A Labor of Love

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A well-crafted mix, a compilation of songs carefully selected to tell a perfect story, has always been a gift of considerable thought. It's a gift that is as easy to bestow on a best friend as a lover, and it's always a bold move to bestow one on a crush.

The Argyle Academy

Technology has advanced the art of creating a mix; cds and mp3s have made it easier to fine-tune selections, to rearrange songs until the mix tells the exact story you want. While I can't complain about these advances (for I'm certain I spend more time now than ever before trying to achieve the perfect song order,) as surely as I date myself writing this, I can say nothing quite compares to the labor of love that was a mix tape.

Mix Tape USB Stick. I love these- they appeal to the mix tape fanatic who still lives inside me.

When making a mix tape, you often had to catch your favorite new songs on the radio. When they played, you waited patiently for the dj to stop talking, hoping he wouldn't talk too much over the beginning (or the end) of the song because you wanted to catch as close to the original versions as possible.

SparklePower

When you did catch a favorite song or when you were recording music from another cassette or a cd, you listened with the greatest of concentration; you wanted to stop the tape at the exact right spot-- not too soon and not too late. Knowing that spot was a well-honed skill that made a mix tape flow more smoothly from one song to the next.

SparklePower

Playlists were compiled with care to make sure they not only conveyed the right mood, but that they were also split acceptably between Side A and Side B; if you weren't cognizant of song length, you might find an unintentionally abrupt stop to the music at the end of a side.

heatherjeany

Before embarking on recording the mix, you also had to be fairly confident with the order of your selections. Once a song was sandwiched between two others, a change was only possible if you could find a song of equal length to fill the space or if you were willing to re-record everything after the change in selection. Once an entire side was recorded, there was often no turning back.

InvitaPaperStudio

Choosing the title of the tape, as well as the right words for the stickers on both sides, felt monumentally important. Fitting the entire playlist on the allotted spaces of the case liner was a creative challenge, and sometimes the cover of the case liner turned into your own work of art.

Messenger Bird Press

When the last song had been recorded, the liner notes written, and identifying stickers placed on each side of the tape, you'd slide the cassette into its case. The finished product you then held in your hands was not just a mix tape, but was also a labor of love.

Because I still have a huge collection of my old mix tapes, I love the idea of this product!

L-O-V-E spells...

As a lover of Scrabble, I always find it sweet when a wedding incorporates a nod to this classic game, and I absolutely adore this ring shot!

Real Wedding- Kait & Robin. Photographer Kella MacPhee via Brooklyn Bride

Little Boxes of Love

Everything Brooke Reynolds posts on Inchmark is sweet and inspiring, and these Valentine's she made with her kids (to hand out to their classes) are no exception. I am absolutely smitten and would adore receiving one of these myself! Love. Love. Love.

Love. Dreams. Heartbreak.

I absolutely adore both of these prints. The black. The gold. The words. The typography. The small, yet perfect additions of the (bird and heart) images. The prints almost serve as counterpoints to each other, but love, dreams, and heartbreak all exist in one life, so there is surely room for both prints in one house! Love. Love. Love.

the love shop

My French is terribly rusty (sad explanation in this post- scroll to "French Cloud Notebook,") but the description for this print lists the English translation as, "Nothing is real but dreams and love." Beautiful.

Heather Amuny-Dey at Velocity

Although this print mentions heartbreak, it also speaks of love-- because one must first know love before one can know heartbreak, no? And I imagine we have all encountered that voice at some point; the words could be uttered (or simply thought) about a person with whom one is hesitant to become involved, knowing only heartbreak can follow, or about a person who is so heartbroken words can't hide her pain.

Love Saves The Day

On my bluest of blue days, I often have to indulge my sadness. I will listen to haunting music and let myself cry. Once I have allowed the sadness to come, I can then often let it go. Many times what helps me let go is the love of someone in my life.

Pearl & Marmalade

Do you have someone who you feel this way about? A parent? A sibling? A friend? A pet? A boyfriend? A girlfriend? A spouse? Perhaps you have many people who fit this bill, for I know I do.

I could gift this sweet print (one of many pieces I adore at Pearl & Marmalade!) to a number of people in my life, for, I know, on my bluest of blue days, it is their love that helps pull me through. Their love saves my day.

Lovebirds

You certainly don't have to be in love to appreciate the sweetness of these black and white lovebirds.

Fly With Me

Ferm Living via Lekker

Pistachio Press

The Lovebug

When I was little, one of my very first loves was my adored stuffed animal collection. It started with three- a dog, a lamb, and a bunny- each of which received a lot of love at an early age. The group changed over the years, sometimes losing animals, but more often gaining.


By the time I graduated high school, I would guess I had somewhere between 10 to 15 stuffed animals. Some sat on bookshelves, some above windows, and a select few had the privilege of residing on my bed.


There was only one stuffed animal, however, that made the transition from infant to child to teenager with me and was always greeted with the exact same amount of love and adoration.


Her name was Le Mutt, creatively because that is what her tag had said, and she wore thick, lavender yarn ribbons at the place where her head met her soft, floppy ears. She was an oatmeal color with nubby fur, yellow-brown eyes and a brown thread nose. Her size was perfect for holding tightly while I slept; yes, not only was she a privileged resident of my bed, but she was the one with whom I chose to cuddle every night.


The years were not kind to Le Mutt, but she aged with much dignity as one would expect from a lovely French lady. She developed mange as areas of her fur were rubbed bare from my loving hands. Repeatedly being hugged and carried by her neck led to a migration of stuffing, both further down into her abdomen area and out of a teeny hole that developed in the place a trach would go.


Her neck grew thin and could no longer support the weight of her head, so she then remained in a permanent slump. Le Mutt even developed cataracts in later years, as her brown eyes glazed over with a hint of a whitish-grey.


By the time she left for college with me, Le Mutt was not in the best shape of her life, yet she accepted our move with the greatest of ease. I was especially thankful for her during my first few nights in my freshman dorm, as I tried to adjust to my new and strange surroundings. When I got sick for the first time that year and felt at a loss without my parents, Le Mutt was a strong and comforting reminder of home .


Le Mutt watched me grow from an infant to a young girl and then from a young girl to a young woman. She absorbed her fair share of tears over the years as in that time she saw three major moves, friends come and go, crushes come and go, and witnessed my heartbreak a few times. Le Mutt also read with me, studied with me, and kept me company under the covers on nights when when I was scared.


Le Mutt now lives safely on a shelf in my room at my parent's home, out of reach of a pup who one day discovered her and tried to claim Le Mutt for her own. She watches over things for me, and I hope that someday another child will find love and solace in her arms.

Do you have a Le Mutt in your life? Was it an animal, a blanket, something else? Is your loved object still a part of your life, stored away somewhere for safe keeping, or now only a memory?

To see more sweet lovebugs and larger versions of these photos, head here to the blog of the always amazing husband-and-wife team, Our Labor of Love.

Love Actually

Said quite perfectly...