Samantha's Victorian Valentine's Cards

One of Samantha's favorite things to do was to make Valentines for her friends and family. Aunt Cornelia would help Samantha piece together her elaborate Valentines. Today, I am going to show you how to make your own Victorian-inspired Valentine card, just like Samantha would have.

Victorian Valentines were super detailed and elaborate. You can check out my Pinterest board here to see some ideas and my sources for this activity.

• Think nature & Cupid. Victorian Valentines featured lots of deer, birds, dogs, flowers, young children, and Cupid.
• Lot of layers! The Victorians loved layering. They liked a busy card with lots of decorations.
• Gold and lace. Doilies were very popular as well as anything gold.
• Good penmanship. Penmanship was considered a work of art, so most cards had the message beautifully written.
• Punny sayings. Bee mine, forget me not, etc.

Let's get started! You can use almost any card making supplies, but here are a few ideas...

• Ribbon
• Print outs (I saved you a few on Pinterest, and you can find more through Google.)
• Cardstock-- pink, white, red, etc.
• Hole puncher
• Scissors
• Glue
• Sharpie Markers-- gold, black, silver
• Doilies

In the top picture of Samantha, her card actually expands! It's a bunch of hears linked together which have "I Love You" written on it. Victorians were really into cutouts. I did this by making a heat shake on cardstock. I had a flat bottom on the heart so it can stand up straight. Then I traced it, slightly overlapping the heart on the wide part and cut it out. I did nice lettering and added some ribbon for a special touch.

I incorporated some ribbon into this one by stringing it though holes make with a hole puncher. I added a cutout I found on Google and did some nice lettering. The best part? This cute ribbon was only $1 at the Dollar Tree.

I glued a layer of light pink tissue paper over red cardstock and added some cutouts and a doily. Victorian-era Valentines tended to be very full-- what we might call cluttered today.

I love this ribbon! I got it for $1 at Walmart. I really liked the vintage, lacy look of it.

I incorporated a cut-out like I used for Samantha's valentine in the very top picture, as well as a doily and some cut outs, not to mention that pretty lacy ribbon! The dog, cherub, and woman are very romantic, Valentine-y Victorian era.

I hope my creations help inspire you! Be sure to share with me any Valentines you make via e-mail-- I love seeing you guys make my ideas your own.

Craft: Ribbon Headband

Today, I was feeling a little crafty. I made this cool, no-sew ribbon headband for Emily. It was so much fun I just had to make another, and I took some pictures to show you how to do it!

One thing I love about this craft is that all the supplies are easy to find. I got all of mine at Walmart. (My Walmart does have a sewing section; if yours does not, you can find these things at Michael's or online.)

You will need:

• An iron & ironing board
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Ribbon of your choice (If it is too wide, it will not sit properly on the doll's head. If it is narrower than the elastic, then this craft will not work.)
• Narrow elastic
• Iron-on hem
• Scrap of fabric (will not be visible so the pattern does not matter)
• Clear nail polish (optional)

First, measure and cut 9 inches of ribbon and 3 inches of elastic. Cut off 4 sections of the iron-on hem. (The iron-on hem rectangles should be narrower than your ribbon, but slightly wider than your elastic.) Cut your scrap into two parts-- the fabric should be wider than your elastic but narrower than your ribbon. On your ironing board, stack the ribbon, a piece of hem, the elastic, and another piece of hem. Add the fabric scrap on top and iron. Your brand of hem iron-on will probably have instructions on how long to rub the iron over it; mine was 7-10 seconds. Do the same thing with the other side. Be careful not to twist your ribbon! Let it dry for a few seconds and give it a gentle tug to make sure it is in place. If not, iron some more. Finally, flip so your fabric scraps are on the inside, and ta-da, you have it!

Emily is wearing a purple one I made her to match her Christmas dress. The purple ribbon was a little narrower, so it was harder to use since it was the same width as my elastic. I made the navy one that is shown in the instructions to match an outfit I am sewing. (Pics soon, I promise!)

What do you think of Emily's headband? If you make one, be sure to send me an e-mail(americangirlcorner@gmail.com), I love seeing what you make.