Sarah Hearts

Last night, Kevin and I had our Valentine’s Day dinner. We’re not really that big on the holiday, but I absolutely love any excuse to decorate the table and plan a menu. We recently finished our brick paver patio so I thought it would be great to have a Valentine’s dinner al fresco. I used only supplies I had on hand to decorate the table (after crafting for awhile you seem to accumulate all sorts of things).

Here are some of the details.
Tablerunner: a scrap of burlap I had, ironed and cut into a table runner.

Candle votives: mason jars left over from cheesecake in jars and jam. I torn a 1″ wide strip of fabric then tied it around each jar. Use scissors to cut the edges. Place a tea light candle inside each jar (you could also fill the jars half full with water and float the candle).

Heart drinking glasses: I made these about a month ago while I was recovering from my foot surgery. They are cheap Ikea 365 glasses that I painted a heart on. I used the Martha Stewart craft paints (from Michaels) which are dishwasher safe after they cure for 3 weeks.

Menus: I made a free printable template and you can get the details below!

Planning a Valentine’s day dinner or maybe an anniversary or birthday dinner? You can make these menus in a few minutes.

Supplies:
• Download the free Valentine’s Day menu template
• One 11″ x 8.5″ sheet of card stock per 2 menus
• Solid or patterned cardstock to mount the menus on, cut into 4.5″ x 6.5″ sheets (1 per menu)
• Glue or washi tape
• Scissors or an x-acto knife and ruler
• Word or Pages
• Home printer
• If you want to use the font I used, you can download it here.

Directions:
1. Install the Later On font (if you want to use the font I used). Open the template in Word or Pages and edit the menu. Print on card stock.
2. Cut out each menu then mount it on the solid or patterned paper. Use glue or washi tape to adhere it to the backer paper.
3. Enjoy your dinner with lovely little menus.

{Photos and printable menu by me.}

The MoMA, in New York City, has a new exhibition scheduled this year that is a little different than what you would normally find in the gallery. The exhibition, titled Standard Deviations: Prototypes, Archetypes, and Families in Contemporary Design, will feature work that seeks to put the designer’s individually into a piece that would otherwise be lost in the digital age. The work will include 23 typefaces, included those above. I hope I will get up the City this year to check it out!

Oakland, Zuzana Licko (1985).
You Can’t Lay Down Your Memory Chest of Drawers, Tejo Remy (1991).
Big Caslon, Matthew Carter (1994).
Gotham, Jonathan Hoefler & Tobias Frere-Jones (2000).
Interstate, Tobias Frere-Jones (1993-95).

This exhibition reminds me of a poster I made in college. The font used is Snell Roundhand, by Matthew Carter.

One on my favorite contemporary typographers, Ale Paul, recently released a new typeface that I’m swooning over. It’s called Brownstone and is a monoline sans-serif font that Ale himself says, “reflects the old-meets-new aesthetic of DIY craft culture.” Oh and did I mention the frames available within this font family? See below.

Designer Jen Montgomery is in the process of creating a playful animal font. I think they would be so cute in a kids bedroom or a classroom.

I have long been a fan of Ale Paul‘s typography. Their new Adios Script is pulling at my heart strings. I love it. Do you?