The story of Sailors' Valentines evokes romance-majestic sailing ships and long sea voyages, adventures in the New World, and daydreams of loved ones across wide oceans.  It has been said that sailors made the Valentines at sea for beloved family members to pass the time and to bestow as gifts upon their return.  In fact, they were actually made by craftsmen at the height of the Victorian Age in Barbados, a familiar port-of-call for many American and European ships.

I fell in love with them, learned the art of making them, and hope you will enjoy your valentine as much as I enjoyed creating it.