The Dating Divas

Valentines is nearly here. If you’re in need of a little romantic inspiration peruse the pages of this great site. Style advice, date ideas, even marriage-survival tips…it’s a great resource for all things romancy.

IKEA Hackers

Are you an IKEA lover too? Check out the ingenious, cheap hacks on this cool site.

Hello, Good Gravy!

After reading only a few posts, I had to add this hilarious mom blog to my feed reader. Anyone who shamelessly announces her love of horrible-for-you foods to the world like this has real blogging potential in my book.

Under the Sycamore (this one isn’t Valentineish but it was the only post that made it on my facebook page last week – I love it)

There are beautiful nurseries and then there are BEAUTIFUL nurseries.  This one is definitely the latter.  The DIY reading bed (made from old fork lift pallets) topped with the overflowing tissue ball cluster really wowed me.

Sassy Sites

I’m all for games that force my kids to say ‘I love you’ more – especially when it involves lots of chasing, sticking and laughing.  I can’t wait to try this.

WhipperBerry

You guys know how much I love a great printable.  Here’s a lovely one just in time for Valentines.

Mrs. Bettie Rocker

My kids adore these candy dots.  I had not idea you could make them yourself.  Check out this cool tutorial (don’t you just love her blog name?)

Design Aglow

Something about this valentine idea really won me over – I love the whole look of it.  I especially love her son’s expression in the pictures.  Priceless.

Remember, if you’d like instant access to the links I love and a few other tips and tricks, you can sign up to be a follower on Facebook by clicking the Facebook icon at the top of the page or by following this link.  Here are the links from last week…

• PinkandPolkaDot.blogspot.com
  I’ve got loads of Priority boxes at home since I use them for my Etsy shipping. My little guy found my stash last week and colored on a bunch of them. I thought this post was a great idea for repurposing the marked up boxes.
  

• Ink-Bloom.com
  I’ve been coveting my friend’s vinyl cutter for a long time but I just can’t justify the big price tag. This cool invention would allow me to print vinyl and fabric right from my home printer. I can’t wait to try it.
  

• TheLongThread.com
  Do you have a stash of broken crayons lying around? Try this cute and easy valentine idea (free printable included). *Quick tip from me – make the peeling process easier by soaking your crayons in warm water first.
  

• MarthaStewart.com
  While you’ve got your crayons out, you should give this easy craft a try. Wouldn’t these heart-shaped sun-catchers make pretty teacher gifts for Valentines?
  

• Fonts500.com
  I’m a bit of a font addict. I’m a little scared to count how many I’ve accumulated over the years. If you’ve got similar font affinities you should check this post out.
  
  
  

I found the orginal idea on Family Fun’s website in their Valentine’s Traditions section.  In the post, Teresa J talks about setting up a “Secret Post Office” in their house so her family can send each other anonymous messages throughout the month of February.   I thought it was a cute idea and a great way to encourage my family to spread the love in the two weeks before the big day.

In our version, I had the kids color and decorate their own Lotsa-Love envelopes.  I made one for Mom & Dad as well and then we posted them on the wall in the kitchen.  I also printed some simple fill-in-the-blank valentine messages to make creating a lotsa-love message a little easier.  You can find the free file download below.  I keep the notes and a stash of crayons in a heart-shaped basket on the kitchen table for easy envelope access.  Over the course of the next two weeks, we’ll spreading the love by leaving messages, pictures and treats in each other’s envelopes.  Each morning at breakfast we’ll check our envelopes and show off our new mail.  To kick off our festivities tonight, I wrote a special message for each of my kids and added a small stuffed animal (from the dollar spot at Target) to their envelopes.

It’s not much…just a simple and inexpensive way to jazz up these chilly winter days and help my family show a little extra love this Valentine season.  If you’d like to check out lots of other great Valentines traditions I recommend you check out Family Fun’s website.  I found several clever ideas that I plan to try this year.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

If you’ve got a Valentine tradition that your family loves I hope you’ll post it for the rest of us in the comments area for the rest of us to enjoy.  Thanks.