Happy LOTR Valentine, Love Gollum

[UPDATE: See this as an embroidery piece here!]

Details: done by me in pencil, gold gel pen, calligraphy ink, and a normal red ink pen, as a weird mishmash of styles: Alan Lee's sketches for LOTR, and the goofy heart-as-eyes on the faces of the male Animaniacs when they say "Helllloooo nurse!" The calligraphy is done by me, but copied from the "Party Business" font.

Here is my one and only bloggy nod to Valentine's Day, a week early, in case you'd like to be prepared. Also because it's Sew Grateful Week, and even though I don't have a tutorial or pattern, I can at least offer this printable? Anyway, I'm not even going to bother with the red dress Sew Weekly challenge next week, only because I already have a fantastic red dress, and I'm getting a head start on my costume challenge. And although I love my husband so much, I still remember the angst of being single on V-Day, so I'm not into big mushy gushy parades. Instead, I drew my valentine based on this classic movie still of jubilant Gollum, reunited with his precious at last. If that's not obsessive, creepy, disturbing love*, I don't know what is.

B&W version, traced on GIMP.

Anyway, if you'd like this as a coloring page for your small human beings, download it here. Incidentally, since it's all line art, you could even use it as an embroidery pattern. Or, if you want my pencil version (with color for the hearts and ring!), download it here. And the obvious rules of decency, if you download this, don't claim it as yours, copy, reproduce, modify, or profit from this in any way. If you post it to your blog or Facebook or whatever, please credit or link back to me. Lastly, I would love to see pictures if your small human being actually uses it as a valentine for classmates!

And yes, I know, I'm a huge geek.

*For all that Gollum's err, feelings about The One Ring could hardly be termed as love, I think LOTR has such a beautiful collection of examples of various kinds of love. There's Sam's "If I can't carry the ring, I'll carry you" love for Frodo, Theoden's "I trust you to lead my people" love for Eowyn, Arwen's "I'll forsake immortality for you" love for Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli's bros forever love, Sam's love for Bill the Pony, Boromir's for his people, even implied loves like Celeborn's for his way- awesomer-than-he-is-can-see-into-your-minds-and-the-future wife Galadriel.