valentine's wrapping & a card {inspiration}

Happy Valentine's Day! I am in The Happiest Place on Earth right now with my family, and even though I finished all the Valentine's wrapping and gift giving last week before we left, it's been harder to post on the road than I anticipated. So this should've been up for inspiration last week, but alas. . . We'll just call it a little Valentine's gift that you can Pin for next year! Hope you have a sweet day with your loved ones!

This is the one and only actual card I made this year for a far-away Valentine. But I love this layout for any time of year. I layered some banners made from my favorite Valentine's paper collection of all time, "Be Loved" by My Mind's Eye (from a couple of years ago--yes, I am still hoarding it), with a letter "k" Thicker, some paper flowers, a covered brad, and a dog tag from Making Memories. And a Valentine isn't a Valentine without baker's twine, right? I found mine for a steal at Pick Your Plum.

For my gift tags I used my chalkboard skills to create tags on black card stock. That's right--no chalkboard paint or vinyl here, just plain old black card stock. It works just like any other chalkboard method and is waaaay less complicated! Not as sturdy as wood, but perfect for something like a gift tag that will be thrown away anyway. . .

I used doilies for almost all my wrapping this year, either as a topper. . .

Or as the base of a "messy bow" that uses scraps of paper and ribbon (just pinch it in the middle for an instant bow shape).

I added crazy amounts of ribbon scraps to these store-bought treats to make them a little more special (chocolate-covered cinnamon bears anyone?).

For our teachers I added a little message and a marking pen for correcting papers to the doily, bow, and chalkboard tag: "I've got you "marked" as my Valentine!"

I also wrapped up the kids' valentines and treats for cousins and some friends (that we just happened to run into at the hotel in California!), but after all that I completely forgot to wrap up the gift for my sweetheart. Luckily he's not the foofy Valentine type, so he didn't mind. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!