Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?

I’ve always adored the idea of a whole day dedicated to love.

All kinds of love.

No matter how contrived and predictable it may seem to shower your favourite people with love on on Valentine’s Day, I still believe showing your love is always a great idea. Obviously, the genuineness of love comes from all those little things we do throughout the rest of the year. But, putting in a little extra effort for Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to lose it’s meaning just because it’s pre-planned.

In our house, we’ve never really gotten into the typical flowers + chocolate (though I always love those surprises too!). It’s always been about that reminder to show the people we love most how much they mean to us, whether that means sending a simple note to let them know we’re thinking of them (or a paper airplane card in Carson’s case) or maybe just carving out some special time to spend with them.

Though I tend to buy a small treat for our little man and Carson always brings a special flower to his Aunt and sweet little cousins, Brady and I have never really done the whole gift exchange thing. Buying something for each other has just never been one of the ways that we show each other love (though I’d like the record to show that I very much LOVE receiving (okay, and giving) gifts!).

There’s something about the thoughtfulness of taking the time to make something yourself that somehow brings with it so much more love, isn’t there? Knowing someone has thought of you every minute of creating this special thing with their own two hands, and presumably lots of love.

It’s why I’ll always cherish that beautiful bracelet that Carson made for me last year with all sorts of glittery beads and the brightest green pipe cleaner to hold them all together.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I’m so excited to be teaming up with an amazing group of bloggers to bring you all sorts of lovely {heartfelt + handmade} gift ideas.

Including my own…

DIY Map Heart Art

Filled with the places we heart most (hahaha! get it?)…

It all started with a simple barn board frame.

Some simple white matting I cut down to size.

And finally, some old maps with some of our favourite places – the town we met in, the place we got married and the town where our son was born.

First, I folded a scrap piece of boxboard in half and traced a half heart over the fold, holding it up beside my matting to make sure that it was a size I thought would look good with my frame. Once I’d figured out a sizing I liked, I simply cut it out and unfolded it to reveal a perfect heart shape tracer for my matting.

Then I found the centre point all down the back of my photo mat and drew a line to mark it. This helped to keep all of my hearts lined up perfectly in a row.

Starting in the very centre of my mat, I traced my first heart. Then, I measured 2″ up my centre line and 2″ down and lined my heart tracer up with each of those to make sure all three hearts were perfectly centred and evenly spaced.

Finally, using a scrap piece of cardboard underneath to protect my floors, I used a utility knife to carefully cut out each of my hearts. I found it easiest to go over my lines lightly, multiple times – this helped me maintain the most control over the knife around those corners.

The cuts were looking a tad rough around the edges, but a light sanding with some fine grit sandpaper helped to take care of that…

Finally, I cut a large square around each of the places I’d chosen on my maps and taped them into place.

Each of these places holds a special place in our hearts and I’m so excited to share this “heartfelt” (oh gosh, I’m so punny today!) gift with my boys!

Now don’t forget to check out the other {heartfelt + handmade} ideas below!

MONDAY

Town and Country Living | Finding Silver Pennies | Duke Manor Farm | Maison de Pax | Shabbyfufu

Making It in the Mountains | Tidbits | Taryn Whitaker | House by Hoff | Clean and Scentsible

TUESDAY

So Much Better with Age | The Happy Housie | Shabby Art Boutique | Paint Me Pink | VinYet Etc.

Unskinny Boppy | Sincerely Marie Designs | A Burst of Beautiful | The Wicker House | Zevy Joy

WEDNESDAY

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | In My Own Style | Golden Boys and Me | Seeking Lavender Lane

On Sutton Place | Happy Happy Nester | The Chronicles of Home | Craftberry Bush

Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!