A Leap Month of Little Joys and Satisfactions: Homemade Valentine Charms

I was playing around with some gold-colored wire the other day and twisted these heart charms. I made a few and wondered what I should do with them. Then I thought to use them in packages of Valentine candy for my family members. 

I made jump rings out of scraps of the wire and attached these to the ribbon bows on the little bags. I think they're cute, and they were very easy to make.

A Leap Month of Little Joys and Satisfactions: Beautiful Blue Glass Jars Hidden in the Pantry

I was cleaning out the pantry yesterday morning and came across a 4-pack of these beautiful blue jars, hidden in the corner. I had bought them on clearance a couple of years ago for $6 (still had the price tag on the overwrap), stashed them behind stuff in the pantry, and plumb forgot all about them.

As I was making another batch of yogurt yesterday, (with all of my wide-mouth, quart-sized canning jars in use with sprouting), these came in very handy. Now, we'll have our homemade yogurt in these beautiful jars.

I was remembering something that my grandmother said to me -- beautiful belongings should be used or given to someone who will use them. So often, I hoard away those pretty little things, saving them for a "special occasion." Well, someday, all of my potential "special occasions" will come to an end here on earth. I might as well use these pretty things, now, to make ordinary occasions feel "special."