Be My Valentine

With the exception of this year - I have been really busy with work - and during my middle school years - I did not want give anyone an additional reason to poke fun of me - I have made Valentines for friends since kindergarten.  Some single women do not like Valentine's Day.  Not me.  Valentines Day provides me with another excuse to shower people with cards.

When I was younger, I painstakingly calculated - numbers have never been a strong suit - how many paper  hearts and stickers I needed to make a card for each child in my class.  My motor skills weren't the best, so I cajoled my mom into cutting out the hearts. 

Back in the day, there was no high-speed internet and they didn't sell stickers at the grocery store.  I knew the location of every Hallmark store within five miles of my home, the homes of my maternal and paternal grandparents, and my physical therapist.  I was blessed to attend physical therapy sessions once and sometimes twice a week from age two and a half to 16.

Locating card supplies is much easier now.  I often order blank cards and envelopes from Paper Source.  Paper Source, an upscale stationery store which began in the Chicago area, now has a store in Colorado.  Impress Rubber Stamps, which has stores in the Seattle area, is a great resource for patterned cardstock.  I typically find stickers at King Soopers or order them from Mrs. Grossman's.  EK Success makes the best paper punches and Amazon sells them for the lowest price.  I get rubber stamps all over the place.