Love Tokens BombShell Style

Love tokens have been around forever, be it a simple flower to the more recognized engagement ring. A lot of the simple joys of the tokens have been lost over the years with all the technology we have at our fingers tips - love letters for example.

Shakespeare's Othello has been labelled (aka blamed) as the one responsible for making Handkerchiefs into love tokens to be given between couples, often resulting in the token being used to prove love or infidelity. Before then, they were used for knights to carry the colors or crest of a lady for Luck or loyalty in a joust or battle.

and in this age of re-usability and Eco-friendliness, handkerchiefs are making a big comeback, especially for my family due to their sensitive skin - i find paper tissues just rub the skin raw in this weather. So I thought I would personalize some with my Bombshell stamps.

Stamp your images as desired - i used a selection of Bombshell Stamps with stazon inks - you could use other fabric ink-pads but I had these to hand, remember to iron them afterwards to set the ink. Use a light coating of ink on the stamp as it may bleed a little on the fabric. As I used white handkerchiefs, I used a bleach pen to get rid of any unwanted marks before I ironed them.

you could embroider the outline and colour them in that way but I honestly suck at that beautiful skill so I coloured mine with some fabric markers (remember to iron them to heat set them). a note about using markers on fabrics - expect a bit of bleed to try and allow for that when coloring.
I think a set of each would be a great gift for that person in your life that doesn't fit into the "Hallmark" stereotypes :)

I also made a Love Token wall hanging using an embroidery hoop and the awesome Koi Bombshell stamps. This would be perfect for a wedding present as Koi symbolize perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose - perfect sentiments for a marriage.

I did though manage to stitch a very basic outline with some gold thread for this Hoop Token for my hubby. It has our wedding date on it so maybe it will help him remember next time ;)
I stamped the two images and then used Gold embroidery thread to highlight some of the lights. I then marked in pencil the words I wanted and stitched over the line. I used half the thread thickness for the line and the full thickness for the word "soulmates" so it stood out more.

I finished it off with some Ribbons at the hoop bolt and now it hangs in our living room. I am considering spraying the outer hoop with gold paint to match but we'll see.

So I hope you have been inspired to use your stamps to create a love token for the special person in your life - just in time for Valentine's day.
Thanks for sharing in the Bombshell love,
Anam