Eat your heart out Pinterest

I love beauty. I love when something as simple as a notebook feels special when it has a pretty print on the cover. However, I can get a little carried away sometimes. Like when Annalia's crayon box broke, and instead of just putting them in a ziplock bag, I made a pink, cinch bag to hold her crayons. Which of course meant she needed a matching bag to protect her "I Can Read" books, and now I want to make her cute matching name tags for her book bag and lunch box. See what I mean - a little carried away?

So of course, as Valentines Day approached, I started looking around for a really cool card idea that I could do together with the girls. I found this adorable froggy one - cute, right? Now, don't get me wrong, I think a beautifully, handcrafted card is a treasure, and shows a level of care and thoughtfulness that has been a little lost in our day and age.

But let's be honest, I wasn't going to make those cute froggy cards thinking about how each of

Annalia's classmates would appreciate the thought. No, I want all the mommies to think I am a cool, creative mom who takes time to do fun crafts with her kids.

Well, it was a busy week, (strep throat, scarlet fever, ear infection) and I didn't even think about making Valentine cards. we get to Sunday night, and of course I can't let her go to her class' Valentine's Day party without cards for her classmates. So, I pull out some old Thank You

cards (left over from our wedding) and colorful paper. She starts cutting out hearts, gluing them on, and all by herself, she creates these beauties.

I was humbled. I think about all the beautiful creations on Pinterest that I want to do, adding to this ridiculous list I think will make me a "cooler" person.

Tonight, I watched my daughter carefully cut, glue, and create individual cards for her friends, thinking about each classmate as she chose the colors and style. And I was reminded that this is what I love about handmade crafts. The thoughtfulness. The care.

It reminds me of a lady at church who hosts the most beautiful parties. Little flags label the foods, name plaques tell me which tea is in which pitcher, and the decorations are carefully handcrafted and gorgeous. With each detail, I know that she has been planning for weeks for my visit. She has put thought and care into making me feel welcome and comfortable in her home.

This is what I want to strive for. Thoughtfulness. I don't want to do things to show off, to make myself look cool. I want to make something because I know what joy it will bring to my friends, my family, and myself.