Happy LOVE Day!

nothing says love like a sweet baby who smiles and smiles at you no matter what!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!

Last Minute Valentine Ideas for Kids

I am up planning my preschool Valentine's Day party- so I thought I would hurry and share a few ideas with you- even though you probably already have your plans for tomorrow done. BUT you can "PIN IT" for next year. ha ha ha. (We all know pinning is the thing...) These are things I did with what I had on hand at home. I had a list of stuff to buy at the store and make- but decided to just use what we had already.

 These crayons are nothing new. But kids love crayons- and when they are in heart shapes with rainbow colors- they love them even more. The first few things here I put in little baggies for my Valentine to my preschoolers.

 Last year I made chocolate playdough- which smells delicious but looks grose. This year I had Valentine colored playdough already- so I just taped a little heart paper around it- so now it is Valentine playdough. The boys will just have to deal w/ the colors- cause these are the colors of the holiday.

 My kids are constantly getting in my pipecleaners, so we are always making things out of them. I found this idea on Make-n-Takes. To make it go further, I used these to tie the treat bags- which contained the above items and a little candy.

 I love this! I made snowflakes last year out of cardboard tubes- and so I was playing around with them today- and made it into a heart. No tape- just crease it in the shape of a heart and ta-da!

 We all love a good collage. We will be doing this one for our party- using cut up Valentine's Day tissue paper- from the dollar store.

 I saw this idea in Family Fun Magazine- but they had painted the doily on a t-shirt- and it turned out very cute! I will not be doing this one-cause I have to tell you- it is messy~! And preschoolers are already messy! This would be fun with older kids.

 Use up your leftover candy canes to decorate cookies- with heart shapes. You can melt candy canes together to form a heart too.

Happy Valentine's Day! My kids think this is the "best day ever" -- next to Christmas. Silly kids~!


And lastly, I came across this message on my blog from September 2009. I think it is perfect for Valentine's Day.


thanks for reading! Make sure to tell the people that matter most to you that you love them!

Kid's Craft: Star Wars Valentine's Box {R2D2}

You probably think I am just going to skip Valentine's Day blogging altogether right? WELL... I have a few little things to share. We had to make a little Valentine's Box for first grade. I remember when I made mine in first grade. We had a contest. I REALLY wanted to win. I worked so hard on decorating that silly box. Sure enough I won...and I was one little happy 6 year old.

SO...here I am with my kids- who are not girls- trying to turn a very "girly" holiday into a boy one. Enter Star Wars. If you saw our Halloween, and our Christmas ornaments, then you are probably not surprised.

Here is what we made from a shoe box.

 We just had a little R2D2 toy, so I googled, for images so I could get all the shapes right. Instead I found this design for a t-shirt, from Serial Moms. It fit perfectly onto the lid of the shoe box! So we just used that. I had my child trace and color all the shapes on it. I also had him cut out blue construction paper shapes that I had drawn for the head part. We attached the head-which is cardboard coverd in duct tape- to the lid of the shoebox, and then used popsicle sticks on the back to brace it so it won't flop all over the place. And since it was for Valentine's...we added a heart sticker where the red button should be.

We cut a hold in one of the biggest rectangles, and it is just right for dropping in those sweet little grade school cards. My son is so excited about his box, and I think I "boy-i-fied" the holiday. At least for this year!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Thanks for reading!

Last Minute Valentine's Idea-100 Things I Love About...{YOU}

 This is one of those crafts from the past- that perhaps you have already made- - years ago. However, I think it is one of those that still has some charm, - even years later. {these pics are blurry on purpose- to preserve some privacy}

To Make:

1. Think of 100 things and list you love about your spouse, your family, growing up a {insert last name}, your grandparents, your child, etc. These could be anything from traits about the person, places, events, activities, etc. 

2. Make a list, and then type them in a variety of different fonts, different sizes. Make one that is larger that has the title-example-- "100 things I love about Grandpa and Grandma......"

3.Pick a color scheme- use about 3 colors.

4.Using some 12 by 12 scrapbook paper as a base, layer at least 2 sheets- cutting the top sheet down 1/4 of an inch on both sides. I then stitched the two sheets together-using my sewing machine.

5. Next, you will need lots of charms, small items to add that personalize your 100 things. You can find these at scrapbook stores, or even small sewing notions- like buttons,etc. might work.

6. Cut up your 100 things. I inked the edges of many of them.

7. Start compiling your 100 things. Lay it out and arrange it so it is just how you like it. Then you are ready to glue it all down. I believe I used a glue stick, and glue dots for the charms.

8. Frame! Find a 12 by 12 frame, frame it, and give it as a very thoughtful Valentine's gift. This works for any occasion-of course- but I thought I would share it with you! It has been treasured for many years by grandparents, great-grandparents, and my husband.

Have Fun!

Free Valentine's Printables {Subway Art and others}

There are lots of cute Valentine Printables out there- so in the name of DIY- I created my own version on Subway Valentine Art using Photoshop. I know- I jumped on the free printable bandwagon. :)

get it HERE

If you like it- you can have it for FREE. CLICK here- and download it to your computer.  Print it in any size you like- I did an 8 x10,  and frame!  I just printed mine on cardstock, but you could print it on photo paper too- which would probably look a bit nicer. :)  You could print it smaller and use it for a card too- why not?

I made postcards, and 5x7 cards on cardstock. I used an ink pad to distress the edges. And that was it.

HERE is my cute version of a Valentine card your kids can make- for dad, grandparents, teachers, etc.
HERE, HERE, HERE,  HERE,and HERE are other cute versions of Valentine Printable Art. And there are many more out there! So you are sure to find a version just for you, or why not-  DIY- and make your own?


Let me know if you have any problems downloading it- or with any of the other links on here. :)
Thanks for reading- enjoy!
oxoxox

Valentine Love Message Blocks + Valentine Decor

I know it has been slow-n-go on this bloggy here lately. But finally I am getting time to post something! {yay!}

I have blocks for everything-autumn, spring, summer, baby, etc. - and was kind of bored with blocks- until I saw a few cute versions of Valentine Blocks out in the blog/internet world.

(Here and here are two great ideas for this craft-thanks for the inspiration ladies!)

 Instead of using vinyl, I just printed the font on scrapbook paper. We had the wood in the garage, and my sweet husband cut 3 inch squares for me. The font is called smiley monster, and I used size 48. I played around with different fonts, but I ended up using the same one my friend Erica used on her blocks. :)  I used modge podge to attach the papers- just like I did with these spring blocks.

The best part about this little craft is... IT WAS FREE!! Anyone locally, want to come make some? I don't even think we bought the wood. :) And the scrapbook paper- I have had forever. You can't beat a free cute craft! These would make great gifts- for family and friends too.

And just for fun, here are a few Valentine's Decorations from this year:

I made these a few years ago- I think. I did some very thrifty Valentine's Day Decor one year-and these were the splurge part. Yep- I was being very thrifty.  

 I put my OXOX in front of the family canvas photo. Do you have a canvas photo yet? These seem to be everywhere- I got this one for like $40 from Canvas on Demand, and it is pretty large. I love that Costco makes them now-and has great prices, and you can almost always find a great deal from Canvas People. Right now Canvas People has at least 25% off plus free shipping. I actually have a few more canvas photos on order :)  Just doing some decorating...nothing fancy-mostly thrifty!

Well this post took me an hour. Yep, such is the life with 3 small crazy boys running around. Just keeping it real....I'm a mom first and somedays it is not an easy job. ☻Hopefully I can get the time to post a few more things I have had finished for a while... 

Hope you are having a great end to January!

OXOXOXO