Esther Howland, the Mother of the American Valentine, brought the first affordable commercial valentines to the United States. Ester started her valentine card making business at 19 years old in 1847. In her first year, Ester sold $5,000 worth of valentines. That’s equivalent to almost $150,000 today! At the heart of Ester’s business empire was love – the love of her supportive family, the love and respect she showed for her all-woman, work-from-home staff who crafted the New England Valentine Company’s cards, the love and care that went into each hand crafted valentine, and the love felt each time one of those valentines was delivered. How many hearts were connected in this lovely business?

With that inspiration, we’ve got a challenge for you. How many hearts does it take to make a Valentine? A Valentine Cat, a Valentine Dog, A Valentine Bird? How many hearts? Test your doodle skill, and have some fun counting while you make some one of a kind Valentines this year!

A special thank you to my mom, Terri Nield for her adorable valentine art, her incredible creativity and her constant love, support and inspiration!