​Recently I was taking part in a discussion in a FB group about why a single person would bother to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It was sparked from a comment from a person who said as they were single they wouldn’t be bothering to craft things or decorate this year. I had to admit that I too had been wondering if I would take much notice of it this year. I’ve just put the house back to order after all the Christmas decorating, did I have the energy? Did I want a lot of hearts everywhere?
But when I thought about what I wanted to say to this lady, that she deserved hearts and flowers and to give them to herself, I had my answer.
It’s sad when someone feels Valentine’s day is just a reminder of their loneliness so I wanted to turn that around.  I posted a comment that suggested they make it all about self love. Doing it for themselves. Hearts and flowers for her to enjoy basically. I also needed to remember this applies to me as well. I’m not single now but I was for a long time before Sam came into my life.
To generate love in your life it helps enormously to start with yourself. Filling your well with self appreciation and beautiful things can be done on a very small budget.
I suggested she frame photo’s of her enjoying life, doing things she loves and making some new floral displays. I also suggested she make or buy a Valentine’s day card for herself and write words of all the things she loves about herself in it.
Most crafters have a stash of supplies they can dive into to put some charming vignettes together with a romantic theme. But if you can’t afford flowers a cheap card from the dollar shop can be put in a frame you already have. Displaying some pretty china from your cupboard on the kitchen sink draining rack is so charming. Using cheap gift wrap paper, cut out hearts to either put on the table or glue to a string for a cheap banner. A pink candle in a jar from Kmart is only 75 cents. Tea light candles look pretty in old jam jars that are tied around with ribbon or lace.
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I’ve re-purposed a Christmas wreath to make a romantic floral one for my kitchen.

​For Christmas, I’d hung a wreath on the range hood flue using a command hook. I liked it there so much that I decided to keep it there but make it over. I pulled off all the red berries and wound some jute twine around the branches pulling them in tight to the wire base. This gave it the look of a mossy base. 

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I love crafting for the joyful feelings it creates. It’s an act of self love and so perfect for creating a Valentine's Day atmosphere. Because I’m now married I’m doing it not just for me but for both of us. Sam enjoys all my home made creations and decorating and celebrating our love is a big reason for both of us.
While I’d been wondering if I would bother to decorate for Valentine’s day, this lady’s post helped me clarify what I’d be missing if I didn’t.
Everyone loves someone or is loved by someone. Life these days seems to be full of distractions and pressures. When we distance ourselves from the commercialization of the day, shops pushing expensive roses and jewelry, and keep it simple and personal the true meaning emerges.

Carving out a small amount of time on one day each year to notice all the love in our life, in all its forms can’t be wrong. Making handcrafted decorations and displays for Valentine’s day helps to shift the focus to what really matters for you and your loved ones.
 
Dora Bramden writes heart-melting, passionate romance.
The Scottish Billionaire’s Secret Lover
The Italian Billionaire’s Secret Baby
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Crafting with pretty paper gives me so much pleasure. Cutting and pasting was a favorite activity when I was young. My thrifty grandmother would make glue on the stove from flour and water and give me magazines to cut out the pictures. These would then be pasted into an old Readers Digest. I didn't mind the writing behind the pictures, I liked the contrasting pattern it made. 

When scrap booking became popular I couldn't resist stocking up on supplies. Apart from making pretty photo albums, I  enjoy using them for general crafting too. These little notebook covers don't use up a lot of paper but are a treat to put notes in and small enough to pop in my handbag. What writer doesn't have a notebook and pen handy?

I chose papers that have an interesting or beautiful background. I cut them to the size of the notebook plus extra at the top to fold over and glue at the back. I used a double sided tape runner for this but you can use any glue that you have on hand. I then layered embellishments on using hot glue. The notebook above has a fussy cut strip of stripped paper layered with strips of crystal stickers. A raffia bow is layered with a blue organza ribbon bow and a couple of crystal stickers hot glued keep the tails in place.

This shabby chic inspired notebook cover was inspired by the backing paper. It helps to work with a theme if you can.
A cream organza ribbon was layered with a strip of silver sequence. Overlapping that are some raffia strips and a fabric flower.
I found that pulling the petals apart in a small flower and removing the plastic center allowed me to stack them flat with hot glue. I fussy cut a rose from the lace strip that I also used at the top and hot glued a small heart embellishment. A metal embellishments from my stash was glued behind the rose to add texture and interest but also to tie in the small flowers from backing paper.
​The lace at the top was added using a fabric glue, which is still a little opaque in this photo as it's not completely dry yet. I used this type of glue because I wanted the lace to wrap around to the back and needed the ability to adjust the lace before the glue dries.

By now you'll be getting the idea that this is a time theme. The butterfly reminds me that time is fleeting and that it takes time for something beautiful to emerge. The hearts are for love. There should always be love in the time we have here.
The embellishments were adding in order of how they appear. the paper strips at the top and bottom were layered onto the backing paper first then the raffia strips.
I like using hot glue because it grabs the embellishment and secures it in place quickly, but do be careful with hot glue, it's easy to burn your fingers. The blue organza ribbon bow echos the shape of the little butterflys,  and of course it's pretty.

This last notebook is about the garden and how nature is a gift to us all. The only embellishment I wanted to add was the little metal bee and the strip of text. This sheet of scrapbook paper is so gorgeously detailed it didn't need a lot.
I added the bee because gardens need bees to fertilize the seeds and they give the gift of honey to us. The text 'A GIFT FROM ABOVE' was the closest quote in my stash to express the value of nature. For me it is a gift from God that we need to take care of and be grateful for.

It's lovely creating something beautiful, but as in my writing I like it to say something or express something I feel, mainly joy. The wonderful thing about paper crafting is that there are so many different combinations you can make you'll never run out of inspiration. I included several different styles and color combinations as an example of what can be done.

I hope you enjoyed this paper crafting post, I will be doing more of these in the future with larger projects. I think starting small gives us the confidence to move on to bigger projects.

If you're still with me at the end of this post, thanks so much for stopping by to see what I've up to in my romantic life.
Happy crafting, Dora.

Dora Bramden writes heart-melting, passionate romance.
The Scottish Billionaire’s Secret Lover
The Italian Billionaire’s Secret Baby

For updates on what's happening in my life and book releases, follow me on on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest