"The Story of Sailor's Valentines evokes romance - majestic sailing ships and long sea voyages, adventures in the new world, and daydreams of loved ones across wide oceans... creation of Valentines was.. a cottage industry on the island of Barbados. Once a stopping point on long sea voyages, sailors happily ordered and/or purchased a Valentine to bring home and present to a family member or loved one."
(from Sailor's Valentine Studio)
This past weekend, I stopped by the Salem Maritime Festival (I'll share more about this tomorrow). They had lots of wonderful hands-on activities, one of which was making Sailor's Valentines. I'm sure it was meant for the kids, but of course, I hurried over to the table to make one anyway. :)
They provided small wooden circles, glue and a bowl of seashells to create the design. It was so fun to use these tiny beauties to create a little piece of historical artwork. (I'm hoping that I can tie this activity in with my U.S. history class this year!)
Here are a couple links to "real" sailor's valentines:
Bri loved and his seaside, summer valentine..
Kerrie, this post brings back memories for me. My grandpa was a merchant seaman. He sent my grandmother star fish, which she glued on the wall above her kitchen sink (not so environmentally friendly nowadays) I remember loving to touch the rough texture of their starry forms; it thrilled me as a child.
ReplyDeleteOh that's wonderful! Where did your Grandpa sail from?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I think a trip to Salem, MA is in order!
ReplyDeleteKerrie, all I know is that he lived in New York, so I suppose he sailed from there. There's no one alive to ask.
ReplyDelete