Valentines 5.0

I'm sure some of you avid Pattiwagoneers have been waiting with bated breath for this post. (right? RIGHT?) If you're a new Pattiwagoneer, my family and I have a tradition of making each other Valentine's Day cards every year. You can see previous Valentine posts 

here and here and here and here. 

I went with an old-school theme this year. The front of each card was a simply a heart, and here are the outsides: 

For my dad,

 And my mom,

 And my sister,

For this one, I found a light up button, and put it in the back, so she could turn it on. I was worried about it actually working after being shipped, so I also painted the heart with glow-in-the-dark paint.

And here are the ones I received: 

From my mom, 

The poem is an allusion to the world's most resilient Christmas tree ornament. It is a real ice cream cone that has lived through five presidents (i.e., 27 years). And it still looks like this. I think it has super powers. Or just a lot of additives. 

From my dad,

You can never go wrong with a UK-themed card. Especially in a year when they're 31-0.

And from my sister,

Do you remember where you were when you found out that SkyMall was going bankrupt? I do, and it felt like a little piece of my heart died. And so when I opened up this card with ACTUAL PHOTOS FROM ACTUAL SKYMALLS, that little piece of my heart was filled with a special kind of joy, equaled perhaps only by solving Fermat's Last Theorem or birthing a baby. 

And of course, here's a Valentine's Day bulletin board for all your oohing and aahing. 

Valentine's Day 4.0 (!)

Another year, another Valentine's on the Patti Wagon. You can read up on past Clayton family V-Days here and here and here. I had been toying with some ideas over the last couple weeks, and then thankfully, I was hit with two no snow snow days last week. I was able to work on my cards and get them in the mail. 

Remember this power tool tease shot?

I sawed a heart out of some scrap wood and came up with this card for my dad, a life long lover of puns. 

Keeping with the wood theme, I made this for my sister.

The puns began to get painful, so I made this scratch off card for my mom. I printed the card on photo paper and then taped over the words with clear packing tape. I mixed together two parts paint and one part dish soap and painted over the tape. My test run scratched right off, so I'm hoping the final version didn't fail me. 

Although I do enjoy the creation of Valentines, that pales in comparison to receiving them. This year saw a strong showing from all members. 

From my sister, 10(!) year old Hanukkah gelt! 

From my dad, a pun, of course. 

And from my mom, something artsy, but this year with a very topical reference to my stick blender. 

I hope y'all had a great Valentine's Day! If you didn't get me a present, wood you keep reading the Patti Wagon? 

(Gag.)

Valentines 3.0

If you've been on the Patti Wagon for the last year, you know that my family has a very special Valentine's Day tradition. We send each other homemade cards every year.  I have chronicled years past here and here.  I look forward to it as much as the Thanksgiving stuffing, body surfing contests, and Jon Solomon's 24-hour Christmas radio show (other Clayton family traditions). 

I have been in a bit of a crafting rut lately, so I went with my old standby, pop culture. 

For my mom: 

(For the record, I feel terrible about this. I made the card before this happened.)

And another UK-centric card for my dad: 

Anyone out there get it???

And cheesy pop music for Laurel: 

And these are the cards I received this year. 

From mom: 

Adorable!

And from dad, including a new font on the envelope!

And from Laurel, a reference to the greatest internet cat video ever. 

Check out Studio Adventures for more cards from this year. A family that puns together, stays together.  Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day! 

Valentines 2.0

On a previous post, I discussed my family's tradition of making each other Valentine's Day cards every year.  I guess writing that blog post got me in the spirit because I was super excited this year.  But then again, it is my favorite part about Valentine's Day.  Watching my students carry around copious amount of commercialized crap definitely isn't.  DIY is the only way to my heart.  You can see more Valentines on my mom's blog here. 

Here are the cards I made:

For my dad:

And for my mom:

For Laurel:

  

See the smarties hanging out the edges of the pants? Completely adorable, right?

I obviously had a knitting theme going. I hope this marks the start of me getting back into knitting. I have my eye on an infinity scarf pattern. 



Here are the cards I received:

From my mom:

I love how she was able to give the heart personality with only one eye and a smile. So artistic!


From my dad:

Love the Tom Clayton original photography. 

And from Laurel: 

A Valentine's guitar! With message on the back: You ROCK my world. 


Happy Valentine's Day!

Forced Family Crafting

Growing up, we had a saying in my family called FFO, short for Forced Family Outing. As in, "Do I seriously have to get my picture taken with Santa inside a giant snow globe, swirling with fake snow?" Or, "Does kayaking in alligator-infested waters really build character? Because I'd rather not." The answer to such questions was always indubitably, "Yes, this is an FFO. Just jam your paddle into the alligator's eyeball."

The way we celebrated (and still celebrate) Valentine's Day is akin to this. For as long as I can remember, we have been required to hand-craft Valentine's Day cards for each other. But unlike kayaking with alligators, this is something that I always look forward to.

Valentine's Day gifts can be so hackneyed.  And Valentine's Day in general can be downright abominable (at least the way I am forced to witness it every year - at a high school).  But this is a great way to recognize the day without all the mushiness.  If you're looking for a a new tradition for your sweetheart or family, I definitely recommend this one.

We each have our own style.

I can always count on my dad for some word play. 

Think about it...

My mom is artsy. 

                                       

And my sister and I often rely on pop culture. 

 

 

 Anyone else recognize Harry from Spellbound???

I don't know if I'll be topping the photoshopped Bieb this year. But I'm getting started, and I'll post pictures after Valentine's Day.