It all started with this.....

It all started with an antique quilt given to me by my Uncle Cliff in 1985. It was made by my Great Grandmother using original fabrics spanning from the 1860's to the 1930's, in a string quilt pattern. All strings were hand pieced. All fabrics were loved. I can imagine Grandpa's shirts, or Grandma's housedress or apron. And now I'm the fortunate steward of this wonderful bit of family history........all made by hand.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

VZ…..Valentines Zentangle®

No offense to Hallmark or American Greetings, but sending cards on special occasions is getting, well, cost-prohibitive, so sad since many of us enjoy sending all those pink and red cards, slathered with all sappy and sticky sentiments.

Those of us of a certain age may remember our elementary days celebrating Valentine’s Day.  A few days before our party we’d decorate paper lunch sacks with crayons and stickers and white paper doilies, with our names BOLDLY reminding the cute little boy we had a crush on which bag was ours.  God forbid he could accidentally put MY card in the wrong bag! 

We’d secure our bags on the tack board, or on a rope along the wall, or perhaps right on our desk.  The day of we’d break in the afternoon for our party.   Everyone proudly deposited their secret cards into each bag.  We’d enjoy freshly baked and brightly colored cupcakes, more simple than today’s versions along with boxes of warm milk.  We hit the mother lode if someone gave out boxes of candy hearts with cute sayings, or boxes of red hots.  Or better yet….chocolate foiled wrapped hearts.  And then we’d painstakingly read through every card to be sure that one special card in fact was there. 

Hearts could soar, or be broken in an instant.  Whichever side of the coin toss you ended up on, it’s a wonderful childhood memory.  I loved it.  I wish I could decorate a lunch sack today and have it filled up with mushy poems of love.

This year I decided to opt out of the purchased option replacing it with functional cards of a different kind.  So here I am…..tangling up a storm inside while it’s blowing snow and cold outside.  I decided to design Zentangle® bookmarks in lieu of cards.  The tools are simple and on hand….heavy vellum card stock, pens and markers, along with the sleeves for the finished product.  I still need to pick up a bunch of red corded ribbons that hang off the ends. 


So here they are, handmade, crafted by hand…..minus the ribbons, ready for Valentine’s Day. 






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