Valentines for Preschool Party

Alrighty, these are a little over the top. I got them done in time, and everyone liked them, so I guess it was worth it. But had I realized how much time I would invest in them, I might not have done them in the first place!
Annaliese's valentines to her classmates and pals at preschool are these cute little chalkboard notes:

The designs came from ZippyDesignZ. It's an in-hoop project, much like the crayon rolls. The applique is a vinyl chalkboard material that you can write on and erase just like a chalkboard. When I showed Annaliese was I was planning to do, she quickly decided (without being asked, I might add) that the girls would get the ovals, the boys would get the rectangles and she would get the heart. :) I'm glad she's a better decision maker than I am!

I started stitching the ones for her classmates first. Even though I knew the dimensions, they still turned out smaller than I expected. So I decided to enlarge the designs to fill my hoop (a little bigger than the average 4x4 hoop). I definitely like the bigger size -- those four went to some of her pals in other classrooms.

Since I was already putting so much work into her valentines, I wanted it clear who they were to and from. There wasn't enough space on the front side to put names (which of course would have been the easiest place for it) so Kathy suggested embroidering the names on the back. I was not thrilled with the idea of two hoopings for all twelve valentines, but then I came up with a genius idea to do four at a time. The designs call for 5" squares. What I did was hoop a 10" square and stitch out the "to: name love, Annaliese" part four times, like this:

Then I cut them apart, and voila! Four backs in one hooping! This step took extra effort and time, but definitely worth it.

The design calls for the loop of ribbon at the top as a hanger or holder. I decided to add the loop of ribbon at the bottom as I stitched it shut to serve as a chalk holder.
Here are close-up shots of Annaliese's Valentine from me:

Chalkboard Roll

While I was in IL, my mother-in-law gave me several yards of chalkboard fabric. This is the coolest stuff -- it's vinyl, but can be written on and erased just like a chalkboard.
Modifying the crayon roll design by adding a rounded rectangle applique, we created this chalkboard roll:


I had no idea how tightly this would roll up, so instead of putting a ribbon w/velcro closure, I tried using a ponytail holder, not only to hold the chalk, but to wrap around it when closed:

It turned out ok, but there are some kinks that need to be worked out.
* Each ponytail holder needs to be stitched on top of itself instead of side by side (the chalk twists perpendicular to the roll).
* The chalkboard fabric was rolled the opposite way on the bolt, so the mat resists being rolled (actually I "folded" it). Only time will tell if the material will flatten out and decide to cooperate.