Happy Valentine's Day!

I always enjoy Valentine's Day--yes, even though I'm still single. [sigh: someday . . . ]. I like to think of it as a day to celebrate God's love.

Here are the little Valentine goodies I've made for my third grade class. At the top of the picture is one of the little packages all wrapped up and ready to give. The rest of the picture displays the contents. These little valentines were easy but time-consuming to assemble. I had fun watching a movie with my family last night as I worked on this project.

The pink scroll has the following message:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy these little Valentine goodies! On this festive occasion, I hope they help you celebrate the sweet love of God. “We love because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19)

A Hershey's Hug to remind you that God's love for you is everlasting.“I have loved you with an everlasting love, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Jer. 31:3 and Deut. 33:27)

Cinnamon Red Hots to remind you that Jesus’ love took the heat for your sins. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10)

A heart-shaped chocolate to remind you to love the Lord your God with your whole heart. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:5)

A Hershey's Silver Nugget to remind you to love God's Word supremely. “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.” (Psalm 119:72)

Conversation Hearts to remind you to share God’s love with others.“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.” (Heb. 10:24)

I assembled the gifts using mini paper baking cups, wrapped with cellophane. Those mini baking cups made such cute yet inexpensive packaging! The size of the packages worked perfectly to cut squares of cellophane that were 1/3 the width of the cellophane roll. I used generous pieces of curling ribbon to tie the cellophane around the paper cups, so that I had plenty of left over ribbon to secure the pink scrolls. Voila!

The Sweetest Gift

Tomorrow afternoon is our 3rd grade class Christmas party. Since we're in a Christian school, we're privileged to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. I wanted to put a little something together that would be fun and meaningful for the kids. Here's what I've been up to this evening . . .

May these sweets help you celebrate Jesus, the very sweetest gift of all...

• A candy-cane, shaped like a shepherd’s staff, to remind you that Jesus came to be your Good Shepherd (John 10:11). 
• A gold-wrapped Rolo, shaped like a crown, to remind you that Jesus is the King of Kings (Revelation 19:16).
• Smarties, to remind you that Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).
• A Dove, a symbol for peace, to remind you that Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
• A Starlight mint, to remind you that Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12).
• A Milky Way, to remind you that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
• A Life Saver, to remind you that Jesus came to be your Savior (Luke 2:11).
• A Hershey Hug, to remind you that Jesus loves you (John 3:16).
• An Almond Joy, to remind you that Jesus is the source of joy (John 15:11).

Wishing you a Christmas filled with His sweetness!

Style Secret: Brown Paper Packages

I found this floral-printed brown wrapping paper at the Dollar Tree the other day. It's a lot more fun than plain brown paper for mailing packages. =)