Valentine Bears

I made my kids bears. Wouldn't it be awesome if I edited these photos? I made them for valentine's day presents. If you look closely you can tell what order I sewed them in. I used this tutorial. I used fleece so it was a nice and easy project.

I also used this printable.

Valentine Flowers

I don't think my husband has bought me flowers since we got married.  He does this thing from time to time when we are at the store asking if I want flowers.  One day, I called him on it, I said, of course I don't want flowers if I know they cost $20.  He said well if I don't offer when you can see the price then you'll want me to waste our money.  At least he knows me. I could also buy myself flowers, I buy myself loads of presents, but yet I don't because who wants to waste the money? Not me.  But I do like flowers, so I end up making flowers with scrap of fabric and other craft items that cost zero dollars.  On Saturday I decided I wanted some Valentine's flowers, so of course I had to make them before my baby is born.  I decided this tulle poof, Dr. Seuss trulia flowers were what I needed. 

 Then I used an old jar I had laying around for a vase. I used this tutorial.

 But my valentine flower needs did not end there.  The fabric flowers I had next to my subway art, clashed quite awfully with my wreath and valentine subway art, so I decided to make some really easy flowers with my glue gun.

Considering it has snowed all day, its nice to have all these cheery valentine's flowers around my house.

A Wreath I Don't Need

I made this wreath.  I saw it two or three times of pinterest during the holidays, and totally fell in love with it.  I thought it was adorable, but I really have no place for another wreath.  

 Then when I re-did my january wreath, I found myself with an extra wreath form, and since I already had 3 yards of this burlap furniture tape stuff, I made the wreath, because how could I resist.

The other night I added these felt love birds I made last valentine's.  They match perfect with wreath.

Love Sign

Here is the end of my valentine crafts
A love sign, like the ones all over Pinterest. I recycled the letters from an old craft so I just had to glue! So easy!

I made these love birds for a wreath, but it just looked too old lady and kitschy, in a wreath, but I thought they were cute on their own.

Lastly these hearts I didn't make, I bought them years ago in clearance. Turns out they are my favorite decoration this year.

Valentine Envelopes

I made my family PB hacked felt valentine's envelopes. Then my daughter wrote all over hers. :(

Too many

I ended up making way too many valentines wreaths! So I gave one to a friend-- she was very pleased.
I cut a heart shape out of cardboard and with the help of a glue gun, I covered it with yarn. Yarn I already had. I used old valentine plaid fabric for my rosettes, and of course a glue gun! Cost of wreath: free.

Heart Shaped Foam Wreath

Since I started putting wreaths on my wine rack, I need two valentine's wreaths right? So I planned on covering a foam heart shape wreath with yarn. Yeah that doesn't work. It has hideous so I gave up. I ended up with this wreath, I love it.

But originally it didn't look like that.  Originally I didn't know what to do once the yarn didn't work, then while sitting at my sewing machine, I realized I could cover it with strips of material. I then pulled out strips and made the insanely crazy valentines wreath on crack, it was a work on progress, so luckily I changed the material and made it look like the first one.

Unfortunately I like my ruffle wreath too much, so this wreath does not reside on my wine rack.

But I did add valentine bunting to my ruffle wreath. It matches perfectly with my valentines subway art.

Heart and Burlap

This is my new wreath. I kind of really love it, like I a lot. The heart shape grapevine wreath was sort of expensive, with a 40% off it was still something like $6, but the burlap and lace I already had.

Homemade Valentine's Day

For some reason I make my kids homemade valentine presents. I was going to quit this year, but then I saw Rainy Day Hopscotch in a Family Fun Magazine in a doctor's office and knew that my son would love it.  He is obsessed with hopscotch from recess. 

 The longest part of the project was cutting out the stencils.  I would link to family fun magazine but I never could find a link.

 My daughter got a frilly tool belt.  Probably doesn't look like a tool belt to you, but we have a kid tool belt that she loves and wears all the time because she loves the pockets.  Not all of her pants have pockets and she needs pockets for her cell phone.

Valentine Breakfast

My kids woke up early on valentine day's so I made them, heart pancakes with valentine sprinkles inside and on top of the cream.

I feel guilty I didn't take a picture of my son in his red shirt.

Mailboxes

Remember these?

Yeah, I threw them away when we moved, there was no way I was moving empty kleenex boxes even if they were pretty.  I don't regret not moving them, but I wish I had them, if that makes sense?
I want to make these to replace them.

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But I'm planning on getting a new car this year, and every dollar I don't spend on something means a dollar I don't have to pay interest on so, I got to like seriously budget, save and be frugal, and $10 on mailboxes, just is not in the budget this February. But oh how I love those mailboxes, more than like any other valentine thing on pinterest this year.
Instead I think I'll make these:

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But in different colors for everyone's favorite colors.  I don't feel the need to make everything red. Plus it will add some valentines flare to make kitchen which often doesn't get decorated.  I can't handle decorations and crumbs.  Ahh, it makes me want to cry thinking about it!
While we are talking about valentine's I seriously love this pillow

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And I really would like to make a valentine tree, its great because its free. Will someone help me find and arrange my branches?  Maybe one of my brown eyed boys will help me.

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But I got off topic, go stare at the mailboxes, I want to make, and pretend they are in my house.

Birthdays

Whew, the middle of February is a busy time for our family, and I like things over the top. I'm trying to plan it so I know what to do eat day.
We have Valentines and my husband's birthday, then two days later is my son's birthday.
So part of me wants some sort of homemade valentine's treat for my kids, and then I need a dessert for my husband's birthday.  I think we'll make cookies the weekend before.

Then for my husband's birthday we would preferably a strawberry dessert.

I will probably attempt his mom's strawberry pie, he always tells me I didn't make it right, but over the years I've realized I'm ok with that, his mom deserves to be glorified by him. (And in his defense, I do change it from time to time.)
For the first couple of years I always told him I wanted to make it for his birthday, and he always told me it wasn't strawberry season.  Well this year I've decided who cares, globalization has made valentine's strawberry season, so who cares.
The following day I need to make something for my son to take to school, the next morning and he does not really like cake. Luckily I can make the treat this year.  I was thinking I wanted to make chocolate chip sandwich cookies, but maybe they'll just get plain cookies

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The for his birthday, I was still thinking the chocolate chip cake, but will he get chocolate chip overloaded?  I don't know, he never has before.

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But may its too hard to do all this in a week, so I'm thinking this would be a good idea for his birthday.  My husband says it sounds gross, but I know my son will love it.

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All it is ice cream sandwiches and whipped cream frozen, I know my son will love it.

What do you think, chocolate chip cookie ice box cake, or Easy Ice Cream sandwich cake?

Then the following day we'll have his friend party, what to make what to make, for a child who doesn't really like cake?

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How about this chocolate chip cookie bowls with ice cream on top?  I'm thinking ten 5-6 year olds will think it is fun, and my son will love eating it.
But instead maybe I'll make a giant chocolate chip cookie, and serve ice cream after we cut it up for the kids.  The giant chocolate chip cookie is probably more exciting to kids than cookie bowls. The last time I made my son a giant chocolate chip cookie he didn't really like it, but that's because the recipe didn't put enough chocolate chips in it. If I got m&m baking chips he would really like that, although I wouldn't.

He wants chocolate dipped oreos, which is my own fault, but I don't really know how and I don't really have the energy to learn in the next four weeks.
What do you think?  Chocolate chip cookie bowls, or giant birthday cookie?
I'm thinking I'll go easier, then hard on each one.  If I only had event I would go over the top.
But I think the ice cream sandwhich icebox cake, and the giant cookie. My plan for his school birthday, is to make the cookies ahead of time and freeze them.
Oh on top of this I'm assistant room mom, and I think I'm in charge of the valentine's party in kindergarten.  Plus my son's birthday is the 100th day of school, so we also have to do something to bring in for 100th day.  Whew, are you tired just reading this post?
Good think I'm obsessive planner or none of this would get done.
And at one point I thought wanted to throw my husband a birthday party because its his 30th!
Although that still sounds appealing, maybe an open house the weekend before!?
It would be super fun if we rented a ping pong table, but I'm sure that is not in the budget.
Please readership I know most of you don't post, tell me your opinions and advice.

Better Late than Never, Valentine Brownies

About two weeks after Valentine's we finally made our heart shaped brownies. I was suprised how much the boys like brownies. I haven't made brownies regularly since before I had a colicy infant. Chocolate doesn't do well for colic. I was surpised everyone liked brownies, I only remembered me liking them.

Even though these are all cute and valentiney everyone liked them plain better.

Valentine's Cards

I had a lot of squares of material with hearts cut out of them from my heart garland, so I recycled some of them to make valentine's cards.  I sewed the material on to paper to make the cards.  We bought packaged valentine's for the preschool class, but sent these to grandma's and such.

Valentine Birthdays

I teach two five years in church.  I technically have five kids, but two show up.  One of their birthdays is today, just like my hubby, so I made him cupcake cookies. He is now six.  The cookies turned out cuter than I expected. I was quite proud with myself.

I only made a few cupcakes because they were so much work, mostly I made valentine cookies.

More Hearts

I love my heart garland so much I made to make more hearts.

P.S. Don't hate on the network cable.  Everyone has things they care about, this family-- fast internet.

Heart Garland

I decided our house needed a heart garland. I realized in the middle of the project that I should have used Heat and Bond, but instead I had to sewed the hearts together. Luckily I bought a sizzix heart die for my old school sizzix cutter, so I didn't actually have to individually cut out the hearts. Heat and Bond should have been applied before the cutting, which is why I had to sew.

It was a little monotonous and repetitive to say the least but I love to look at it as I wait for my TV it to turn on.  I also ended up making it about twice as long as I needed because I didn't measure.

We made valentines

We made valentines in our house. I made valentine boxes for everyone, because well I'm silly and enjoy doing silly things. It took me three boxes until I finally figured out how to make them look good, so then I ripped the paper off the ugly ones and started all over. I used old kleenex boxes. The key with covering boxes, is using two pieces of scrapbook paper, that meet on the middle of the top of the box. Then folding the paper that over laps on the short ends of the box, and cutting so it doesn't bunch and then cutting a new square and covering up where the paper doesn't match up. I know that doesn't really make sense. But I feel like I'm my part to save other people time. I'm quite excited about a valentine's party for my son next year in preschool if you can't tell. My son is really into letters this year, so its fun for him to make valentines for everyone and put them in mailboxes. Plus I've been using scraps of paper and writing little phrases to put in my kids boxes, they will have fun pulling them out. Plus I always HAVE to make my husband a valentines/birthday card. My boxes make me happy, and I think I'll have to find space to save them for next year.

My son made valentines for his grandmas. I love them. He is getting so "advanced" in his artwork. It was totally his idea to make little heart people.

Plus here he is writing his name for store bought valentines. Yes, we hit all the angles in our house, homemade paper doily ones, and store bought super hero ones.

I love school platonic valentine parties. I can't wait for February 2011, and elementary school after that. As far as romantic lusted induced valentines day I couldn't care less. I never once had a "i love a boy" valentine until after I was married, and I have never had a traditional romantic valentines day since its my hubby's birthday, and I'm totally ok with continuing our tradition of breaking tradition. Not to mention my husband is hardly the romantic type, a personality trait that is perfect for me.

Not Candy Canes but Valentine Js

Lets not forget the cookies. Is there anything so pretty as a shinny cookie sheet covered in cut out cookie dough.

This was J's first real experience frosting cookies. We cooked the cookies before we frosted them.

In case you are wondering, that platter says, "Smart Women crave good company", the back says, something to the effect of children make good company. Some how its all tied to the boys and girls club, I don't quite now how, ask my sister it was my Christmas present last year. And well its great advice, plus it came in a huge box, with stickers with the same picture plastered all over it. Not only that its very useful, its my only light weight platter.