Make A "Sailor's Valentine" For Valentine's Day

Learn a Craft, Enjoy Tea, Chocolate and Stories

December 30, 2010 – For a memorable Valentine's Day gift, learn how to make a "sailor's valentine" while enjoying tea, chocolate, and stories of maritime romance at Penobscot Marine Museum. The class will run from 9:00 a.m. to noon, Saturday, February 12.

Sailors’ valentines are arrangements of shells in geometric or floral patterns – often with a central photograph or message spelled out in tiny shells – enclosed in glass-fronted frames. Popular in the 19th century, they were produced mainly on the island of Barbados, in the Caribbean. Visiting American seamen would purchase and bring them home for their wives, girlfriends, mothers, or sisters as tokens of affection.

In the class, participants will assemble sea shells (and personal photos, if desired) in glass-fronted frames. The museum will provide examples and materials. Although typical sailors’ valentines held only shells and photographs, participants may bring small personal objects to incorporate for a contemporary approach.

In keeping with the Valentine's Day theme, romantic stories of the sea will be offered by Curator Cipperly Good, and tea and chocolate will be served. The event will be an elegant and romantic prelude to Valentine's Day, and participants will create a lovely keepsake gift for a loved one.

The $40 registration fee includes materials and refreshments. (Museum members receive a 10% discount.) To register, contact Education Director Betty Schopmeyer: 207-548-2529 ext. 206.