After Valentine’s Day has passed, the season of hearts, roses, and love notes doesn’t have to end!  Did you know that there are health benefits to writing love notes and notes of encouragement not only for the receiver but the writer?

Kory Floyd, PhD at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University has conducted research on the impact of affectionate communication on physical and mental health. In his research Floyd found that when positive feelings are communicated through words or actions health benefits such as lower stress hormones, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and a stronger immune system occurred among participants in the research group. Beyond physical health, love notes also serve as a therapeutic, creative outlet for processing emotions.

Remember in Elementary school when you made the big hearts from red construction paper and wrote a love note to mom for Valentines Day?  Those big beautiful conversation hearts are still wonderful ways to express love. Expressions of love and support can also be shared via text, writing letters, Post-It notes on the bathroom mirror, writing in the condensation of fog on the car window, or tucking a note in your loved one’s wallet, lunch bag, or book, to name a few ways.

To make your own paper for love notes follow these instructions from Rachel at Tinkerlab :

• A container to place strips of paper
• Tub to catch the water you squeeze from the blended paper
• Blender
• Water
• Paper: newspaper, tissue paper, magazines, etc. Be sure that it’s staple and tape-free
• Window Screen. 15-Inch X 21-Inch - 37-Inch Metal Rail Extension Window Screen is economical and reusable.
• Washcloth, towel, rag, paper towels, or a large piece of felt to absorb water
• Colorful threads, plant fibers, flower petals, or food coloring (optional)

• old newspapers
• printer paper
• junk mail
• wrapping paper
• paper grocery bags

• Tear the paper into tiny strips, about 2″.
• Place your window screen on top of the plastic tub
• Fill the blender about three quarters with water. Add a couple handfuls of paper to the blender. Run the blender on a low speed. You don’t want to burn the motor, so be sure the paper is covered. Since you will squeeze all the water out of the paper pulp, you can’t really have too much water. If the blender doesn’t move easily, add more water.
• Run the blender a little bit faster until the mixture is a nice, smooth pulp.
• Pour the pulp thinly and uniformly across the screen. Place a towel on top to absorb the extra water, while also pushing the water through the screen into the tub. Get the kids involved.
• Place one hand firmly on top of the cloth while you flip the screen over onto a table or countertop that can handle water.
• Remove the screen and put the cloth with paper pulp in a spot where it can dry, undisturbed, for about a day. The thicker the paper, the longer it will take to dry.