My friend hosts a yearly Valentine's exchange that's amazing. I did leather bobby pins last year, so I had to do something at least as cool this year. And in true Melissa fashion, I wait until the night before to construct all 12 of them. Since I did everything at the last minute, I didn't have enough supplies to do the same thing 12 times, so I had to get creative. I had originally planned on painting 12 paintings, but that obviously didn't happen, so I opted for earrings. Then I realized I didn't have enough earring posts to make 12 pairs of earrings. Thankfully I had enough rings and pins to make up for my lack of planning. Here's what I did, I busted out my letterpress machine (for the second time), used two plates I had on hand and the paper I had on hand. It worked out perfectly. I had tiny envelopes and fold over cards that I ended up cutting in half. I printed the little details in no time (clean up was another story, but lessons learned). I hand-lettered Be Mine on the envelopes; again for lack of any other clever phrase. I had a lot of this grey stretchy elastic, so I made 12 elastic hair ties. These things are cute and effortless to make (tutorials: 1, 2, 3 or purchase: 1, 2, 3, 4) I also have a TON of pretty grey patent leather (like 1/3 of a cow's worth), so I made a few accessories with it. Above, I made a little bow tie or pin. I made a set of "jewel" earrings. And I made a couple of rings. They were really easy. I just cut out jagged shapes , then connected the corners with black sharpie marker. Ghetto, maybe. Adorable, definitely. I made sure I had extras so I could keep them for myself. Felix will look dapper with his bow tie on Sunday. In other news, a couple of days ago, my sister texted me asking what my Valentine's plans were. Then she offered to come to my house and watch my kids so Chris and I could go out and have a special night. Of course I promptly texted Chris: "Emily is watching the kids for Valentine's day. You better plan a hot date, expectations will be high." So they're really not that high, but I sure hope he gets me a flower or two and makes me a Valentine. I love his Valentines: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.