paint cut paste

just wanted to check in to wish all of you a happy valentine’s day!

yep, we made heARTful crayons again this year… per N’s request, we brought them back from this post two years ago. (last year N gave out homemade smoochie lipbalm to her friends - yum!)

this time around, when upcycling crayons, we incorporated a few valuable tips from my beloved blog readers and from our own trial and error.

here are a few ways to make your life easier when making molded upcycled crayons:

1. soak the crayons in water for about 10 minutes before attempting to peel the labels off. it’s CAKE compared to the last time we did it and i had rainbow wax under my fingernails for days! (my fingernails thank you, wendy!)
2. spray the mold with non-stick cooking spray (nut free, please!)
3. put the mold onto a cookie sheet that is lined with foil (to catch drips)
4. “bake” for 15 minutes at 250 degrees. (you may need to add on a couple more minutes to be sure they’re all melted.
5. note: stubs from your kid’s crayola twistables do not melt at this time and temperature like the regular ol’ crayola crayons do.
6. transfer crayons directly from the oven to the freezer
7. pop ‘em right outta the mold, package, and share the love!

hope it’s a lovely day! hug your loved ones close; reach out to loved ones far.

happy heART day!

with valentine’s day approaching, my daughter has been interested in creating sweet cards for family and friends. she is of the age where she wants some of the creations to remain a secret. (shhh, i’ve found a few strategically hidden in her basket of play silks – one for MOM – but i didn’t peek at it further!) i decided that since she’s taking the reigns on all things valentine, i’d create a DIY valentine supply collection to support her endeavors.

i repurposed a melissa & doug toy box (aren’t they great for drawer organization and tiny toy storage?) into a valentine creation station! (when i read to N what i wrote on the sign on the side of the box, she asked me skeptically, several times, if i made that rhyme up myself. there are these fleeting little moments when they’re so easy to please, huh? hee hee )

i stocked the box with blank cards and envelopes that were in various shades of red, pink, and purple. there are also small pieces of decorative papers, some pre-punched paper hearts (some leftover from our garland,) the paper heart craft punch (because she can do this herself at this age, too! yay!), fuzzy balls, stickers, sparkly gems, paper flowers, markers, colored pencils, crayons, glue sticks, scissors, and glue.

N was so excited when she saw the festive box on the coffee table, and she set to work right away on making the first valentine for, of course, HERSELF. you’ve gotta be your own valentine first, right? (that’s some healthy self-esteem right there! you go girl!)

then she moved on to creating a bunch of love notes for family members.

here’s a collection of her lovely custom valentines, ready to address and mail – right under our LOVE sign!

i hearted tinkerlab’s recent post about how she made a valentine buffet for her children, too! do you and your children create valentines in your home? how do you invite them into this process?

now for the handmade holiday gift we created for all of the wonderful little friends in our lives — samosa bean bags!

i first saw this idea on the artful parent back in september, courtesy of five green acres (who provides a great tutorial.) i dog-eared it (digitally, of course) as an idea for the holiday season. in november, i got out a stash of fat quarters in all sorts of patterns, and began cutting away!

whatcha need:

• scraps of fabric, each cut to  5 1/2″ x 15″  (one scrap of this size makes 5 weights)
• thread
• sewing machine
• filler material: dried rice, beans, etc. (i used organic split peas, you know, incase the littlest ones put them in their mouths.)

reprinted here for your convenience, the directions in the words of five green acres (in plum), peppered with my photos and my words (in black):

1. Fold the fabric in half the long way, right sides together.  Your piece is roughly now 2 1/2″ by 15.”  Sew each of the 3 open sides closed with a 1/4″ seam allowance.

the bean bag factory in effect!

2. Cut into 5 equal pieces by measuring every 3.” Each piece will be roughly 2 1/2 by 3.”

3.  The first and last piece will already be sewn shut on one end.  Set aside and sew the remaining 3 pieces shut on one end also.

then came the most exciting part of this for me — choosing sets of 5 to be packaged together for which child. i *love* coordinating and playing with colors and patterns! it was a fun process, but photographed very dark because i did it at night. i have to share anyway.

4.  Turn right side out and fill with the rice, beans, etc.

5.  Fold the open ends inside 1/4″ and pin the seam closed, making sure that the seam runs perpendicular to the bottom seam.  You’re not trying to make a rectangular pillow, but rather a sort of pyramid that’s easier to grab… (it turns out like a samosa! love that!)

pinned up

6.  Sew shut, either by hand or by machine.  If you go the machine route, you might have to remove some of the filling to fit it under your presser foot flatly.

too cute!

then comes the packaging! i stamped a slew of cloth bags with a fun dandelion and the word “PLAY” for each set of bean bags to live in.

i printed out little inserts that read:

a few games kids can play with bean bags:

• hot potato
• toss them back and forth while singing a song or rhyme
• throw bean bag in the air & see what you can do before you catch it (clap your hands, turn around, kneel down…)
• toss the bean bags into a bowl or box to see how many “baskets” you can make
• set up hoops or targets for aim
• bean bag “bowling” (set up paper towel rolls or milk jugs)
• learn to juggle
• a child’s imagination will make them into so many things!

*fyi: they’re filled with organic split peas. enjoy!!!

we attached a gift tag and a salt dough ornament to each one, and sent them on their way to the homes of many of our little friends.

more handmade holiday goodness revealed! N and i created a bunch of these lovely lavender sachets for friends this season.

much like we did when making N’s lavender dream pillow in the summer of 2010, we used lavender from our backyard, poly-fill, linen squares left over from all of the flag making we do over here, thread, and stamps we already had on hand. first we cut rectangles or squares of the linen to match in size, and frayed the edges. then N and i went to town stamping one side of each pair.

yep, we put a bird on it. (our stamp collection is heavily avian, oddly.)

sewed them up on 3.5 sides… (gosh, this is all probably self-explanatory.)

filled them with poly-fill and a few teaspoons of lavender…

finished sewing up the opening -

i attached a cute little note with baker’s twine and sent them on their way… into the bureaus of those near and dear.

hope your holidays were relaxing… and if they weren’t, take a whiff of lavender and chilllll into the new year!

oh my, this was a risky gift for me to create in my attempt to go handmade for the holidays. i am a verrry beginning seamstress, as you know, but i must say that i’m trusting that my friends are kind and forgiving, or at the very least – polite. i sewed up these cute little heart-shaped handwarmers to warm their hearts (and hands) for the holidays.

such a simple idea – saw it on pinterest, of course. all you need is:

• flannel (or another soft, natural fiber. synthetics can burn when microwaved!)
• thread
• rice
• a funnel would make life easier
• gift tag & ribbon

first, fold your fabric in half, and then in half again. cut some heart shapes on the edge — two at a time (so you have a pair that is the same size.)

match them up, and sew them together. (um, it is not that easy to sew curves, if you’re green like me, but i am patting myself on the back for giving it a go.) i left about a 1/4″ edge around them, and left a tiny pocket open so i could fill them.

i used a little funnel (that came with my spice rack) to pour white rice inside. then i sewed that little part up with the machine.

voila – super cute! (and visibly handmade… hey, it adds charm, right?)

then just find a pretty ribbon to attach a note with instructions that say to microwave them for 2 minutes (or under, if tiny) and put one in each pocket. i gifted these to some of my girlfriends who live in pretty cold climates.

also a fun gift for your sweetie or friends on valentine’s day!

from our home to yours…

wishing you and your families a holiday season full of love…

...just like rudolph & clarice

a time of friendship — those tried & true and those new & unexpected…

just like hermey, yukon cornelius, rudolph, and bumble

a very magical night before christmas…

may all your wishes come true!

have a merry christmas day!

don’t forget to have some hot cocoa and get some rest when it’s all said and done!

*all drawings courtesy of my sweet little N (done randomly throughout december.)

ooo, that title sounds yummy, cozy, and wintry! happy winter solstice! (which, by the way, is also my birthday!) we posted about paper snowflakes last year, but this year we let our coffee filters and cupcake liners help us out with creating snowflakes!

one of our advent activities was “make snowflakes!” and it came along with this lovely book full of photographs of real snowflakes, for inspiration. (since we can’t observe the real thing where we live.)

the thin papers coffee filters and cupcake liners are made from are so kid-friendly to cut in thick, folded stacks. their round shape is perfect for snowflakes and makes it easy to fold them into six sections, as snowflakes are six  sided. so we put on the christmas carols, prepared some pear cider, and got to work.

i also realized that if i left pre-folded cupcake liners on N’s art desk, snowflakes would spontaneously appear – like magic!

we taped ours to a front window in our home, to be admired by passers-by. day by day, the snowfall is thickening around these parts… happy winter!

i think we’ll leave these up all winter long!