it seems a little crazy… this glorious winter is slipping by so quickly, before i even have a chance to take it all in! it’s even been in the 60′s lately! in january! winter… where did you go?

anyway, i digress. today my bestest buddy sent me a link to these pretty valentines, which have been all over the interwebs lately. as much as i love them, i have always made it a point to create homemade valentines… so i started thinking about what i will make this year.

in my quest for cool v-day ideas, i of course turned to the lovely ms. m. stewart. i noticed though, as i was perusing her ideas, that i most loved her envelopes!

paper hearts on clothespins used to fasten bags of lovey treats

look at that doily envelope!! gorgeous. doilies are super inexpensive, too!

valentines made using envelopes could hold clever surprises...

paper heart folded into an envelope. we all know i heart the stripes...

valentines that fold into a neat little gift package. such pretty papers...

get the instructions on these pretties here.

i used to not be the greatest fan of valentine’s day, but i have grown to love it. number one: chocolate. let’s all be serious. number two: a day that encourages us to drop our cynical crappy selves and pay attention to the people we maybe neglect a little on a daily basis. come on v-day! force us to be better people and remind us that we love each other every day!

all that said- we don’t really do big gifts for valentine’s day, typically. wouldn’t these envelopes be the perfect way to dress up the usual card? put a little extra love into it?

*images via marthastewart.com