Love is On the Page

Poking around upstairs today, trying to tackle my closet where The Wild Things Are, I found two ideas I'd scratched out on a canary-yellow page: something sweet to do for someone you love. I could save them for next Valentine's Day; but really, shouldn't we celebrate love at random? Get carried away by the moment and not wait? How long has it been since you've written a love note? We know we should, yet time eclipses our fanciful impulses. So before these impulses slip by and the yellow page is lost, I offer two sweet, quiet projects to spread the written love to a special person in your life:

Framed, Open Book

If you know someone who adores poetry or has a favorite book passage, why not turn it into art?
You'll need:
a hardcover book, a shadow box, a utility knife, two lengths of fishing line and a glue stick.

Step by Step:
1. Purchase a shadow box (available at craft stores) that will allow roughly a two inch margin around the opened book.
2. Remove the box's back panel and place on the table, backside facing up. Lay the book flat and open and trace around it using a pencil. Set aside.
3. Use the utility knife to poke four holes about an inch inside each corner of the traced rectangle. These will hold the fishing line and you don't want them visible.
4. Flip the panel over so the pencil marks are facing down and center the book, making sure to cover the holes you just made.
5. Cut two lengths of fishing line, each twice as long as the length of the book (top to bottom).
6. Thread the fishing line from the back through the top right corner hole you made, down along the page under the one you'd like to display and out through the bottom right corner hole. Tie the line snug in back to anchor the book's right side. Repeat with the left side.
7. Place a small amount of glue on the back of each display page and press gently to hold in place before reassembling the box.

Mirror, Mirror

Why not slip a sentiment or note of encouragement into the compact of a special woman in your life? Trace the powder puff onto card stock or a scrap of beautiful paper, cut out the circle and write your note. Circle a strip of tape on the note's back and affix it the mirror so she can remove it later.

And while I'm in the romantic mood and on the subject of love notes, here's a fun, award winning Italian short film that uses 4,500+ still photographs to tell a story. Enjoy.