make | A Love Story "Lace" Valentine (for the romantics)

I only have two requirements when it comes to the guys I date : 

1. they like books
2. they can fix things

It's not a lofty list. I'm not asking for a Nietzschean scholar with a passion for welding. Just an interest in learning and the basic skills required to repair a leaky faucet. You'd be surprised at how often these two qualities are mutually exclusive

So - because I couldn't dream up a project involving re-bar or a sprocket wrench - today's valentine is inspired by the greatest love I've ever known : my love of books. 

Materials 

A Love Story : I used a collection that I bought on the side of Highway 99 for 25 cents.

Martha Stewart eyelet punch : Blick Art Supply

Earth Toned Drawing Paper : Blick Art Supply

Rubber Cement

White Paint Pen

1. gently tear pages away from the spine. Old books are the best for this because the glue is weaker. 
2. punch the outside edges of the pages! I'm head-over-heels for the Martha Stewart eyelet lace punch. 
3. make a card using your drawing paper (I always work in squares - this one is 3 inches by 3 inches). The soft edges - featured on all the cards we've made this week - are made by folding the paper, wetting the crease, and tearing. It's the easiest way to get a straight edge ever, and looks so pretty on fine milled paper. 
4. glue down using Rubber Cement. I don't suggest using another type of glue, because it seeps through the eyelet holes. Rubber Cement rocks because you can just roll off any excess once it's dried (by rubbing your finger across it)
5. cut off excess book paper
6. using your white paint pen, write your message! I used two that involve love and books. Yes, it's like intellectual woman's porn. 

from Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being

"Metaphors are not to be trifled with. A single metaphor can give birth to love" 

from Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 

"The only thing that came close was how he felt about his books. Only the combined love of everything he'd read and everything he hoped to write even came close"

tomorrow - for our fifth and final Valentine's Day Project - we'll make a card for the brokenhearted!