While many poems are written in a specific poetic form, such as a Haiku or a Sonnet, you don’t have to follow a specific form for your poem. Free verse poetry is poetry that doesn’t have a set form. If you do want to follow a form for your poetry, I found a site that lists types of poetry, including examples of each type and rhyme patterns.

Acrostic poems are ideal for inexperienced poets. Write your Valentine’s name vertically on a piece of paper. Then, write a line about that person for each letter of his or her name. Here’s a very bad example.

To My Dearest Sue:
S is for your lovely Smile
U is for your Unstoppable optimism.
E is for your Energy.

Give it a try. Even if you end up with something like my less than stellar effort, your loved one will probably really appreciate the effort!

Now, I could tell you about a few so-so gifts I’ve gotten, but a non-blogging friend received some mindblowingly bad gifts and asked me to share her worst Valentine’s ever, instead. That was the year she got a new stove so she could cook 5 course dinners for the lemon in her life. Not so bad? She got to pay it off, too, because he charged it on her card. That was her last Valentine’s celebration with him. Now, I’m not saying that a gift that bad could kill the romance, but why chance it?

Gayla, from MomGadget shares her story of the racing T-shirt that won her most unromantic gift award. I think even the most romance challenged person would be shocked by this one. It’s almost as bad as giving a Ravens fan a Colts T-shirt. Guys, if you’re going to give an unromantic gift, at least make sure the woman will like it a little!

If you’d like to join in with your Valentine’s Day gift horror story, there’s still time. I’ll add your tale of horror right up to that special day.

 

 

 

Mouse Heart Craft:

Bird Heart Craft:

To make it:
1. Glue the five heart points together so the hearts form a circle.
2. Glue the small heart or confetti in the middle.
3. Glue the pipe cleaner to the back of the flower and bend it so that it looks like a stem.
4. Repeat until you have an entire bouquet of heart flowers to give to your special Valentine.

There is nothing as special or personal as a homemade Valentine’s
Day card. Surprise your friends and family with your handmade
creations. Here are some ideas to get you started. The link at
the end of the article shows photographs of the finished cards.

Materials:

Four blank greeting cards (available at craft stores), dark red
piece of scrapbooking paper, white piece of cardstock, cream
colored piece of cardstock, red and white gingham piece of
scrapbooking paper, paper cutter, scissors, glue stick, computer,
printer, sewing machine.

Card #1

For this card you will need a dark red piece of scrapbooking
paper, a red and white gingham piece of scrapbooking paper (or
other coordinating piece of paper), and a piece of white
cardstock. Cut a piece of the dark red paper to fit the front of
the greeting card and glue it in place. The dark red is the
background of the card. Cut two strips of the gingham paper,
approximately an inch and a half wide. Cut them to the width of
the card (this card will open horizontally). Tear a freehand
heart from the gingham paper, large enough to fill up
approximately three quarters of the entire card. Next glue the
strips of gingham paper to the front of the card with space in
between them. The idea is that there is a “strip” of gingham, a
strip of red, a strip of gingham, and then a strip of red. Use
your sewing machine to stitch* along the edges of the strips of
gingham paper, and then stitch around the edge of the card. Glue
the heart in the middle of the card. Type “Happy Valentine’s
Day” on your computer and print out on white cardstock. Cut out
the phrase (narrow strip) and glue to the center of the heart.

* Stitching tips: If you have never used your sewing machine to
make cards, it is easy! Just sew on the paper like you would on
fabric. You might want to reserve a needle just for paper so you
don’t dull the needle for your fabric projects. There are two
ways you can include stitching in your card making projects. You
can either stitch directly on the card, or you can stitch on a
separate piece of paper and then glue that piece to the card
(then the stitching won’t show through the card).

Card #2:

This Valentine’s Day card is quick and easy. Cut a piece of dark
red paper to fit the front of your blank card and glue it in
place. Type “Happy Valentine’s Day” on your computer and print
it on the cream colored paper. Mat the cut-out phrase first on a
dark red piece of paper, and then mat that piece on another piece
of cream colored cardstock to create a layered look. This card
will open horizontally, so turn it in that direction and glue the
Valentine’s sentiment to the top third of the card. For the
bottom portion of the card cut three small freehand hearts from
the dark red paper. Glue these hearts to three torn scraps (in
the shapes of squares) of cream colored paper. Space these
pieces across the bottom of the card and glue in place. Stitch
around the outside of the card and around the “Happy Valentine’s
Day” if you wish, but it isn’t necessary.

Card #3:

This card is made from a dark red piece of paper and a cream
colored piece of paper. Cut a piece of the dark red paper to fit
the front of your blank card and glue it in place. Cut a large
square from the cream colored paper and glue it just above the
center of the card. Glue the piece of paper in place. Tear a
large heart from the dark red paper and glue it in the center of
the cream colored square. Type “Happy Valentine’s Day” on your
computer. Print on cream colored paper and glue in the center of
the heart. Stitch around the cream colored square and the edge of
the card, if you wish.

Card #4:

This card is made from a dark red piece of paper, the gingham
paper, and white card stock. This card will open horizontally.
Cut a piece of the dark red paper to fit the front of your
pre-made card and glue it in place. Cut two strips of gingham
paper and glue them to the top and bottom of the card so that
there is a red strip in between. Cut three freehand hearts from
the gingham paper and space them out in the red portion of the
card. Glue them in place. Type “Happy Valentine’s Day” on your
computer and print on white paper. Cut out into a narrow strip
(narrower than hearts) and glue in the center of the card on top
of the hearts.

Notes: – The terms “card stock” and “paper” are used
interchangably here, but it is up to you which kind of paper you
use, depending on the look you are trying to achieve – A sewing
machine isn’t necessary for this project, it is just a nice added
touch – You don’t have to use your computer for this project, you
can handwrite the words if you wish.

Photos of finished cards:
http://www.crafty-moms.com/valentines-day-cards.shtml

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For
scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family
memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com.