DIY Crayon Valentine for Kids

Last year we created cute labels {see here}, and this year we’re channeling our inner Picasso. Crayon art was all over Pinterest in 2012, so for our kids Valentine’s this year, we took our inspiration from the popular, child-friendly melted Crayon art.

We’ve taken that simple idea, and made it a fun, doable and unique Valentine’s Day card for our kids and their friends this year.

The poem, available for purchase can be found here at Fleur de Lis, a paperie on Etsy.

you make my heart melt, valentine
this crayon art is a gift from me to you,
on this valentine’s day, 
it’s the perfect project to do.

find your mom and dad before you start,
this beautiful, wonderful piece of art.

grab a blow dryer and hold close to crayons to apply hot heat
turn on low, and within minutes the melted art will be so neat.

put in your room or on display,
and think of me at the beginning or end of each day.

Here’s How You Can Do It Too…

Directions:
Use a pencil and ruler to measure the size of each valentine ‘favor’ {we decided to use 7 crayons for each child, which was about 4×8}.
Use the blade to cut along your lines {I also tried to use scissors, but the cut was not as clean due to the thickness of the board, so for a clean, more precise cut, use a razor blade}.
Get the kids help in picking 7 colors per friend.
Use a hot glue gun to glue 7 crayons {or as many crayons as you need to cover the width of your foam board} next to each other on the board.
Place in a cellophane bag, wrap with twine.
Cut the You Melt My Heart, Valentine labels, punch two holes in the top about an inch apart from one another, then loop the twine through and tie a bow.

This year, your kids’ friends will have a fun art project to do when they get home, and a Crayola masterpiece to cherish.

{images via Tutto Bella}

Love Art Print and Gifts for the Home

all around.

It’s February, so naturally LOVE is on my mind.

The truth is, I love Valentine’s Day. I know, I know, it’s overdone and commercialized like most of the holidays in this country. It’s not necessarily the holiday I love, but I love the idea of celebrating love. I am, and always have been, the eternal optimist and believer of true love.

I love being in love {tommy, love of my life}. I love loving other people.  I love my family and my friends. I love the way being in love feels. I’m the hopeless romantic that believes even if you haven’t found the right person, or even if your heart has been broken one too many times, you can still find love. And, if not with another person, with yourself. You have to love yourself first before you can love someone else. And, when you love yourself, the world opens up and there is endless opportunity to share your love and gifts with others.

I promise I won’t preach about LOVE everyday this month…but today, I just couldn’t help myself! In celebration of my obsession with love, I’m sharing {and have asked my sisters to share as well} a couple of our favorite movie scenes. We hope you take some time to enjoy a little ‘love’ today.

What’s your favorite movie scene about love?? We’d love to hear it.

This scene is from one of my favorite movies {the list is long}, Love Actually.

And who could forget this scene from Sex and the City the movie, one of Jodi’s favorite’s.

And, Jenna happily shared her favorite clip from her favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

We’re going to leave you with one of our all time favorite quotes about love by William Parrish {Meet Joe Black}…and it’s available here in our etsy store, Fleur de Lis, a paperie. I’m going to add it to my Valentine’s Day-themed mantle {which I’m going to share with you this week}.

{images via YouTube and Tutto Bella}

Ampersand Home Decor and Gifts

With Valentine’s Day coming up, there’s a lot of YOU & ME and ME & YOU talk. And, I can’t help but notice and LOVE the & in between it all. I’ve always loved the & symbol. I love the way it looks ~ against a wall, on an invite and on a piece of jewelry. So, today we’re all about the ampersand, &.

1. rustic gold leaf wood ampersand, Edie’s Lab via Etsy {$7}
2. ampersand wedding art print, between everything {$24}
3. ampersand bowl, pure home {$28}
4. ampersand brass letterpress necklace, Gwen Delicious Jewelry via Etsy {$37}
5. small ampersand cutting board, house industries {$90}
6. french style ampersand cushion, the wooden crate {$30}
7. ampersand coin purse, alphabet bags {$22.25}
8. galvanized ampersand single hook, the country porch {$7.95}
9. vintage ampersand marquee sign, saddle shoe signs {$35 to rent and $150 to purchase}
10. ceramic ampersand dish, iron accents {$7.95}
11. DIY mossy ampersand tutorial, two twenty one

{images via House Industries, Gwen Delicious Jewelry, alphabet bags, edie’s lab, the country porch, iron accents, the wooden crate, pure home, between everything, saddle shoe signs, and two twenty one}

valentine’s day printables

We have cutesy kid-and-adult-friendly DIY Valentine’s for…all the hot mama’s, the stud{s} in your life, all the cutie’s and for those who make you giggle! Some are healthy and others are not, but they are all adorable, and for Valentine’s Day, that’s all that really matters, right?

The original and new files {revamped with stripes} are available for a $3 purchase here.

DIY Adult Valentine’s

you are one hot mama
{fill the bag with hot tamales, fold over the custom tag and staple closed}

happy valentine’s day stud muffin
{fill the bag with a homemade poppy-seed muffin, fold over the custom tag and staple closed}

Poppy-seed Muffin Recipe
Makes 12 muffins
recipe adapted from our wonderful mom

Add the following ingredients to a large bowl and mix:
2 cups flour
1/8 cup poppy seeds {a used a little more, but less than 1/4 cup}
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Add 2 eggs{1 at a time} to the above ingredients and mix well

Add 1 cup plain yogurt and 2 tsp. almond extract and mix into the rest of the mixture.

Put the muffin mixture in baking cups and bake in the oven on 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes {It took me about 18 minutes}.

DIY Kid Valentine’s

i think you are quite a cutie
{fill a bag with clementines, fold the custom tag over the top of the bag and staple closed}

friend, you make me laffy
{fill the bag with laffy taffy for your silly friends, fold the custom tag over the bag and staple closed}

The original cutie file {the orange bubble}, can be bought here.
The original laffy taffy file {the blue bubble} is available too.

{images via j. sorelle}

Baptism Party and DIY Candy Favor

Before the holidays we celebrated our son’s baptism on a snowy Saturday at the same church we were married in. The whole family celebrated the occasion, which was so special for us. With little time and no sleep, I wasn’t able to go ‘all out’ with party details, but I was able to create a couple last-minute projects with some extra burlap I had lying around. Love me some burlap!

Burlap Banner
Use a pennant template to cute burlap triangle pennants
With stencils and white acrylic paint, use paintbrushes to paint a letter on each pennant.
Cut a ribbon the length of the size needed.
Use mini clothes pins to hang.

  Gold Pinecone Branches
Gather pine cones and branches.
Spray paint the pine cones gold {or color of your choice} and use a hot glue gun to glue them to the branches.
I wanted soft, neutral tones, so baby’s breath and hydrangea were the perfect wintry white combo to add to the bud vases.
Wrap the vases with a strip of burlap and voila!

I tucked  an Irish blessing into folded napkins at each place setting. It read:
Jackson,
for your baptism day
may God grant you always…
a sunbeam to warm you
a moonbeam to charm you
a sheltering angel so nothing can harm you
laugher to cheer you
faithful friends near you
and whenever you pray
heaven to hear you.

Each party guest received a baptism favor filled with candy and of course a ‘sweet thought’ to go along with it…
i’m BURSTing with happiness that you celebrated my baptism with me today.
now that i’m o’FISH’ially ‘in’ with the Lord,
here are some holy treats and tips to help you remember to keep the faith in your daily life…

daily prayer is a LIFESAVER 
read the bible NOW AND LATER
God puts everyone and everything in your life for a REISEN
God ROCKS!
love,
Jackson 

Candy Key:
BURSTing: Starburst
o’FISH’ially: Swedish Fish
LIFESAVER: Lifesavers
NOW and LATER: Now and Later
REISEN: Reisen
ROCKS: Pop Rocks

To buy the favor tag file {it’s a cuter file…Jenna re-styled my last-minute tags}, please visit our etsy store, Fleur de Lis, a paperie here.

{images via Tutto Bella}