More Valentine Boxes

Valentine boxes are HANDS DOWN my favorite craft activity to do with my kids.  {Can you tell?}  OK, Mommy did help her kindergartner quite a bit with this version of the Tissue Box Monster idea from Family Fun Magazine. {The marabou feather eyelash were all mine!} The ears are foam hearts folded and hot-glued in half and the teeth are white felt.  Don't you love that faux alligator paper?

 My son unseated the four-time classroom Valentine box champion with this front loading washing machine box. {She was the room mom's daughter and quite heart broken about not winning the coveted prize, but hey, you can't win 'em all.}  We just printed out logos from the internet and used that weird sculpting stuff to look like bubbles. (Leave me a comment if you remember what it's called!) The washing machine door was the lid to a box of pretty dishes I received. (I'm always looking out for boxes that I can use for just this type of project!)

We just happened to have a box with a cute window for this cell phone box, but you could use a cereal or shoebox for this too and create your own cool text display.  The buttons are fun foam that we stamped numbers on.

Here are the super easy Valentines Kate made.  The inside says "you're out of this world" and we colored the eyes and flower with a white gel pen.  So, what are you making this year for Valentine's Day?  Leave me a note or a link to your creations.

Valentine Treat Cone

This is a sweet and unique Valentine treat to try this year!  I originally got the idea from Martha Stewart's site, but she didn't have step-by-step instructions.  (Hopefully you will have better luck with my pictures ;)

1. Start with square paper (mine was 6"x6") and fold corner to corner in both directions, in half both directions, then push in two opposite corners, so that it looks like the photo.

2. Use an oval shape cutter or a heart shape that you have to make a heart pattern on the square with the folded point down.

 3. Cut the round portions of your heart shape, making sure that the folds are on the bottom.

 4. Push in the the inside valley folds so that it forms a cone or cup shape.

 (It's hard to hold it and take a picture!)

 5. Use some adhesive or a stapler to affix the center portion and add holes, if desired to hang a tag (or hang the treat up, like from a door knob or a coat hook.)

 Wouldn't a pile of these make a pretty centerpiece on a round table?

 Leave me a note if you try these out.  They are not as hard as they look, I promise!

Snowman Popcorn Treat - Great Holiday Gift!

 Keep your eye out for a deal on stretchy gloves and/or fuzzy socks, because you are going to want to whip up a bunch of these treats!  They are great for anyone on your list, but especially kids.  They are inexpensive (I got the 3 pack of gloves on clearance at Big Lots for $1 and the socks were on sale buy 2 packs get one free) and it's a treat that's not too sugary, which is good!

I made a video, but the idea is so easy that you will probably get the idea by looking at it.  The hardest part is fussing with the hat to get it to look right.  You can stamp on the white sheet instead of using a gift tag, if you like.  You can also visit THIS BLOG where the idea is originally inspired from.  She has a free download!  Enjoy, and leave me a comment about who you gave your snowman treats to.

Cute Fall Cupcake and Easy Bake Sale Packaging

I'm not a huge baker, but I could not resist the super-easy pumpkin & cake mix recipe that kept popping up on Pinterest and I needed something easy for our school bake sale.  I also saw on Pinterest this cute little acorn treat that was made by Design Dazzle and it was the perfect extra sparkle I needed for my cupcakes!

The kids can help you make these cute treats, using Mini Nilla Wafers, Hershey's Kisses, some mini chocolate chips and a little chocolate frosting.  This would be a really fun thing to make on Thanksgiving, but if you do have a fall bake sale like I did, here is another super easy tip:

Use a plastic tumbler and a baggie to package your cupcakes.  (Baggies brand, with the alligator on the package are the cheapest.)  This keeps the cupcakes protected and a little bit of satin ribbon adds a perfect touch!  Now, go try the pumpkin recipe.  It is seriously de.licious!  (And leave me a little note if you have not tried Pinterest yet and you need an invite.)  ;)

Boo Basket (and Cute Boo Poem)

Do you BOO?  Neighbors in my area give these anonymous, fun gifts during the Halloween season.  I found this "cute" version of the Boo Poem (scroll down) to add some variety to my gift (and throw off those neighbors who were attempting to figure out who left their gift based on the poem version I have used in past years!)

 Here is a closeup of Mabelle's adorable pumpkin girl.  (See her stamps and digi designs here.)

And here is a peek inside the basket.  Isn't this a fun time of year?  Of course, our favorite part is to get dressed in dark clothes, leave this at a neighbor's door, ring and RUN!

Here is the poem:

Boo!

Since this is the time for goblins and bats

Halloween spirits and ghosts and cats

Happenings are weird and witches make brew

The following are the things I wish for you.

May the only spirit you chance to meet

Be the spirit of love and friends that are sweet.

May the only goblin that comes your way

Be the neighborhood phantom, the breeze takes away.

So by tomorrow, pick a friend down the street

And give to them a Halloween treat.

Fill a basket with goodies galore,

Then leave it at their front door.

You only have one day to do this, so hurry

Leave your gifts and run in a flurry

As this boo moves along from friend to friend,

All good wishes go on and never end

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Easy Halloween Treat: Peanut Butter Pumpkins

These are as delicious to eat as they are fun for you and your kids to make!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange gel icing color
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• mini pretzels or pretzel sticks

Instructions:

Creme together peanut butter, butter, vanilla and gel icing color with a mixer.  (You can use regular food coloring by combining red and yellow, but the gel coloring is very concentrated and yields the best consistency.)

Add the confectioner's sugar a small amount at a time.  The mixture will become very stiff and difficult to mix.  Use a rubber spatula to combine any of the mix that clings to the side of the bowl.

Roll 1 tablespoon at a time into a ball and make creases with the back of a butter knife.

 Kids love helping make these!  I usually give them a small amount so they can make their very own plate. {wink}

The finishing touch is to add a pretzel stem.  Mini pretzels or stick pretzels both look darling. Refrigerate  pumpkins until ready to serve. Have fun and leave me a note if you enjoyed making these!

Valentine Boxes

Do your kids make boxes to bring to class for their valentines? Here's what my girls and I came up with last night. Katelyn's is made out of a frozen waffle box and some extra cereal box for the rounded top. It's reminiscent of the street corner type mailbox. Isn't the flap cute?
{Instructions below!}





Lily's preschool class has six students, so this cereal box turned ipod is just the right size. Katelyn gave me the idea to make earbuds out of two foam hearts stuck together. Isn't she a paper crafting genius? I wonder where she gets that from?




So here are instructions on how I made the Valentine Mailbox:

Happy Valentine's day!

Advent Calendar

Well, as you all know, I get the best ideas from Heather's Oz-Some Blog. Here's my version of her mini muffin tin Advent Calendar. My kids get a long holiday break, so we've been doing activities from our calendar since December 6th. Here's part of our list and if you'd like to see some photos of our holiday festivities, go here:

Take a bubble bath and make Santa beards

Bake Cookies
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=15068

Make Holiday Tags with office supply labels

Make Paper Drop Ornaments http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=10496

Decorate a Gingerbread House Kit

Watch a holiday movie together.

Read Santa Mouse then play “Santa Mouse Hunt” together.

Set up the Nativity Scene together & read the nativity story.

Make cinnamon applesauce ornaments and set out to dry.

Decorate cinnamon applesauce ornaments with glitter.

Update:

The bubble bath Santa beards and cinnamon ornaments were huge hits!  Happy Holidays!

My Girl Flip Book Featured in TAC Idea Book & Catalogue

It's here! The 2007 Fall Idea Book & Catalog for The Angel Company has just been unveiled! Among the 8 beautiful new paper lines was one of my returning favorites: Genevieve. It's the one I used to design this flip book of my daughter Katelyn, which was featured in the catalogue on Page 29. See the instructions here.

It's just one of the hundreds of gorgeous cards, pages and projects in our full-color Idea Book. Email me today for your copy!

Envelope Gift Bag for Card Set

It sneaks up on me every year. It's not that I forget to honor the teachers in my family's life. It's that I forget how many there are! Dance teachers, school teachers, Cub Scout leaders--yikes! Well, if you like to make cards like I do, what better gift than a card set?
Make this easy gift "bag" for your cards with a large envelope. (See slideshow for instructions.)
The cards I'm making are from my "Darling Details" card class, which I teach in my studio or your home. Techniques include Simply Stickles, Stamp Stitching, Charming Chalks, and Shabby Chic. Although the little details create that "finishing touch" they can be made in a flash, so you can make a pile of cards fast! Call me today to schedule a class!
These cards also feature our Bella Flor paper. You'll be amazed at how many cards you can make from one paper pack!

Candy Tin Scrapbook

Check out this little scrapbook of my sweeties, made with the The Angel Company's Mulberry Meadow paper and Candy Tin, which comes with the insert all ready to decorate and add all those little wallet photos you have of your kiddos. This is a perfect gift to make for grandma and grandpa and leave room for them to add more photos. The paper matches perfectly with the Versamagic Jewel Box Dew Drop inks, so it's so easy to coordinate colors. To see all the steps and instructions, visit my slideshow and to order the products, email me or visit my secure shopping cart.

Paisley Mini Scrapbook

I made this fun book from a kit I got from Stephanie Breckbill's mini scrapbook class. It was so easy and the kit even comes with the Paisley Rockz stamp set! Can you believe that this is one set I never got, but now I'm in love with it! I added the hostess set Younique and used pictures of my kids from Easter. To see the whole book, view my slideshow and to get the kit, email Stephanie. You'll love making the book. It's a project you could do with kids or a last minute Mother's Day gift . . .

Charming Chalk Techniques

Happy Bugday, and Hello to all the new friends I met at the stamping convention this weekend! It is so much fun to spend a day and a half with people who love to do what I do and share ideas. Here is a card from my Saturday class. We made the card tin and filled it with four cute cards. This one uses our Versamagic Tea Leaves chalk ink. It's so soft and velvety. I added a little blue sparkle to his wings with Jewel Tones chalk. I love those chalks! You can color with them using a blender pen, sweep it over Versamark or add it to an image that's been freshly stamped with chalk ink. It's such a nice effect. I also created faux brads with Liquid Pearls and I have a really fun tip for how I did the grass. Well, you love using Versamark on cardstock to give it that watermark look, right? On Matchmaker Cardstock, there's a little trick to get that look. After stamping, you lightly sand the paper with a sanding block and the image appears like magic! You've got to try this! Have fun and stay tuned for more techniques and darling details! (PS-Are you looking for this set? It's from Spring Fling and paper if Bella Flor.)

Fabric Glittering

Yesterday's team time activity was so much fun! We glittered t-shirts and aprons with Angel wings. The Angel Company has some great fabric glue and beautiful glitter kits. This is a great project to do with your kids and you can glitter almost anything: hats, sneakers, backpacks. I can't wait to try this on some jeans! If you'd like to see detailed instructions, check out my Glittering Slideshow.