Valentine: Our Love is Solid as a Rock

Stone Heart Valentine

Valentine's Day is right around the corner! I love all things hearts. So when we visit the beach, I can't help but pick up any heart-shaped stones I see. Of course my little guys help too so it's a family search!

How about these framed shadow boxes for your loved one? Or even for your little ones' teachers!

You can find heart shaped rocks at your local beach or even in neighbor's rock gardens or gravel parking lots. You'd be surprised how many rocks chip into a heart shape!

For this project I used:1. Scraps of linen fabric2. Hot glue gun for stones4. Tacky glue for fabric3. Square shadow box frame
4. Variety of heart-shaped stones 

To assemble, use tacky glue to glue linen fabric to cardboard frame backing. Allow to dry. Use enough glue that the stones are not too heavy to pull down the fabric.

Arrange stones how you'd like and use hot glue gun to affix. 
Allow to dry completely.
Reassemble mat and frame and Voila!


You could add a little typed message that relates like:
"Our love is a solid as a rock" or " You Rock, Valentine"

For our school valentines last year, see our previous post:
"I Mustache You a Question, Valentine"

Old Lamp gets a New Light

Give a thrift store lamp a Nautical Makeover!

I'm so in love with how this lamp turned out. I was browsing my local thrift store this morning and found this perfectly simple ceramic lamp for $7!! Well, lucky me, I needed a lamp for my toddler's room. This one was begging for a little TLC. What do you think??

BEFORE, poor little guy

AFTER, set sail!

Materials:

+ Lamp in need of a makeover

+ Rope

+ Cute Fabric for lamp shade

+ Fabric Glue

+ Hot Glue Gun
+ Some clothespins
+ Twill Tape (optional)

1. With your hot glue gun, apply about 6" of glue at a time, starting at the bottom, preferably where the cord comes out. Stick your rope along the glue line, spiraling up until you are happy with the amount of rope. It's so relaxing and fun, don't forget to stop! I considered roping the whole thing, but I like the eggshell color of the lamp beneath. Red would be so cute too... or yellow... or green!

(I also had to remove the felt bottom and re-thread the center pole to straighten out the lamp. I also had to reshape the lamp shade holder thingies. What do you expect for $7?? Just get your pliers out.)









2. The Lamp Shade:
+ Cut your fabric about 2" wider than the height of the shade so you can fold it over the edges. Then cut it about 2" longer than the circumference.
+ Iron a 1/2" hem on the short edges of the fabric. This will be your finished edges.
+ Using your fabric glue (hot glue gun glue can melt as the lightbulb heats up), apply a line of glue along the seam of your lampshade. Stick the iron-hemmed edge along this seam.
+ Now begin applying glue along the top and bottom edge of your shade, about 4-6" at a time and roll your fabric around the shade, making sure it stays straight, with 1" on the top and bottom edges.
+ Clothespin as you go to hold the fabric in place.
+ When you finish gluing all the way around, glue the other folded edge down on top so you have a nice clean finish.
+ You can either simply trim the excess inside the lampshade, or glue down cording or twill tape. I didn't bother yet, but may go back and add some twill tape.

TADAAAAA!

What a mood this sets! 

Now my little guy "gets aboard his ship" rather than climbing in bed!!

Make your own Crayons!

Alright, you've seen them before. But I finally got to try them and they're so fun and playful, I had to share!

Here is the easiest tutorial you will find yet:

So you have a crayon stash that looks like this, right? Right.

But did you know it could look like this??...

What you'll need:

1. Old crayons (Crayolas work best)

2. Cute mold that is oven safe at least to 175*

1. Remove crayon wrappings. My 2 & 3 yr old boys LOVE doing this part. Not my favorite. Perfect.

2. Break crayons into pieces small enough to fit in your molds. 

3. Fill molds with crayon pieces. I chose to mix similar colors which made a swirl effect. Very cool. 

4. Bake at 275* F for about 10-12min. Check on them at 10min. If you don't see any lumps, they are done. I found that if I "overbaked" them, they would separate colors in layers more.

*NOTE* Be sure to use silicon baking molds that are oven safe. Some are only safe to 175*. You can still use those, just cook a little longer until the crayon pieces are melted.

Allow to cool fully (at least 15 min) before removing from molds. Silicon are the easiest because you can bend and peel them away from the sides. I have not tried cast iron or metal molds, but people say they just pop out when cool. 

5. Pop out and Enjoy!!

Moustache Valentines

Well, my little guys are in preschool now and that means passing out valentine cards!!! Soooooo cute!!!! Of course I cannot just buy some licensed cards. icht. I'm sure the boys will love receiving them, but I cannot bring myself to buy them.

SOOOO, there I was at the dollar store looking at the little goodies and I spotted packages of stick on mustaches (7 in a package for $1). All the rage, right? I instantly think of my slogan and put these together today. I just added the mustache stickers with double stick tape and voila!

Please feel free to download and use these. I added their names in a cute chalkboard font (or just add their names with a metallic silver gel pen or white crayon.

I printed these on white cardstock on a black & white printer. The printer adds a border, so i added a white border only to the inside of the cards, not the perimeter, if that makes any sense. You may have to play with your printer settings, but here you go!! I think the kids will enjoy looking in the mirror and laughing about wearing  silly mustaches.

Since there were 7 mustaches for $1, I spent $4 plus some cardstock I already had at home. woohoo!

Starburst Tutorial

New Year's Eve! Sparkly Decorations!!

Got cabin fever? We have the cure! Here's a project that you can do that is relaxing, fun, and beautiful! These starbursts can be used as tree ornaments, table top centerpieces, or something pretty on your shelf.

They are super easy. Here's what you'll need:

+ Small styrofoam ball.
+ Box of pointy toothpicks.
+ White spray paint. We used Krylon high gloss.
+ Gold enamel paint.
+ Small paintbrush.

If you're making these as ornaments for next year, you'll need twine, ribbon, or some sort of string.

1. Start by sticking the toothpicks into the styrofoam ball. No real pattern necessary, just cover it. It goes so quickly, I had to remind myself to stop to take a midway photo!

2. I used a longer wooden skewer to hold these while spray painting, but you can also use string to tie to a toothpick and hang them while painting. You mainly just want to cover the toothpicks. You don't want to get too much spray paint on the styrofoam. It will dissolve it.

3. Cover the toothpicks with the spray paint lightly. I used 2 coats, and on colored toothpicks no less!

4. Allow to dry for 24 hrs or at least overnight.

5. Now the gold! You can also use a copper or silver enamel paint.  Just paint the tips of each toothpick with your metallic. The idea is an ombré dye. They don't need to be the same...

VOILA! I think a tree filled with these ornaments would be pretty fabulous too.

This is also a wonderful project to keep kids busy indoors. The toothpicks are quite easy to put in the styrofoam, and there's really no way to mess it up!