Coloring

It’s beginning to look a lot like Valentine’s Day!

I’ve been having some fun setting up little Valentiney vignettes in my dining room and living room. It’s not that I think it’s necessary to go all out for every holiday, but it’s so nice to have a little something to brighten things up here at Mayday Farm In February, in Michigan. And although many may throw shade over the day for being a holiday made up by the greeting card industry, what’s wrong with celebrating love?

One of my favorite decorations this year is one that I made last year with my Playgroup Girls. We became friends when we had little babies who needed socialization (or was that us?). But we have way more fun now that those kids have graduated high school, and we just make crafts, eat, drink coffee and TALK!!!

Last year my friend Kelly bought us all a picture frame, and she bought pretty scrapbooking type papers and heart punches. (The host supplies the craft.) We spent hours punching out the hearts and endlessly rearranging them. Then we would check our inspiration pictures on Pinterest. Then we would talk about how we liked the other two girls’ projects better than our own (we really do! I always like theirs better anyway, maybe they're just humoring me?).

This year a study came out about how relaxing coloring in a coloring book is, even for grown-ups. We now often refer to what we do as “coloring.” Coloring is our term for the process. The process of deciding, for me, that I would do mostly neutral hearts, with one main pop of color. The process for one of them that she would fold her hearts to pop out a little (I think Kelly).  And there was the process of the other deciding that she would choose the most vivid, beautiful colors (I think Jill). They were all beautiful, but we all truly agonized over these simple choices. It is nice that we have figured out it’s a beautiful agony, a luxury of choices, and arranging and rearranging is what it’s all about.

Coloring. Try it!

Just an empty heart candy box made this space festive and pretty.

I've been buying flowers every week, $3.99 for beautiful winter sunshine!

Just a fairy doll my daughter outgrew popped into a teapot. Love the excuse to use pink this time of year!