Want to Buy A Valentine?

All day yesterday on Twitter I was following along as Jessica Hische lettered a valentine for Marian Bantjes. The result, posted around 7 p.m. EST, was the kind of valentine most of us can only dream of making and receiving, and all the nicer for being an exchange of talent between friends. I grew up making valentines for friends and family members, sitting at the kitchen table with my mother, stacks of stuck-together doilies, piles of heart and cupid stickers, miniature flasks of Elmer’s glue, glitter, red paper, scissors. I would cut and stick and sprinkle to my heart’s content, and then watch as my mother inserted each artless creation into an envelope. We often bought the Love stamps to send them with, since we’re fussy that way, and I can remember disappointing pastel rose years, as well as a few graphic highlights.