Valentines Photo Book for the Kids

Happy Valentines Day!  Is everyone feelin' the love?  Honestly, most of my Valentines-type celebrating has been done already.  The husband works weekends so we took advantage of his day off on Thursday and went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch - totally yummy and no V-day crowds!  The kids had their parties at school yesterday and the last minute Valentines to loved ones far away went in the mail.  This morning the kids insisted we wake them up before their dad left for work, so gifts have already been exchanged and pink waffles have been consumed.

I ran across this great idea a few weeks back in which the parents made their kids special photo books every year for Christmas.  Obviously we were past Christmas but I thought "what a great idea for Valentines!"  I didn't get them put together and ordered as early as I could have (in order to blog about it pre-Valentines and er, so as not to sweat that they wouldn't be here on time) but they did appear in my mailbox just in time yesterday - yay!

These are 8x8 soft cover books from Snapfish (I had a coupon) - there are tons of sites that do great photo books.

 I wanted to go with an ABC's of Me theme - using words to decribe the kids and their interests right now.

 Some of the letters were easy and I had WAY too many ideas, others were hard and I had to reach a bit.

 Tyler got a big grin about the boots one and said "oh I love those!"

 This one made me laugh - I couldn't resist putting that close up photo of the flaming marshmallow on there ;)

And there they are all wrapped up, along with the other book and candy I got the kids for Valentines.  The paper airplane is a printable I found here.

Best of all, when they opened up the books this morning the kids loved them and had to read them cover to cover right away.  Kaitlyn even said, "wouldn't it be great if we got a book every year?"  Hmm... great minds really do think alike, don't they?  ;)

Quick and Inexpensive Valentines

It's been kind of a rough couple of days.  Not in the classic sense of the word - I haven't had a bad day or anything.  But my kids have been sick and in Mom World, that's rough.  Not only do we not want our precious little ones to feel badly, but we end up putting almost everything else on hold simply to be around and take care of them "just in case."  So here I sit on day 2 1/2 of house arrest, with the TV tuned to the Disney Channel, the humidifier going and trying to do low key things while the kids endure it (and hoping that I DO NOT catch whatever it is they have.  Knock wood).

It just hit me how close we are to the end of January.  February is tomorrow!  And with it will quickly come Valentines Day.  Seems like we just finished Christmas, doesn't it?  With a bunch of family and friend's birthdays in January, it kind of feels like we haven't had much of a break from gift giving and big events.

 I'm afraid I don't often have much motivation by this point to get really creative and crafty when it comes to Valentines.  This year I pretty much just jumped on the first idea I spotted - which happened to be some fun mini puzzles at Michael's.

I added a quick chalkboard style tag and they're all set to go out.  Just one more example of things not having to be complicated or pricey to be cute and effective, right?

I also picked up these cute monogram notebooks for the teachers and added a few pencils I already had on hand.  That's it - school Valentines DONE!

Which leaves me two weeks to get the kids to work on their Valentines for their grandparents and the other special people on their lists.  Kaitlyn got the paints out (which are now residing on the coffee table until everything is finished - yay) and started on hers today, but Tyler didn't get any further than figuring out a plan before having a coughing fit.  *sigh*

I have a fun project in the works that I'm going to give the kids.  I will work on that some more after I get them to bed (T minus 5 minutes until bedtime - woohoo!)  No idea what to do for the hubby though - ideas??!

What a Difference a Day Makes

I was able to finish up a few smaller projects over the weekend and thought I'd share this one before February is over.  I've loved the idea of displaying some of the special dates in our lives and have pinned three or four versions in the last year or so.  And in the interest of my new goal to follow through on things, when I found that good sale on frames a few weeks ago I decided to go back and get one for this project.

 

The dates are:  the day we started dating (in Disney World), the day we got engaged, our wedding date, Kaitlyn's birthday, and Tyler's birthday.

 

 I got it to this point around Valentines Day and then it sat there.  It was just a little too plain with that white background and I wasn't sure what I wanted to use for the backing.

 But I was on a roll the other day at the craft store.  Not only did I find some scrapbook paper that I think works really well in the frame, but I also got a new clock kit so I could fix the clock (that I made a few years ago) that had quick keeping the correct time.  (yay for checking things off the list!)

So there we have the finished product.  I love it!  And the husband was pretty complimentary about it too (I think guys are just as sentimental as we are, they just won't admit it).

 

 

Any bets on how long it takes me to get it up on the wall in the bedroom?? ;)

Prepping for Valentines

I collect ideas.  All.  The. Time.  And sometimes they stay tucked away in my collection in a notebook or on a Pinterest board.  But, especially when it comes to the holidays, I do like to put a few of them into practice.  So I thought I'd share what I've picked so far.
I really loved the idea of doing a "heart attack" on the kids' bedroom doors.  To drag it out a little bit (and cut down on the Valentines Eve prep) I cut out a bunch of hearts (with my trusty Silhouette) and have been writing a compliment/loving thought or two on them every day since Feb 1st.  By the 14th they should have quite a collection.  I did a set for the husband too.  The kids have noticed and I've overheard them discussing their latest hearts, and Kaitlyn even reminded me one day that I hadn't added a heart yet.  The husband hasn't said anything LOL.

 The school does a fundraiser every year where they deliver candy grams to the kids.  This is Kaitlyn's order form - I was so happy to see that she was sending one to her brother (without any prompting from me!).  The forms have been filled out and turned in - cross it off the list! ;)

 The kids' Valentines for their classmates are all finished and waiting to take to school next week.

 Another idea from Pinterest - cute, right?  (link to inspiration post here)

 And finally, a little lunchbox love all ready to go.  (You can find the printable here)  I was happy to find enough red and pink candy in the leftovers from the New Years Pinata so I didn't have to go out and buy any - score!

I'm still not sure what I want to do for Valentines Day itself.  I have gifts and candy for the kids and a vague idea for a small gift for the husband but I'm not feeling like turning it into a huge event.  Maybe dinner out and a simple dessert like those giant Hershey Kisses made out of Rice Krispie Treats (link for that idea here).  I still have a week to think about it.  Hmm...

Too early for Hearts and Flowers?

Nah!
The post-Christmas, early January urge to reorganize, clean up, and scale back has left my living room feeling very very bare.  I do have some projects in mind and other things I need to make decisions about and randomly run across accessories while out shopping but at this rate it could still be bare in July (it has already been 3 years like this, after all!).  To combat a little of the emptiness I decided it was time to pull out some of the Valentines decorations.  And realized I don't have a lot of them! (something I intend to fix, bit by bit lol)

 But I did have enough to cutesy up the console in the TV room (seriously?  I thought we taped those cords up out of the way!  And I do have a few ideas for that big glaring blank spot above the table) and a couple of other places.  Then I set to work creating the wreath ideas I have had in the back of my mind since our last big wreath session (in October?  November??).

 I'm happy to say that now my front porch is looking kinda cute and festive.  I'm realizing how great the black and red pillows on the bench work for a lot of the holidays.  Who knew?

 This was actually my second attempt with the heart wreath.  I started out with deco mesh on the frame and it just wasn't working.  It completely overwhelmed the small frame and just looked like a giant red blob.  So I'm extra-happy that my tulle idea worked out.

 

 I wanted to go a different direction than my usual big poufy statement on the front door.  I guess part of it still ended up a little poufy though ;)

 I took some photos of this one In Process so I can do a tutorial later, maybe.  For now I'm just enjoying the fact that at least some of my holiday projects are finished up and displayed well ahead of Valentines Day.  Three Cheers for keeping ahead of things in the New Year!

 

 

Linking to:  Valentines Link Up

Getting in the mood for

Valentines! That's right, I'm trying to stick to my goals and get ahead of things and that means getting a jump on Valentines Day. I actually have all the Valentines for the kids' classmates ready to go out - but that's another blog post. Today I wanted to show off the crafty cuteness from yesterday's little get together with a couple of my friends. Actually it was our second attempt for the month. Life being as it is, our first craft day last week was kind of a no-go and our reschedule only worked for half of the ladies that were originally in on the plans. No worries, I'm learning to take whatever life gives me (and use the no shows as excuses to have fun one on one with them later) and roll with it. And we all know that crafty with buddies, be it one or ten, is always a lot of fun. Yesterday was no exception. I really enjoyed myself and the crafts turned out super cute.

I did 2x4 pumpkins for October, and trees for Christmas, so when a friend asked if we could do Valentines crafts this month my first thought was "what can we make with a 2x4?" :) This is what I came up with.

I always regret not taking out the camera before everyone goes home because each one has it's own special look. This time in particular I really loved how the other sets turned out too. Remind me to take photos next time, someone, please!
I like my set so much I'm pretty sure I need to list some on etsy and share the love, doncha think?

And for our second craft, a Valentines themed shadow box. I'm really in love with this concept. Don't be surprised if you see a green version in a couple of months...

Linking to:












Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou