Sailors' Valentines - by Shannon Webster

Boy, have I come a long way! ALPHA is a 10″ Valentine set in an oak case that my husband Daniel made for me. I had expressed a longing to make a Sailors’ Valentine so for a surprise; Dan made me the case for my birthday one year. It has a wooden lid which he had an artist friend paint a ladybug on the cover to represent the nickname that my father gave me as a small child. It sat empty for about 3 years and then slowly I began to gather shells to make a Valentine. I will always keep this Valentine as it was my first and one must begin somewhere. I learned from ALPHA everything that one should not do when making a Sailors’ Valentine! This should give anyone contemplating this art form the impetus to move forward. No one taught me how to make them. I just looked at a few and went for it. You can too!!

ALPHA - My First SV