I keep planning ways to make Valentine's extra special this year because it's probably the first time ever that I'm in the mood to celebrate. I've practiced making heart shaped cookies, paper garlands and even pink pancakes and I can't get enough of it. That's why I decided to make some pretty quotes paper placemats to keep it romantic!
I had such a hard time when I was thinking about what to draw on the placemats. I kind of knew I wanted a hand written quote but how to decide when there are so many good quotes out there? I searched and searched and nothing seemed good enough. I finally came across Oscar Wilde's book "The Happy Prince" which I love and instantly remembered that pretty quote:
'Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and a richness to life that nothing else can bring'
It's a pretty long quote and I wanted the placemats to be simple so I went with my favorite part and trashed the rest.
Next I had to decide how to write it. I'm known for my sucky penmanship but I am studying and practicing calligraphy so I was pretty sure I wanted to incorporate that. I kind of went with my gut and improvised. I got it kind of right the first time I tried so I went ahead and traced it back on Kraft paper.
I did encounter problems in the process the main one being that when I started tracing with a sharpie the first time and it bled SO much! You couldn't even understand where the lines went and everything became one horrible blob so I had to start all over again and trace it with a thin marker that didn't bleed. But after that it was a breeze. It took me 35 minutes in total from the moment I started sketching on a piece of paper.
So there it is! I'll be sure to make more for our Valentine's dinner. What quotes should I include? What are your favorite ones?