How to Make a Simple Photo/Wood Plaque

Each year for Valentine's day I make my husband some sort of photo gift of the kids and myself for his office.  Some years I've been more simple sending him a collaged picture.  One time I had the kids paint some triangles to add to a mat for a frame. One year I made "super hero cards". Some years I've painted a hand and put a picture with it.  Last year I think I just took a photo and put it in a frame.

This year I wanted to try something new.  I bounced around a couple of ideas using photos and canvases or construction paper...finally I settled on photos on wood!

This was one of those rare super simple projects that was very fast, yet turned out so cute!

MATERIALS NEEDED

1. A piece of wood, mine was about 12 1/2 inches long.  The wood I used was left-over from another project, so it was already stained and sanded.

2. One frame hanger

3. Two photos with the words "We" and "You!" added on.

4. Mod Podge

5. Red paint

STEP ONE:  Measure your wood and nail in the frame hanger.

STEP TWO: Print off pictures with "We" and "You!" printed on them.

Gather supplies.

STEP THREE: Mod Podge the back of each photo and center them on the wood.  

Use one thin layer.

STEP FOUR: Paint on a red heart.  I did two layers so make it nice and thick.  Let the project dry about an hour.

STEP FIVE:  Once your heart is dry, add mod podge across the entire project.  

I added two thin layers.  Let project dry with about 10 minutes between coats.

All done!  Hang it on your wall!

This project was so cute and so fast.  

My husband loved it.  When he got it he promptly hung it in his office at work and took a picture to show me.

Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's day!

Birdseed Valentines with FREE Printable

 

This year my preschooler and 1st grader decided we wanted to make Birdseed Valentines to pass out for Valentine's Day.  Every year I think about buying valentine's from the store and every year I just can't quite do it.

Homemade one are so fun, right?

Once we decided to make the birdseed valentines, I knew just the poem I wanted to go with each card.  When I was younger, my mother was a teacher and each year she gave her students a baggie of bird seeds, with this poem attached.

VALENTINE

by Aileen Fisher

I gave a hundred Valentine's.

A hundred, did I say?

I gave a thousand Valentine's

one cold and wintry day.

I didn't put my name on them

or any other words,

because my Valentines were seeds

for February birds.

It's so cute, I quickly taught it to my kids and they thought it was a great match.

We followed this post for the recipe on how to make our birdseed valentines.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

1 cup hot water

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (5 tsp)

1 1/2 cups flour

6 tbs. corn syrup

8 cups of birdseed

cookie cutters

pam spray

bamboo skewer (or straw)

cookie sheet

parchment paper

String or bakers twine

Valentine Paper printed off 1 and 2

 STEP ONE:  Mix 2 packets of gelatin in hot water.  Stir with a fork until most of the clumps are disintegrated. 

Add flour, corn syrup and birdseed in a large bowl and mix.  

Then add the stirred up gelatin and water.

STEP TWO: Mix everything together!

STEP THREE: Lightly spray cookie cutter with Pam spray (repeat spray every 6 or so uses). 

On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, place your cookie cutters down.  

Then fill each cookie cutter with the seed mixture.  Use back of the spoon and fingers to press in tight and solid.

STEP FOUR: Once packed in, place a bamboo skewer towards the top middle of each cookie cutter and make your own hole, going all the way through to the bottom and wiggling around a bit.

STEP FIVE: Once hole is placed, remove cookie cutter and  repeat until all seeds are used up.

Allow to try for 6-8 hours or over night.

I found my more complicated cookie cutters (like these shown) were actually really hard to deal with.  They were tricky to get the seeds into and the cutter off.  Towards the end I just ended up making a lot of stars, because they were the easiest.  But I will admit the animals looked pretty cool. 

STEP SIX: Print off Valentine Poem cards.

At first I just made pink ones.

Then deciding maybe my son wouldn't want to give everyone a pink valentine, 

decided to make these colorful ones, too. 

STEP SEVEN: Once the birdseed valentines are completely dry (6-8 hours or overnight), tie them up with string and attached your signed valentine poem cards to them.

STEP EIGHT: Place them all in baggies and Enjoy!

 Aren't they so cute hanging there on this freshly snowy day?

 "One cold and wintry day" is right!

Simple Fish Valentines

I've been having an inner struggle with Valentines this year.

As per usual, I wanna hang up the towel and just go to the store and buy valentines like a normal person.

And as per usual, I also really want to just make them.

I even stood there in the aisle yesterday and gave them all the once over and came home empty handed.

The problem?  

They're valentines.  They're going to be looked at, trashed, rummaged through while searching for candy-- their only redeemable quality (<-- in the eyes of a school-aged kid).

But then again...I kinda gotta make them, too.

So the DIY-er in me wins again.  At least for the preschooler, who only needs 7 cards.

I was looking around this morning, looking for just something simple that I could just print out for free and be done.

Then I came across this Tutorial by Keeping it Simple-- and before I was knew what I was doing, I was turning off the printer and getting out my craft supplies.

This simple valentine was perfect.  My daughter and I worked together side by side while listening to Disney songs.  It probably took an hour to do start to finish.

Here's how we did it!

MATERIALS

1. Sturdy construction paper

2. Bowls for tracing (large and small)

3. Pencil + Sharpie

4. Swedish fish

5. Ziploc Bags

6. Hot Glue Gun

STEP ONE:  Trace out two large circles on sturdy construction paper.  

Trace a small circle in the middle of one of the large circles.

STEP TWO:  Outline that with a Sharpie.  Write out your sayings around the small rim. We used, "You are O "Fish" ally my Favorite" and "Valentine, you're a great catch!"  I wrote it in pencil, and had my daughter trace it with the sharpie.

STEP THREE:  Hot glue the large circle onto the front of the Ziploc bag.

STEP FOUR:  Open the bag and add the Swedish fish.  Hot glue the top circle piece on and cut the Ziploc bag off.  Hot Glue in between layers so all the fishies stay inside.

After I was all done it occurred to me that it would have been really fun (and probably cuter) to sew around everything, instead of using hot glue.  Ah, well, there's always next year, right?

All Done!

This cute preschooler told me she was excited to pass these out tomorrow and ask each kid which color they would like.

Happy Valentines Day!!

Little Things Go a Long Way

This post is sponsored by P&G and Tide Pods from Target.

 Like most families, we've got a lot going on every day.  Last week, the day before Valentine's day the younger kids and I decided to spend the morning making valentines cookies together. We followed this recipe for Lofthouse Style Soft Sugar Cookies.  The recipe was huge.  We were able to make tons for us, plus six more plates for friends.

And I decided to keep it real, like real, real, while we did it.  The "real, real" I'm speaking of, is the non-combed hair, the real mess, and joys of cooking with a five and three year old, with a one year old watching.

My little sou chefs happily spent their time helping me roll out the dough, cutting out the cookies and getting flour everywhere.  This was a big project and I was happy to be working with such willing companions.

After a quick 8 minute bake, and cooling we got down to the business of decorating our cookies.

Some of us thought the cookies should be equal parts cookie/frosting.

As we nosily worked side by side we talked, sang silly songs, listened to the baby exclaim her desire to help, and were intermittently interrupted by the BEEP of the timer.

  

However, once their cookies were frosted I told the kiddos to enjoy.  

Suddenly-- it was quiet.  

All I could hear was the quiet nibbling of cookies being thoroughly enjoyed. 

And this Mama gave herself a pat on the back.  The sound of happy children, enjoying their spoils is music to my ears.
 It's the little things, like a happy quiet, that go a long way.

Baby had such a good time eating her cookie-- enjoying every bite.  And despite her bib being on, she still managed to get her treat everywhere and all over her cute shirt underneath.

Busy as I was, this dirty shirt was thrown in the hamper, and not thought of again until two days later when I started the laundry.

And out came Tide Pods.  I'd seen them at Target before, but haven't gotten the pleasure until now.

The day of, when we were making the cookies, I was too busy to pre-treat or take any extra care with the messy baby clothes (as per usual).  But with Tide Pods, not only do you get a lovely smelling detergent, it also has stain remover + brightener built right in.  Brilliant! Something every mother of four messy children needs.
It's so simple, you just toss it in the washing tub and you're Done. 

These small pods pack a big punch. 

And that shirt?  Turned out perfect.  The stain booster worked amazingly.

Tide Pods and the new Gain Flings are both at my favorite store ever, Target.  And while you're running around today, remember, it's the little things in life that go a long way, not just in laundry, but in every day life, too.

This post is sponsored by P&G. Save on NEW Gain Flings and Tide Pods at Target. Text CLEAN to Target (827438) for mobile coupons*.

*Message and data rates may apply. 1 message per request. http://m.target.com/spot/sms/coupon-alrts-terms for Terms, Conditions, and Privacy Policy. By texting the key word to us, you agree to receive an autodialed text message from Target at the mobile number from which you sent your request. Consent to receive messages is not a condition of purchase. 

Wise words, indeed...

Updated the chalkboard this morning.  

I was inspired by this Chalkboard print found on Etsy.

Need more chalkboard ideas?  Check my chalkboard idea Pinterest page.

Sweetheart Sweatshirt Refashion

This week's challenge for Project Run & Play is a REFASHION.  I knew just the thing.  I had this gray sweatshirt for my 5 year old son, but realized it was too small for him.  I knew with a little work it'd be just right for my younger daughter.

When brainstorming ideas I decided to add a Valentine's day spin on it-- 'tis the season.

Here's how I made it:

MATERIALS:

1. Print off Heart Page HERE

2. Freezer paper

3. Red and White fabric paint

4. Embroidery thread

5. Shirt or sweatshirt

STEP ONE:  Print off heart and trace onto freezer paper.  Line sweatshirt with a brown bag or newspaper.

 STEP TWO:  Cut out heart out of the freezer paper.  Iron centered on sweatshirt in place.  Place stencil in place, iron down for 30 seconds.  Remove the inside heart.

STEP THREE:  Paint your heart.  I was going for an ombre effect.  So I had dark red on top, then added white with each layer going down.

I added three coats.  Repeating the process and waiting about an hour between each coat.

STEP FOUR:  After completely dry, remove freezer paper and iron down with a towel on top for 30 seconds.

STEP FIVE:  With embrodery thread make x's going around the heart.  I started with light pink at the bottom, changing threads darker as I went up.

STEP SIX:  Now onto the sewing.  I cut off the sleeves and resewed the middle to narrow the tummy part.

STEP SEVEN:  To make the neck thinner I just folded it to the inside, pinned it all down and zig zagged it down.

STEP EIGHT:  I wanted shorter, girlier sleeves, so I cut out a chunk in the middle and reattached the sleeve ribbing.

 All Done!

Again, here's all the changes I made.  Simple things to make it so cute.

Why, hello there, sweetheart.

Something about this photo below I am just really drawn to.  She looks so sad, but she's not.  And you can see baby's head photobombing at the very bottom-- ha, ha.

A perfect shirt for Valentine's Day!