Love is in the Air

Before you say it, I know. You can't get a more banal post title than this one, but this is my last Valentine's post for the year (I'm not one of those kitschy people who think Christmas in July is awesome). To kick off celebrating, my roommate and I turned into baking fiends and made more cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate covered strawberries and cherries than you can imagine (pics soon to come so you can see how little I'm exaggerating). Said sweets were then contributed towards a mini Valentine's party with close friends-fun games, delicious food, and lots of crafting (painted canvas bags, handmade valentines, and edible cookie valentines). Said party was followed by *cue awwws* dinner date and watching horror movies. On a side note, I thought my boyfriend and I were especially clever for thinking to watch horror movies on Valentine's Day (and it's fitting in a way considering the way of St. Valentine) because who would think to do that? However, this is Austin and we were so not the only couple to do that. Go figure- our city is chock-full of nerds, movie buffs, and fanboys (and girls).

For today's Etsy artist Valentine feature, I am sharing the work of one of my absolute favorite Etsy artists, Art All Night. Above is her Be Mine Valentine Sparrow Necklace, which features two Americana sparrows facing into a full glitter heart. Although it's the perfect feature piece for any Valentine's Day outfit, I can see myself wearing this rockin necklace year-round. Based out of Pittsburgh, Art All Night creates colorful classic Americana and Japanese tattoo art jewelry that could pass as the real deal. And, the cherry on top is that some of the pieces are painted with glitter, like the one above. Her work is perfect for anyone who has a deep appreciation of bright colors and tattoo art or someone who would love to have some ink but isn't ready to take the plunge. In addition to jewelry, AAN sells some of her own framed artwork that ranges from pin ups to dragons to pirate ships. For the extensive time and work that I imagine go into making these inspirational pieces, Art All Night charges an insanely fair price and makes it easy for everyone to own some great art. So, if you haven't already, go check out her shop and get inspired.

So how did y'all end up spending Valentine's? Did you find my mini (and unintentionally abridged) guide helpful? Let me know what your favorite feature was while you're at it!

Action Jackson out.