Maybe you’re one of those romantics who believes that Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to show that special someone how much you care. Or maybe you’re more likely to rant about how Hallmark has forced you to celebrate another holiday! Either way, Valentine’s Day has become a staple of modern culture, and if you ask us, setting aside a day to remind ourselves of the special love and kindness we should keep showing everyday isn’t a bad thing. But sometimes it can come with a bit of a bite.
How can you show how much you care without spending 3 weeks planning it or pawning your tv? Well, we’ve been working on coming up with some ideas that go beyond a heart-shaped box of chocolates. If you want to show your love in a unique and thoughtful way, here are our top 5 ideas from the shop:
Chocolates
I know we just dissed a little on the chocolate heart thing, but this is something a little different. Almost everyone loves chocolate, but we can come up with something a little more unique. We start with Ben Heggy’s local chocolates, which are better than anything you’ll find on a mega-mart shelf. We do have some regular chocolate boxes, if that’s your thing, but we also have a variety of other containers we can fill with chocolate, or we can just whip up something beautiful with some cellophane and hearts. No matter what, it’s more personal, and more delicious!
Papyrus Cards
No matter what gift you go with, you’re going to want to include a card. But don’t stick in just any card. We carry Papyrus Cards here at the shop. Their designs range from nice to amazing. Papyrus includes in their lineup some amazing three dimensional cards that literally jump off the page (ok, they don’t literally jump, but they do stand up). When they go to open their card and they see one of these inside, well, let’s just say it makes a great first impression.
Jewelry
What woman doesn’t love jewelry? Well, ok, some don’t. But must of us do. But rather than going to a chain store and picking ring #465 out of a production run of eight thousand, how about picking out something completely unique and made by a local artisan? At the shop we have a nice and constantly changing selection of hand-made jewelry put together by local artists. Giving one of these for Valentine’s Day shows that you went the extra mile and recognize just how unique your beloved is.
Framed Picture
Ok, you knew that had to be on the list, right? But seriously, a beautifully framed picture of the two of you or of your family at a special moment in time is a keepsake that can be cherished forever. It’s the kind of thing that people grab on their way out of the house when the kitchen catches on fire. And we do offer some amazing custom framing, but if your time is short, we have a quick option too! We work with a couple high quality frame companies. We carry their pre-made frames in a variety of sizes. When you bring in the perfect picture and find the right frame in the store, we can custom cut a framing mat the ideal size and color and usually have it all put together the same day.
Shadow Boxes
These are a bit of a new thing for us and we’re super proud of them. We’ve always made amazing custom shadow boxes, but because of all the individual artists’ time they can be a little pricey and take a while to complete. But now we have these 90%-100% complete shadow boxes ready to go in the shop. You stop in and find the right one for you and we can personalize with a picture and a name or quote that’s uniquely you and you’ll have an incredibly personal and deeply meaningful gift quickly and at a price that won’t break the bank.
Whatever you choose to do, have a great Valentine’s Day!
"We love these silhouettes, Jody. The process was so easy and they ended up looking exactly like our boys. We now have them hanging in our bedroom. This was our first experience with a custom framing shop and the quality is just unbelievable. And being able to look at and tweak every detail was awesome. Thanks again, Jody." -Missy L