And now for Valentine’s Day!

Just as you are putting away your much loved Christmas supplies, out come the Valentine’s Day ones.

It may seem a bit early, but taking a few minutes to think about reusing holiday decorations for Valentine’s Day will save you time and money in a few weeks. As you are packing away your ornaments and lights, keep an eye out for anything red or pink that, with a few additions can look entirely new and appropriate for use on Valentine’s Day. You may not want to start these projects yet, but you may want to select some items to put away in a separate box - so they will be easy to grab when the time comes in about 6 weeks.

I must admit these tips are taken from a dear friend of mine, and her designs and creations always turn out great! I have some fabulous red wooden beads that i bought from my local haberdashery. They make a wonderful Valentine’s Day garland especially with the addition of glittery paper hearts strategically placed.

I start by buying glittered paper from my local scribblers (if you can’t find red glittered paper, you can buy red glitter glue and produce your own). I simply draw and cut out a heart and repeat this process using the original as a template. I then punched a hole into the middle using a hold punch and then cut a slit from the edge of the heart to the hole.

Making this type of cut, allows the hearts to slip on easily in between the beads.

Another of my favourites is Valentine’s Day treat bags. These treat bags are great and so quick and easy to produce. In particular these treat bags are fun to make with the kid as the process is fabulous for keeping restless kids occupied during those boring, cold and wet winter afternoon.

They are made from mesh from grapefruit or orange packages. We eat a lot of oranges and grapefruit in our home so we always have the mesh packaging at hand. At this time of year, they are at their best and are sold in red, plastic mesh sacks that have a certain look to them that inspired me to reuse them to make these delicate bags. The bags turn out fabulously well each time and you can put pretty much put anything in them and are suitable for most holiday occasions. Nevertheless think ‘RED RED RED’ and make them delightful little treats in February!