~memory book with old valentines~

Are you one of those people who saves cards

for sentimental reasons but you never

really know what to do with them other

than stash them in a box?

 If so....here's an idea

for a Valentine or anniversary gift.

   

 Each year I try to top the Valentine I made the year prior.

After nearly 20 years of this, it's getting difficult and I'm 

running out of ideas and energy. Last year I

couldn't figure out what to make for Valentines so

I got to looking thru all the Valentines we've

exchanged over the years as inspiration. 

Yes......we have kept them in a little box along with

other cards and letters we've exchanged thru the

years. After that much time, it's become

quite a collection. Rather than make a Valentine

for him last year, I decided to make a memory book

with all of the Valentines we have exchanged over

the past 19 years. This is how it turned out.   

I used this hand made binder that my aunt (who's really

my 2nd cousin) gave us a couple years ago .

It's made from wood that she stained and constructed

herself. This was just the project I was waiting

for to fill this monogrammed binder!   

I gathered up all of the Valentines we've exchanged

over the years and put them in chronological order.

I bunched a few of them together and tied with

ribbon or tulle and placed that in pockets I 

sewed onto the page (cardstock).

Each page is a little different and you could

design them to your liking.      

 This folks, is the first Valentine I ever made him.

19 years ago......1994. We were so poor and the only

supplies I had were pictures, yellow legal paper,

crayons, tape and pink toilet paper (remember when they

used to make colored toilet paper?). I think they
stopped making it because it turned out the dyes
in it were a bit too "harsh" for some people's 
who ha's and nether regions.    

 

I decorated some of the "pockets" with smaller sized

Valentines I'd made. If the Valentine was double sided

I made a color copy of the back in order to see

both sides and the message.   

 Once I had the pages done, I put them in thick

plastic page protectors so the cards won't fall out.

 I always make my Valentines and write a simple 

message. My husband on the other hand, buys

the most beautiful, sappy and love sick card

he can find......and I absolutely love it!

 Another way to display them is to place them

on your cardstock and make a slit in the page

protector to slide the card thru. That way you

can actually open the card and see the message.  

 For those years when we had a long distance 

relationship and had to mail our Valentines....

I used the actual envelope as the pocket and stuck

that right to the cardstock with a bunch of 

Valentines in it.  As you can see, I also scattered

a few pictures of us together througout the years.  

 It's a bit thick and bulky but it's just fine for where it 

sits, on display in our window ledge.  

I will add a page to it each year with our Valentines.

You know what that means now......

I gotta figure out what the heck type of Valentine

to make this year.