This is quite a perfect wedding gift set, be reminded of that very special day, everyday.

saplanet original’s dolls are small and perfect to be carried around, or to decorate your car with.

Remember how she looks when she walks down the aisle, remember how your heart nearly jumps out from your chest while waiting… remember when her father gives her away… remember how she demurely says ‘I do’, remember the blissful smile she wears all day, that day…

Remember how he tries to contain his anxiety while you walk down the aisle, remember how he looks at you when he holds your hand and says ‘I do’, remember the vows you both share… remember how proud he feels to have you as his wife..

Of course, our new best seller is the hearty coasters, embroidered with the initial of names of the people who are special to us.

With so much love, I am sure Darren and Cassie will be enjoying abundance of joy, happiness, and love!

[wedding items]

Shilpa Shetty, yet another Bollywood babe, married with London-based businessman Raj Kundra in a lavish ceremony in Khandala.

What is strange is Shilpa is 34 and Raj is 33 and also Raj is a divorcee with a kid. Well, after all some wise man said, “Love is blind”.

Shilpa shot to international fame with her stint in UK reality show ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ for the racism row between her and Jade Goody. They did patch up after that. Were Jade alive today, she would have been the best friend from the bride’s side, probably.

The bride wore a burgundy and red saree, embellished with Swarovsky crystals, designed by Tarun Tahiliani while 33-year-old Kundra, who arrived at the wedding venue in a horse-drawn chariot, was dressed in a maroon and gold sherwani designed by Shantanu and Nikhil.

The marriage combined the rituals of the Mangalorean bride and the Punjabi groom with the vows being exchanged according to South Indian tradition while pre-wedding rituals like ‘Mehendi’ and ‘Sangeet’ conducted as per Punjabi tradition.

Wish the couple a Happy Married Life.

Art for Hearts Benefit Show Logo, copyright Jessica Libor 2009

I recently finished this small piece that will be used as the logo for the benefit show I am doing in February , Art for Hearts.  Proceeds from this exhibition will go to benefit children with heart problems in the Greenville area.  I am SO excited to be moving forward with this event, and thought I would share the most recent development with you: the finished painting of the logo.  More details on the actual event soon to come!

Asal mula hari Valentine tercipta pada jaman kerajaan Romawi. Menurut adat Romawi, 14 Februari adalah hari untuk menghormati Juno. Ia adalah ratu para dewa dewi Romawi. Rakyat Romawi juga menyebutnya sebagai dewi pernikahan. Di hari berikutnya, 15 Februari dimulailah perayaan ‘Feast of Lupercalia.’

Pada masa itu, kehidupan belum seperti sekarang ini, para gadis dilarang berhubungan dengan para pria. Pada malam menjelang festival Lupercalia berlangsung, nama-nama para gadis ditulis di selembar kertas dan kemudian dimasukkan ke dalam gelas kaca. Nantinya para pria harus mengambil satu kertas yang berisikan nama seorang gadis yang akan menjadi teman kencannya di festival itu.

Tak jarang pasangan ini akhirnya saling jatuh cinta satu sama lain, berpacaran selama beberapa tahun sebelum akhirnya menikah. Dibawah pemerintahan Kaisar Claudius II, Romawi terlibat dalam peperangan. Claudius yang dijuluki si kaisar kejam kesulitan merekrut pemuda untuk memperkuat armada perangnya.

Ia yakin bahwa para pria Romawi enggan masuk tentara karena berat meninggalkan keluarga dan kekasihnya. Akhirnya ia memerintahkan untuk membatalkan semua pernikahan dan pertunangan di Romawi. Saint Valentine yang saat itu menjadi pendeta terkenal di Romawi menolak perintah ini.

Ia bersama Saint Marius secara sembunyi-sembunyi menikahkan para pasangan yang sedang jatuh cinta. Namun aksi mereka diketahui sang kaisar yang segera memerintahkan pengawalnya untuk menyeret dan memenggal pendeta baik hati tersebut.

Ia meninggal tepat pada hari keempat belas di bulan Februari pada tahun 270 Masehi. Saat itu rakyat Romawi telah mengenal Februari sebagai festival Lupercalia, tradisi untuk memuja para dewa. Dalam tradisi ini para pria diperbolehkan memilih gadis untuk pasangan sehari.

Dan karena Lupercalia mulai pada pertengahan bulan Februari, para pastor memilih nama Hari Santo Valentinus untuk menggantikan nama perayaan itu. Sejak itu mulailah para pria memilih gadis yang diinginkannya bertepatan pada hari Valentine.

Valentine dan Sekarang

Di berbagai belahan dunia, orang beramai-ramai mengamini bahwa tanggal 14 Februari adalah hari Velentine. Di Indonesia pun, para warganya turut menyambut gembira datangnya hari kasih sayang ini, meskipun sebenarnya mereka tak tahu pasti mengapa harus ikut merayakan hari tersebut.

Di AS, Miss Esther Howland tercatat sebagai orang pertama yang mengirimkan kartu valentine pertama. Acara Valentine mulai dirayakan besar-besaran semenjak tahun 1800 dan pada perkembangannya, kini acara ini menjadi sebuah ajang bisnis yang menguntungkan.

Perlahan semarak hari kasih sayang ini merebak keluar dan menular pada masyarakat di seluruh dunia dibumbui dengan versi sentimentak tentang makna valentine itu sendiri. Bahkan anak-anak kecil pun tertular dengan wabah ini, mereka saling berkirim kartu dengan teman-temannya di sekolah untuk menunjukkan rasa sayang mereka.

Bukankah untuk menunjukkan rasa sayang kita terhadap teman, kekasih ataupun keluarga kita tak perlu menunggu datangnya tanggal 14 februari, kita bisa menunjukkannya setiap hari. Kita juga tak perlu mengeluarkan uang banyak untuk membeli coklat, bunga dan pernak-pernik lainnya untuk menunjukkan rasa sayang kita, cukup dengan perhatian yang tulus.

Love – for lovers; for family; for friends; for colleagues; even for strangers…

Drink your daily dose of love with your heart coasters…

Love – unconditional, no boundaries…

It’s still not common for Asians to express their affection as openly and freely to other people, as compared to our friends from the West. Things are beginning to change, for the better, but we still have the conservative frame around our hearts.

This Christmas, show your love more generously!

Tags: coaster, hearts, love, handmade, crochet, valentine

Here are some of my new hearts designs available on Shutterstock and as well as other agency.

including our absolutely most favorite piece yet!

Jacki and I got to visit her father’s hometown of Valentine, Nebraska with the family. We grabbed her younger sister, Jessi and skipped into town to take a few photos

!!!

!!!

I don’t know how this world got to be so out of balance, but I think everyone needs to take a step back and reevaluate who’s in control. First, I’d like you to answer these few questions.

1–Who puts the president into office?
2–Who makes movie stars and musicians famous?
3–Who shops in all the stores in this country?
4–Who buys gas at the gas stations?

If you’ve answered, WE THE PEOPLE, then you’re half way there. If we can make these institutions rich, and give them power and control, then we can take it away just as easily. It is this nation, as a whole, who’s given the government, the media, the retailer, not to mention the oil refineries, their wealth. We’ve let the government take over our lives. They tax our income and after they tax our income, we have to claim the interest that we earn on our savings. They tax our land, our bridges and tunnels, and they tax our utilities. What isn’t taxed? Now here’s my question. Why are we being taxed on things that have been paid for a thousand times over?

Let’s take the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island, NY, for example. Now, two years ago, statistics said that on the average, 195,000 cars travel over the Verrazano each day. Now, each year or just about, the cost to cross the Verrazano is raised. It now costs 11 dollars to cross the bridge. If we take 195,000 cars per day and times it by 11 dollars, that would make $2,145,000.00 that the bridge brings in each day. Now, if we take $2,145,000 a day and times it by 365 days in a year then that would be a total of $7,829,250,000.00 HELLLLOOOOOOO? That’s for one year, and I didn’t even factor in vehicles with more than four axles or increase in traffic.
This bridge has been open since 1964. If we allow for population growth and toll increases throughout the years, well, do I really have to spell it out for you? What have they done with all this money? And here’s the kicker . . . Staten Island residents have to pay the toll, as well. The only benefit we get by being a resident is that we pay half price. Well I say phooey! We pay property taxes, city taxes, sneezing taxes, and don’t forget the farting taxes. Isn’t that enough?

I’m sick of seeing money being spent on power struggles. I’m sick of seeing it being wasted on war. I say, screw the war and let’s start taking care of us. We need help. We need to reconstruct the system. We have to help those who are less fortunate. Who gives a shit about fighting? We’re all going to die sooner or later. Why fight over power. It’s just a phallic thing for these assholes.
Come on guys. We are the ones giving these people the power. If we would stick together and exercise our right to choose, they would crumble. Don’t you see? We have choices. We can vote or not vote. We can buy from a retailer or not buy. We hold the power. Think about it. If we exercise our right to choose, they’ll go down. And they will. Because history always repeats itself.

Cassius Barnaby James

Cassius Bradley

Cassius Bendigo

Cassius Branigan

Cassius Edmund Bede

Cassius Fabian

Cassius Edward John

Cassius Franklin

Cassius Gatsby

Cassius Grover

Cassius Finley

Cassius Homer

Cassius Jack

Cassius Jude

Cassius Marley

Cassius Noah/Noam

Cassius Orlando

Cassius Pablo

Cassius Quinn

Cassius Steven

Cassius Allan

Cassius Roan

Cassius Reuben

Cassius Roy

Cassius Rex

Cassius Ryo

Cassius Saul

Cassius Scott

Cassius Toby

Cassius Valentine

Cassius Willoughby

Cassius York

Cassius Zavier

Dearest Valentine

After the mass indulgences of Christmas and bills that do ensue
We don’t talk for a month but go on to commercially say, ‘I Love You’.

I TOLD you I didn’t want a card last year with your annoying apology,
for not listening and not being quite what I thought that you should be.

Go away with all that sappy writing and words of deep intent
I don’t believe a word of it, how are we paying the rent?

I’d rather have a cream bun if I am to be so awful plain
So save your £2.50, heed these words and think again.

This year I’m pretty grumpy, but I know I’m not alone
I’ll be stressy right up until the time you get back home.

Then you’ll hand me your pathetic card and silly little rhyme
I’ll most pro’bly grunt and huff abit but then take in the lines:

‘Valentine, Oh Sweet Valentine
Sweet Valentine so devine
I’m with you cos your beautiful
Lovely
And
Your Mine.’

It’s been a really long time now and we’re quite long in the tooth
But actually we’re alright you know, cos me and you are the proof!

Love from Me

xxx

In the state of Virginia there is a law that allows non-permanent residents to vote in elections.  Recently one University, with a political agenda, has discovered the power of this law; Liberty.  Liberty strongly encouraged students to vote in Virginia’s recent election, students were given the day off and free transportation to the polling station.  These students had an impact on the governor election, but there real impact was on the local, House of Delegates election.  Shannon Valentine, a Democrat, was the incumbent, and Scott Garrett the challenger was Republican.  Shannon Valentine led the election by a large percent the entire election night; with one precinct not yet reporting in she had well over a thousand vote lead.  But, the last precinct was Liberty’s precinct, and when the numbers came in over 85% had voted for Garrett, giving him a little over a 200 vote lead, winning the election.  Is this proper or right?  Should one group who the majority does not even live in the place of an election have so much influence?   I think not, regardless of any political party allegiance, no group of non-permanent residence should have such an impact on elections.  The numbers show that the city of Lynchburg elected Shannon Valentine, but the precinct of Liberty University elected Scott Garrett, giving the leaders of the University an un-proportionately loud say in politics.  No matter the location, or political spectrum, this should not be allowed, it is unfair for thousands of people from all over the country to congregate in the same area and then be given the right to vote there, only to leave again in four years leaving the people of Lynchburg to deal with the consequences of there vote, good or bad.  Treat other’s how you want to be treated; how would you like this in your city, a foreign group of people who control all of your elections?  You wouldn’t like it, speak out and stop improper voting laws for your own good, and the good of all affected.

John Locke