What do Fortune Cookies, Won Tons & Airplanes have to do with Valentine's Day?



I’m not even going to even pretend that I have natural craft ability. Nor will I stretch the truth when it comes to my artistic ability. Granted, my hearts are pretty darn cute and I can make my balloons look like they are floating up into space. Oh, and my teddy bears are adorable...from the neck up.

And that’s pretty much it.

I thought I could draw monkeys but during a game of Pictionary at Christmas, I was clearly informed that no, I could not.  (Thanks Suzie for that enlightening.)

But I'm o.k. with this.  I'm totally secure in the way God made me and the gifts I do have.  And besides, if I had taken most of the artistic ability, there would have been less for my brother to inherit.  Who, by the way, is an incredible and very talented artist.  Actually all my siblings can draw or be crafty.  Oh well. 

Anyways, that has nothing to do with fortune cookies, won tons and paper airplanes.  So let me get to the point...

When I do attempt crafts, it's almost always a replica of someone else's attempts at cuteness.  Their pictures of perfection draw me in and allow me to believe that I too, with the right supplies, can make that object of perfection.  And so it happened, once again.  I came across a blog where the mom does these amazing crafts with her kids.  I clicked on "Valentine's Day" and read through each craft.  Valentine's Day Felt Cookies caught my eye and I clicked away.  The idea of this craft is that you cut circles out of felt, glue a strip of floral wire to the middle, put a sweet little love note in the middle and then fold the circle to look like a fortune cookie.  Then, each day before Valentine's Day, your child can choose a "fortune cookie," crack it open and read their love note.  She describe it in such detail and truly, it looked so simple, that I thought, "Sure...Why not?"  So off we went to the craft store for the "perfect supplies."

I was so excited to start!!  I printed out all the "Love Notes," and all the felt was just sitting there begging to be cut.  So on February 1, right after school, we began.  (Yes, I realize that we should have been done, not starting, on Feb. 1, but time management is NOT one of my gifts either.)
The kids were excited to get started thinking that something with the title fortune cookie in it, meant a delectable treat.  I had to let them down easy. 


Our neighbor was over so she got to make them too!

The cutting went pretty smoothly.  Granted, some circles were pushing the oval shape, but I was just happy that they were engaged and cutting their own, so I keep my criticism to my myself. 
Once 56 circles were cut, we headed over to the counter to hot glue the wire to the middle.
 

The girls loved gluing even though their poor fingers felt more of the hot glue than the felt!  Jaxon wanted no part of the gluing and instead asked his sister and friend to glue all of his so he could do this...



He only stops reading to eat, sleep and watch A&M Football.  And even then, he usually has a book at the table, a book in his bed and a book in his lap so he can read during the commercials. 

I finally convinced Jaxon to at least try and glue one of his.  So what does he do?  He grabs the glue gun and starts shooting everything in the kitchen.  Lovely.  Gotta love boys! :)

So finally all the circles have wire glued to the middle with a strip of felt covering the wiring so it won't show.  Now it's time to add the "fortunes" and fold to look like fortune cookies. 

I can say, without reservations, THIS is where it all went awry.  You see, my laptop was frozen, so I couldn't pull up the crafty lady's directions and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to make them look like fortune cookies.  The best I could do was a shape resembling a won ton.  So I showed the kids my folding techniques for a won ton and wished them luck.  :)  Jaxon decided that a won ton was only one step away from a paper airplane, so he proceeds to make 14 felt airplanes.  All of which, he feels need flying practice, numerous times I might add, before getting put up. 

(At this point I'm really questioning why I feel the need to do crafts.)

I decided to hold off doing the ones for my husband because I really want to figure out how to fold them into fortune cookies.  So we finish the ones for the kids...

The ones in the bag are the fortunes for our next door neighbor...  The ones in the thing that look like an urn are for Jaxon, Chloe and Brian. 



As entertaining and frustrating as it was to make them, I am so glad we persevered!  The kids LOVE opening their "fortune" everyday (whether it's shaped like an airplane, a wonton or a fortune cookie) and seeing what special love note awaits them.  Here's an example of what they say:

For Chloe - I love your sense of humor and your creativity! You are such a gift from God!

For Jaxon - You are God's creation and you were made to do GREAT things!

For Brian - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Brian - You are LOVE.

I also gave one to Brian that said, "I love you more than coffee ice cream and bean burritos!" 
(For those of you that know me, know that this a WHOLE LOTTA LOVE! :)

The notes are a mixture of scripture pertaining to love and personal attributes that are special and individual to each person.

And yes, I will try this one again next year.  Especially since I'm saving all the little felt circles as they are opened. :)

*For those of you that want to try this craft or want to check out any other super cute crafts for holidays (or everyday) make your way to http://www.babeofmyheart.com/ and click on the craft link.  It's a great blog!!*

As I was researching which scriptures would be perfect for each person in my family, I came across 1 John 4:7-21.  It's all about God's love and our love for Him and for others. 

We know that love is important.  It's the reason that we are here.  It's the reason that God implemented a plan for our redemption.  Love is the reason Jesus sweated blood and Love for me and for you is what kept Jesus nailed to that cross.

We think of love as a feeling...something we can fall in and out of.  But real love is not a feeling, it's a choice and it's an action.

We have made love into something selfish and something shallow and in the process, we have contaminated our understanding of love and what God truly intended for us.  John says, "God is love."  He doesn't say, "Love is God."  Real love is like God, who is holy and just and perfect.

As you prepare to celebrate Valentine's day in your family, take the time to read this passage within your family and see what it would look like if we thought of love as a choice and an action instead of a feeling. 

And remember, the greatest commandment ever given was this...

"The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ... Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this:  Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these."

"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds everything together in perfect unity."

Colossians 3:14