Millinery Valentines with Lace and Wire

I've always enjoyed the mood of Valentine's Day, probably because it brings back happy childhood memories. From the conversation hearts, to the super cute Valentine cards we exchanged in school, it was always a happy occasion. One extra special bonus for me, was my mom always made giant heart-shaped sugar cookies. She'd make extra ones for my best friends, frosted red with their names written in white. Makes me hungry for some of those cookies right now.......

Perhaps that's why I always feel the urge to create some hearts every year.. Thank the gods for Etsy, for giving me an outlet for my holiday crafting.

This year, I'm fine-tuning my vintage button card designs like I did at Christmas, but first I had to create some kind of heart design to satisfy my V-Day crafting needs. Although my creations frequently morph into complicated projects, I do occasionally surprise myself with simplicity. Doesn't happen often, but it sure is fun when it does........

Simple. Rustic. Victorian. 

I was playing around with crafting wire that has a matte, 

uncoated finish, so it's more charcoal than black.

Crocheted lace trim sure is fun for making these,

since it has such perfectly spaced holes to

thread the wire through.

After attaching some sweet snow white millinery clusters,

I added this fabulous black/kraft colored twine,

which coordinates perfectly with the wire and lace.

I made these to tie on Valentine's gifts,

but they look so fresh and peaceful 

hanging together in an all-white setting.

I've obviously got a thing for ornaments, 

and could easily fill a book with all 

my designs from the last 30 years.

But until that book is written, I think I'll go plan out 

some big ol' sugar cookies........

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