I loved to death and put on her so many times. It even had little matching baby shoes. Her Minnie Mouse hat that we bought for her at Disneyland. Her first Disneyland hat. Her 1st birthday party dress that her Auntie bought for her.

First Baby Gap outfit, my favorite one for her.

What a great way to piece together and preserve all of your baby’s special memories. It was heartwarming to put this quilt together. As I worked with every article of clothing, I reminisced about my daughter when she was a baby. This quilt is so special because it contains the special memories of my daughter from when she was a little baby girl.

Totally worth the hoarding.

Today I am grateful for babies and memories.