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Handmaking Valentine's Day cards is an old fashioned tradition.  What could be better on Valentine's Day than giving your loved one a greeting you created?  Handmaking the valentines your child gives away at school is also a great idea.  Kids love creating and it keeps them busy :) 

This year my daughters and I are making a few different valentines.  They send valentines to their grandparents, give them away at school, and to friends in the neighborhood. 

First up, grandparent valentines!  Ours get mailed because they live far away so we chose a traditional A2 card with an envelope.  My younger 2-yo daughter loves to use the Epic 6 die cutting machine.  It's so easy even she can crank the dies through the machine.  So a valentine with a die cut was an easy choice.  She chose the paper and helped cut the shapes.  After the front was made the girls drew pictures and put a greeting on the inside.




Next up, school valentines.  My older 5-yo daughter likes die cutting as well but she also really enjoys stamping.  She made die cut cupcakes and then stamped part of the greeting.  She wrote in the rest of the greeting with a colored pen.  She is old enough now that she also likes to adhere all the pieces together with a glue stick.




Finally, valentines for neighborhood friends.  We had a little fun with this set.  We wrapped candy bars with patterned paper and then decorated them with stickers, flowers, and ribbon.  Wrapping boxes of converstation hearts is cute and easy but you could experiment by wraping Hershey bars or even gourmet chocolate!  (BTW - candy bar wrapping is a super hot wedding/shower favor trend too!)




Here are just a few product ideas for your valentines:
Cupcake & Cherry Sizzix Die
Cupcake Sizzlit Die by Sizzix
Jolee's Box of Chocolates Stickers
Chocolate Swirl Die Cut Paper
Be Loved Collection by My Mind's Eye
Color Me... Loved by Luxe Designs

Make your Valentine's Day special this year by putting a little heart into your cards!
Melissa

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Welcome to a new series of blog posts dedicated specifically to giving ideas for journaling!  We all know journaling is the most important part of scrapbooking but it can be put off or forgotten entirely (especially if you are like me!).  Photos are great but the journaling is the heart of a scrapbook... it tells the story.  That said, journaling doesn't have to be lengthy or even in complete sentences.  The only rule for journaling is that you actually do it.  Beyond that it is free for interpretation!

For this week's journaling prompt create a list of your favorites.  Favorite food, books, shows, music, colors, or whatever comes to mind.  Better yet, have your significant other or children do this as well.  Choose a number and list them out.  A few years back my husband and I created a Top 101 list.  I scrapbooked these lists without any photos!  Take a look:
  

You obviously don't have to go all the way to 101 to get the point; even a Top 10 Favorites will provide wonderful insight to your life right now.

If you have a creative journaling idea, please send it to shoponline@windycityscrapbooking.com with a subject of 'Write It'.  Unique ideas will be posted in the next blog post.

Want more journaling inspiration?  Sign up for Angie's new class Stories to Tell.  Here is the class description: "This class will focus on the writing included in your scrapbook layouts.  We will use 4-8 photos for inspiration and complete a lengthy journal entry related to the photos.  Students will receive materials to complete one layout, but the focus will be on journaling the important stories we want to tell."  The next class date is October 29th at 6:30 p.m.

See you in two weeks for more journaling ideas!
Melissa

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I often take for granted how great and unique Chicago really is.  I grew up in a small town just north of the Wisconsin border and life there, while still good, was very different.  Here in the big city my daughters and I can swing by the Lincoln Park Zoo after school for an hour or see priceless works of art just an L ride away.  And the food!  I say this over and over, but we Chicagoians are spoiled with all of our fantastic restaurants.

I am paying tribute to my wonderful home with a separate scrapbook just for all things Chicago.  Who knows where our path may lead in the future; maybe my family won't live here forever.  And if we do live here for the duration some special places won't.  The place where I met my husband no longer exists.  It's a little sad that Brother Jimmy's won't be in my Chicago book, but that is motivating me to capture the other landmarks.  I am not stopping at landmarks either.  I am including favorite restaurants, the festivals and events we go to year after year, favorite stores, and even capturing what I see as Chicago icons such as the Brown line and the lake path.  I want a scrapbook that will capture "my" Chicago.

I have chosen a small 3 ring binder for my Chicago book.  I wanted the option to include restraurant menus, museum guides, and other memorabilia.  Here are a few pages from my "Favorite Restaurants" pages:









So the point to my long story is to capture what makes your town or city home to you.  Take a day and at least get a street-view photo of your favorite restaurants, stores, and other landmarks.  Then tell the stories!  Scrapbook!  Big city, suburbs, or small town in Wisconsin, your hometown is worth remembering.

I will be posting more of my Chicago book soon!  Keep watching our blog.
Melissa

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