A Valentine Morning in Maine

After yesterday's snowfall, it was a beautiful winter Valentine's Day morning here in Maine. 

 I love coming up with little unexpected holiday surprises for people I love;

today was delivery day!

 So I left 22 Applegate Lane early with my little red mini-Cooper full of  Valentine treats.

My first stop was Dunkin' Donuts to wish "the regulars" a Happy Valentine's Day and bring a jar of candy to my  coffee-friend, Sue.

Then I headed to my daughter's group home. She and her housemates celebrate every holiday with gusto and were excited with their Valentine goodies. (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the annual favorite!)

Next, I stopped at Plummer School to bring a rusty Valentine lock to my friend, Mary Elizabeth (she loves rust!) and then two more bags of candy to "the sisters", Margaret and Jo.

My route took me from my house (the red dot below), past our local landmark, The Town Landing Market (on the corner where the red line turns right), down to the ocean.

I decided to stop in to the Town Landing Market to warm up.

No "Native Ice Cubes" needed today!

But fresh Hazelnut coffee hit the spot!

It was a little early for a  lobster roll, as tempting as that was!

Since it was a little too cold to enjoy my coffee outside . . .

I headed down the hill   . . .

to the Town Landing, our municipal marina and beach area.

What a beautiful morning at the beach!

The little "hump" you can see in the distance is a small island (one of 360  "Calendar Islands" in Casco Bay) called Fort Gorges.  

It seems that Portland's famous "Valentine Bandit" made it out to the island before dawn to decorate the old fort for Valentine's Day.

Back at the Landing, things were quiet, waiting for Spring.

It was low tide

and the snow was taking turns  on the beach with the ocean water.

I feel so lucky to live within walking distance of Casco Bay and the Landing. 

I'm not sure I could survive without being able to smell the sea.

But, after a very cold morning, it was good to get home. 

My plan for the afternoon was to make some tea, read in "my chair" and work on my blog - 

with the fireplace going, of course!

Happy Valentine's Day from Maine!

Valentine Tablescape on a Budget

I love coming up with whimsical table settings for dinner parties. Tomorrow evening we'll be having our "Gourmet Group" for dinner to celebrate two birthdays and Valentine's Day. Today I'm having fun putting the table together. I always start with neutral basics: simple white dinnerware and sterling flatware.

I'm lucky in that my DH is cooking this dinner. He's Italian and will be making his "famous" veal parmesean. That leaves me time to work on the appetizers, the bar, and the table setting. Here's the mess on my craft table this morning as I began the process. (This is my fifth week back on Weight Watchers and I'm proud to say, I didn't touch even one piece of the candy!)

For every dinner party, I make something that will serve the purpose of a "placecard" and I always come up with little "party favors" for guests to take home with them. Even adults love that! This time I combined the two: the "placecard" is the favor.

The cute rickrack felt heart pouches were only $1.00 each at Target's "Dollar Spot" (I love that little corner!). I used fabric paint to add names to the hearts (the "placecard" part) and then filled each heart with Valentine candy to take home (the "party favor" part).

Oops! Forgot the napkins!

I found this perfect red tablecloth at Goodwill for $4.00. It's so long that, even with both leaves in my table, it had to be tucked under. And it washed with absolutely no need for ironing. I think this one is a keeper! The Valentine table runner was another Target bargain for $3.00, also at the "Dollar Spot".

I had candy left over so decided to use it in Valentine mason jars for friends who will not be at tomorrow evenings dinner party.

These were simple to make and just used up things I already had: jars, doilies, and ribbon.

I felt pretty good about coming up with a tablecloth, runner, "placecards" and favors for all of  $14.00. All I needed to add was the candy!

This post is linked to:

Flaunt It Friday #434 at Chic On a Shoestring

Best of the Weekend Link Part at Calypso In the Country

Farmhouse Friday Link Party #92 at The Painted Hinge

Sundays at Home at Little Farmstead

                                              Homestyle Gathering #5 at My Wee Abode

Valentines

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and, although my childhood is long past, I still love making Valentines.

My need to glue and paste for Valentine's Day probably started with one of these.

Remember the excitement of making Valentine boxes to bring to school?

All we needed was a shoebox, colored paper, Mom's doilies, and Elmer's glue.

Creating the perfect Valentine box would keep my sisters and I busy at the dining room table for hours as the big day approached. The competition for the most beautiful box was fierce.

At school, we'd fill our friends' Valentine boxes with little cards like this.

And wait to see who put a special one in our Valentine box.

(Maybe the boy we "liked" would finally express his undying love?)

DH and I are older "Valentines" now . . . but still in love, and camping together, after all these years.

"Marry a man your own age", said Phyllis Diller. "As your beauty fades, so will his eyesight."

Good advice!

Speaking of camping, I love this Valentine box! 

It was created by Suzy Myers and is made of 100% recycled materials. Suzy has posted a "how-to" tutorial on her blog, Suzy's Artsy-Crafty Sitcom. It brings back memories of happy Maine summers spent in our vintage "tab".

The big day is almost here and
I still have a little more Valentine cutting and pasting to complete before tomorrow.

But this one's for you.

Happy Valentine's Memories!

How To Make Your Grandchildren Smile

I found this unique Valentine idea at the Crafty Journal blog and had to pass it along! Crafty Journal is my go-to blog when I want to make a quick and easy treat for a grandchild.

DH and I always put $2.00 in the cards we send to our young grandchildren on holidays. This year, they'll get a surprise when they find that "Nanny" has folded their dollar bills into Valentine hearts.

How To Make a Valentine Wreath in 5 Minutes . . . for under $5.00

Here's a very quick project for Valentine's Day  It took me exactly 5 minutes, start to finish, and it's already on my front door.

Here's what you need:

• a wire wreath form (@ $2.00 at WalMart)
• a package of craft foam Valentine hearts (mine was $1.00 at the Dollar Store)
• a package of mini-clothespins ( $1.00 - 1.99 depending on the store; mine were from JoAnn's at 40% off)

That's it!

Simply clip the foam hearts to the wire wreath form and . . .

You're DONE!

 

All that's left to do is run out in the cold and hang the wreath on your front  door.

 

A perfect project: quick, inexpensive, and CUTE!

And think how easy this would be to change out for other holidays:  Foam eggs, here I come!

And here's a bonus:

This 12 inch foam heart wreath was in one of the $1.00 bins near the cash register at JoAnn's. By simply punching a hole in the top and adding a ribbon, it's ready to hang on the back door.

And this one only took 1 minute!

What could be easier than that?

 

 

 

 

This post is  being shared at:

Show & Share at Coastal Charm

Amaze Me Monday at DWELLINGS

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On the Porch

Tweak It Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Show & Share at Coastal Charm

Vintage Inspiration Party at Knick of Time

 Wow Me Wednesday Party at Ginger Snap Crafts

Create Link Inspire Party at The Crafty Blog Stalker