Every once in awhile, I look at these shelves in my studio...
...or more specifically, all of the things inside of them...
... and begin accusing myself of being a useless hoarder (and worse) and start mumbling about giving it all away.
Usually, my family hears these mumblings, begs me to reconsider, reminds me of the many times "having everything" in my studio has blessed others, and just generally backs me away from the cliff (and the thought of hiring a dumpster, building a chute to it from my second-story window and sliding everything into it) (yes, it gets that bad).
I'm so grateful for their interventions.
This week, as I was getting ready to host an American Girl Valentiny Party for a group of my young friends and their dolls, I pulled the matchboxes off the shelf... ...
...to make tiny invitations.
...with a surprise hidden inside.
I got down the red paint and the small wooden hearts ...
...to begin making place card holders.
When I needed something to hold the two hearts apart so the cards could be slipped in, I pulled down the toothpicks, and had an "Aha!" moment.
The wooden game pieces...
...were added to wooden spools, some empty tins and lids I stole (!) from the storage jars...
...to create mini cake stands (shown here with a naked cake during the test fitting).
The red binder clips...
...came down and were taken apart to serve as menu holders.
I made seven matching doll dresses as gifts for the girls...
...and I was very much over it by the time I finished!
I dumped out the contents of my "random heart charms" container and got out some beads to make dolly-sized necklaces as take-home favors.
(I also took some really bad photos.)
My friend, Able Baker Dana, came over on Friday to help with the little cakes and all the heart-shaped food preparation.
We had some fun...
...and did some work...
...which included cutting little tiny tortilla hearts...
...to make into tortilla chips.
We cut the world's tiniest carrot sticks...
...and we made menus...
...and small paper placemats, bingo cards, and hearts for "Musical Hearts".
When the big day came, I set the table using the tiny plastic 'silverware' I found at the dollar tree...
...6" dessert plates, votive cups for drinking glasses, and tiny cloth napkins made from the excess length I cut from the (free!) tablecloth.
And, finally, seven precious girls arrived, bringing their dolls with them.
They had lunch...
...waiting patiently for their special orders to be served.
They played Pin the Heart on the American Girl.
They played a (very intense!) game of "Musical Hearts"...
...but were great sports when they lost their place.
They played a game of reverse "Conversation Heart Bingo", eating the candies as the sayings were called.
Then we let them eat cake...
...and make the world's tiniest ice-cream sudaes.
They exchanged Valentines.
...had their photographs taken...
...and then they just played and played and played with their dolls and with each other.
It was a wonderful Valentiny day.