With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, things are getting a little romantic here at the Endpaper Blog. If chocolates and flowers just won’t do for yet another Valentine’s Day present, why not show off your creative side with a personalised love letter? Unfortunately, we don’t live in a Spike Jonze universe where Joaquin Phoenix can write a beautiful ode for you (see Her in theatres to appreciate this reference fully), but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. We’ve collected five of the most beautiful proclamations we’ve ever read to help you learn from the best when it comes to your Saint Valentine-inspired gift.
1) Begin with Purpose
“I wake filled with thoughts of you. Your portrait and the intoxicating evening which we spent yesterday have left my senses in turmoil.”
Napoleon Bonaparte may not be as well known for his romantic conquests as he for his military, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a soft spot for the ladies in his life. In this letter, written in 1795 to his future wife, Bonaparte exemplifies the importance of explaining just what has compelled him to pen the letter. It’s an important lesson for any letter-writer to learn – begin with a purpose so your sweetheart feels just how strongly your creativity has been moved by him or her.
2) Make it Personal
“Remember that once you finish the fresco we will be together forever once and for all, without arguments or anything, only to love one another.”
The last thing you want is for your personal ode to love to sound as though you’ve simply filled in the blanks of a form letter. In this letter to her husband, artist Frida Kahlo perfects the act of personalisation by relating her desire to write the letter to the particular circumstances of their lives.
3) Lay on the (Genuine) Compliments
“Your sonnet is quite lovely, and it is a marvel that those red rose leaf lips of yours should be made no less for the madness of music and song than for the madness of kissing. Your slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry.”
You may not have the same way with words as Oscar Wilde, but comparing your lover’s lips to roses is always a good place to start to get the compliment ball rolling. This step is what sets a platonic love letter apart from an intimately romantic one, and the key here is not to embarrass the one you love with over-the-top adulation but to highlight all the things you love about him or her in one thoughtfully arranged phrase (or list!).
4) Sum it All Up
“When you are old, I want you to recall those few hours, I want your dry bones to quiver with joy when you think of them.”
Aside from it being Valentine’s Day, just why did you write this letter? In the quotation above, Gustave Flaubert perfected the art of summing up his love letter by connecting not only his desire for the one to whom he is writing but also what he wishes for her to feel about their time spent together.
5) And Seal with a Kiss
“GOO BI. LOTSALOVE. YOUR ‘LIL’ BOOB. DICK.”
Though you can never go wrong with a good old “forever yours,” taking inspiration from Popeye cartoonist Elzie Segar’s love illustration is more likely to score points in the “personal and heartfelt” column.
What do you think: Is this the year you ditch the store-bought cards and write your own love poem for Valentine’s Day?
About Paperblanks®: At Paperblanks, we believe that art should have a place in all aspects of life. That’s why we follow the artist’s way in everything we do – creating, crafting and releasing designs we believe have the power to touch people. For more about Paperblanks®, go to our website at paperblanks.com.
