Ok, after this I will stop talking about Valentine's Day, because too much talk about love gets revolting. Even I get revolted.
But I still believe in it.
I just wanted to say one tradition I have is to make a small and simple token for my girls to wear throughout the day as a reminder of my love for them. And when I say small and simple, I mean it. I don't try to outdo myself from year to year. Next Valentine's I will probably just cover them in heart stickers.
This year I was feeling a bit bleak from all the boxes in the house, so when I saw these electrifying pink pom poms at a local craft store, I bought them on impulse. And since that flew in the face of my recently renewed determination not to accumulate so much stuff, I determined to use them for my annual tradition.
Here's what I did:
1. Wrap a length of sewing elastic around the ring-wearing area of your finger so it feels comfortable, and cut the length just a bit longer than that.
2. Thinly coat the entire outer side of the elastic in craft glue (there's probably a better glue, but I just used what was handy) and cover it with pink glitter. Yay! It's only step 2 and already you are ridiculously happy.
3. Let the glue dry...for like, at least 20-30 minutes. Otherwise the glitter will cake off on your fingers when you touch it.
4. Plug in your glue gun. Warning: this project is not optimal for those with an aversion to burning flesh. Place a bead of heated glue on one end of the glitter sided elastic. Attach the other end on top of the glue. Press together, gritting teeth against the inevitable sensation of molten lava which will ensue.
5. Break emergency swear vial if necessary, but so much cooler to pretend like it didn't hurt.
6. Take one, two, or three pom poms. Really, you could use as many as you want, especially if you stacked them. Using the glue gun, I attached mine together first. Then I placed glue on the base of the pom poms and stuck them on my ring...while I was wearing it, no less (cue understudy emergency swear vial or, if you're like me, save it for something really good, like your kid getting stung by a scorpion or those endless holiday lines at the post office).
7. Note: for a tidier look, affix the pom poms over the place where you attached the elastic band ends together.
8. Voila! Super cute, sparkly, fuzzy, pink rings--custom sized and expandable for all the darling little girls in your life (I made one for myself and my mother-in-law as well and we were equally delighted).
My daughters go out the door at separate times for school, so on Valentine's morning I packed them a special lunch and spent a few minutes with each one--giving her the ring, enjoying her delight, and painting her fingernails sparkly pink.
A practically perfect start to the day.