Valentine's Day Creativity Unleashed

I mentioned we've been busy the past several days.  I can't resist making a big deal out of Valentine's Day (well....maybe I make a big deal out of everything....)!  The combination of pinks and reds, hearts, flowers, pretty cards and letters, romance....all beauteous to me.  To top it off, sharing it all with those I love most!  (Oh, and did I mention the word "chocolate?")

We've had an abundance of creativity.  Starting in the kitchen....

chocolate-covered pretzels for friends and for National Guard members (hope they don't mind pink and red!  I'm sure the almonds and toffee bits will make up for it.)

Of course, the children's favorite....decorating cookies.

And something new I wanted to try.  I am a fan of the salted caramel craze.  So I tweaked a caramel recipe and dipped it in chocolate, sprinkled with coarse salt and......voila!  Salted Caramel Chocolates for my beloved.

I know this kind of looks like a sea of chocolate mess.  But these are AMAZING!

OK, that's enough food (and far too much sugar....good thing we are giving some away!)

Now we're off to the sewing workshop.  I found this fabric at JoAnn's and oh, I thought it was so perfect in all its vintage charm.  I've been wanting to decorate our table a bit more, so I decided to make placemats out of them since Country Girl 1 was experimenting with making placemats to sell on Etsy.

I love it when I discover a new stitch on my sewing machine even after having it for several years!  I just thought this stitch was the perfect little addition.  I love how these turned out.

And some other odds and ends creative inspirations that I find simply beautiful!

I have some children who are like me.....they woke up this morning with all of the anticipation of Christmas.  They ran downstairs to look upon their breakfast plates.....

We have some more fun planned for the day.  I hope you do too.  I am grateful for an extra opportunity to learn about loving others.  It never ceases to amaze me that God set apart feast days and celebrations to REMEMBER!  Why?  Because we are a very forgetful people!  We need the times and days to mark the year to pause and remember.  They are wonderful teaching opportunities as well.  These remembrances help carry us through the more "ordinary" days.  Your remembrances won't look like mine and they don't need to.  All that is needful is taking the time to consider, to think of others, and to love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

*Linked today at Far Above Rubies, Wise Woman, and Raising Homemakers