a dose of lovely

With Valentine's day just around the corner, the blog world has been all a flutter with crafts, DIY projects and decorations. Here is a dose of some of the lovely things that caught my eye.

My favorite part of Valentine's day is, no surprise, making and sending cards! Paper Source has cooked up some festive card ideas and is sharing the recipes here.

{paper source}

{sparkle power}

I LA LA LOVE this cute poster, but not quite as much as I love these felt hearts! The first set were stitched with love by the Inspired Honey Bee. See the how-to here and her whole love filled mantel here. 

{inspired honey bee}

These felt hearts were created as a Save the Date magnet. The tag could be used to write something like "i heart you" or be just as cute with no tag at all! 

{city cradle design}

Perfect for any day of the year, this little print is especially cute for Valentine's day decorating.

{a little lovely, via eighteen25}

eighteen25 has done it again...charming subway art that you can download for FREE!

{eighteen25}

Lately I've been on a bunting banner kick, but I'm loving these unique heart banners. The first is made out of fabric. I love the dimension of the hearts! 

{how about orange}

This one is made from photo strips.  It could also be made using 
patterned paper and still be lovely.

{scrappergirl, via eighteen25}

Here's a clever gift idea....turning a 6 pack of soda into a 6 pack of candy and snacks.

{naptimejournal, via tatertots and jello}

What first caught my eye was this "you are hot" tea bag label.

{tatertots and jello}

Then I realized there was another tag AND a lovely wrapper for the whole tea bag! 

I heart this.

{tatertots and jello}

For all the bakers in my life, how cute are these paper treat bags? Sweet treats for the sweetest day. My mouth is watering now just thinking of a heart shaped chocolate brownie! you can download the image here to print and add to your own treat bags!

{twig and thistle}

I am a fan of cloths pins and clear treat bags,
so of course I loved this sweet combination of the two.

{no biggie, via tatertots and jello}

I am also a fan of cute little take-out boxes.

Make your own Valentine's treat boxes using these FREE fortunate for you tags!

{eighteen25}

Unless otherwise noted, links for all of these project can be found beneath each picture! 

Inspired Honey Bee

I've been meaning to write about my cute, crafty friend Debbie for a while now. Actually, I wrote about her once, but that was just a mention. She deserves a whole post and here's why...


I honestly can't remember when I first met Debbie. We both work for KP, but in different departments and separate buildings. We are both part of a larger department, so I see her at the monthly birthday celebrations. Someone mentioned that Debbie and I should be friends, I wasn't sure why until I met her. Debbie is sarcastic, super organized, thoughtful and CRAFTY! Our first friend date was for happy hour where we talked college, jobs, boyfriends, running and then began sketching out invitations, programs and cards we'd made. 


I knew we really were friends when Debbie asked if I had made plans for my birthday. It was on a weekday, so she figured I'd have a happy hour after work and kept the day free. I don't even know if she remembers that but it meant a lot to me. Ironically, something came up and she wasn't able to attend, but the thought meant the most! 


Since then we've had craft days, encouraged each other during a half marathon, chatted/laughed through many work celebrations and continued to share ideas for cards and parties. Just before the holidays we had a craft day at her house and included the boyfriends. They'd met but never hung out, however have a lot in common. While Debbie and I cut, glued and chatted the guys talked sports and watched episode after episode of LOST. 


At the beginning of the year Debbie told me she started a blog. I gasped - partially with excitement and partially with surprise that I didn't already know about it. She told me that her first post was still in the works and she'd let me know when it was up (phew, I hadn't missed anything!). 


Her blog is called the Inspired Honey Bee, where she shares what inspires her to create cards. I was completely blown away when I read her first post, because it was about her inspiration to start a blog and was dedicated to me. A very sweet post, especially considering how much she continually inspires me too! 


In the last few months, life has been excitingly busy for Debbie. In February she got engaged to her equally cute boyfriend. And in April they bought a house together. Within that time she also was making several trips to the Central Valley to be with her brother who was having serious health problems. Now that he is thankfully on the mend, the Honey Bee is back to blogging! 


It has been fun to chat with Debbie about her wedding planning. I tried to sell my coordinator services to her, but who am I kidding, she's an amazing planner herself! To help shape their special day, Debbie put together an awesome inspiration board (see it here). They have several hygrenga bushes in their front yard, so I think that is a perfect flower for her to continue to be inspired while planning, and reminded of their wedding for years to come! 


This weekend the happy couple is having an engagement and housewarming party. I am so bummed that I'm going to miss it, but I know that B will represent us well. I made this card for him to take along: 

I look forward to many more creative adventures and laughs with the Debbie. Especially in her new craft room! Yep, I'm pretty jealous of that room!

Follow the Inspired Honey Bee here: http://inspiredhoneybee.blogspot.com/