Fold Up Your Heart

For as long as I can remember, I have publicly complained about Valentines Day. I still stand behind what I dislike about Valentines Day – I don’t think we should need one day a year to tell your boyfriend/girlfriend/(s)/whatever that you adore the pants off them, you should do this every day!

So, here’s my secret.

I quite like Valentines Day. I like all the ridiculous tat that crops up this time of year, I love pink and red, I love hearts. I really love Love Hearts. (I’m not allowed them very much anymore. They send me a bit loopy). I like using it as an excuse to tell everyone I love them.

So here’s a few things that I’m considering buying to decorate my house and so I can bake up a love heart storm for my nearest and dearest (lets face it, I just like baking)

For the actual baking, there’s these measuring spoons (£5), heart cookie cutters (£4) and heart baking tray (£8), both from Paperchase, or for a more traditional style cake, I love the heart cake tin (£5) or perhaps this silicone heart muffin tray (£7.50), both from M&S. To serve the treats on, M&S do well with these heart serving dishes (£17.50) or the heart cake stand (£25) (which I think I need to go with my other cake stands. Yes, I have a collection of them.) These snack boxes (£7) from Paperchase would be really useful to carry the treats to the office in as well.

If you’re not into baking, you could serve up tea and toast with these mugs (multi coloured heart mug (£6) or two hearts mug (£6)) and the heart shapes toast cutter (£2), again from Paperchase. You might to serve that up with a little pretty heart valentine tree (£14) from Paperchase as decoration.

If you’re like Sarah and want to wear things covered in hearts, perhaps you could have a go at making these heart printed tights(seriously cute in the grey and white!) or a sequin heart t-shirt?

Perhaps you’re into crafting instead? Here’s a few crafty ideas you can get into this weekend, and who cares if the end product is a bit wonky? Just tell the recipient it’s made with love.

A few heart patterened mason jars would look very pretty with a tealight inside them.

Sweets hidden inside brownies – what’s not to love about these heart shaped brownie boxes?

This blog post has a few different DIY’s for you to do – I love the wall of hearts and the tissue paper heart wall art

If the weather around you is going to be nice, this tree heart installation could be a pretty backdrop for some nice photos – but I’m sure this could be just as pretty inside, to keep it safe from the rain!

Chocolate covered fruit is one of my favourite things to eat (it feels healthy! IT’S COVERED IN CHOCOLATE) but I hate to make it (I get too impatient) so receiving a box would be awesome!

Finally, the wonderful (and very very beautiful) A Thrifty Mrs has rounded up a few Valentines cards you can print off – just don’t do it on the office printer.

Or, if all that crafting just isn’t for you, La Tasca have a bouquet that I would definitely love to receive next Thursday…

It’s made of cured meat. Which is much more delicious than a rose.