Non-Candy Valentine’s Day Treats for Kids (Plus Free Printables)

Valentine’s Day is coming up. We have a fun post coming up for girlfriends (with a sense of humor), but today is all about the kids. This year, we’re doing a sports theme, with Star Wars intertwined, too. The kids get inundated with candy, so we like to do non-candy options when we can. There are so many amazing ideas, including Parachutes, slap bracelets, cars, straws, slime, popcorn and tattoos.

Hope you have an all-star Valentine’s Day!

Slam Dunk Valentine’s for your baller – The pens are from Amazon – order them now and you will get them in time. Free printable available here.

you're a slam-dunk - kids valentine and basketball pen

Star War’s Chopsticks – Jessica’s boys got these light up light saber chopsticks for Christmas in their stocking and love, love them. They eat with them, and also play with them. If your son or daughter would prefer a keychain or headlamp, this light up Lego keychain is awesome too.

Star Wars light up chopsticks

Star Wars light up chopsticks - gift idea for Star Wars fans

Tennis LOVE – for your tennis star, these are adorable tennis keychains (you will also get these in time).

tennis LOVE keychain for valentines day

You Light Up My Life: For the kids who love to doodle, write, or journal, these are fun light up pens that can be used everyday. These finger lights are also cute for elementary age kids. Free printable available here.

light up pens for valentines day - you light up my life

Let’s take a trip down DIY Valentine’s Day memory lane. Maybe you will see something you like…

Amazing Resin Projects To Try This Weekend (Just In Time For Valentine’s Day)

resin hair clip and heart keychain

Resin is one of those mediums we see everywhere, and it’s been on our must-try list for a long time. We’re happy to report that we finally got around to it. We made some fun heart-themed gifts for Valentine’s Day – DIY keychains and DIY resin hair clips. We’re basically obsessed with all the amazing things you can make with resin and epoxy, and hope this is just the beginning of the things we will create. There is somewhat of a learning curve with resin, at least for us, so hopefully this is a helpful tutorial, and you will be crafting with resin in no time.

Kimberly at A Girl and A Glue Gun has so many tips and trick when working with resin and epoxy, and we highly recommend watching her videos. She made some amazing coasters, jewelry and keychains.

DIY Resin Keychains & Hair Clips

Materials:

  • Art ‘N Glow Resin – if this doesn’t arrive in time from Amazon, your local Michaels or Joann’s has resin, too
  • Heart silicone mold (Walmart for $4)
  • Hair clip set
  • Keychain accessories or this keychain kit (helpful if you want to make alphabet letters in the future)
  • Glitter (just about any glitter or small sequins will work – you can even use dyes, alphabet beads and dried flowers and photographs). We did’t use the dye this time. We have used it before, and it works great)
  • Small disposable cups and popsicle sticks
  • Disposable table cloth and disposable gloves (very important – it was messy for us)
  • Multi-purpose lighter or match
  • e-6000 or clear gorilla glue (the other that doesn’t expand)

Directions:

First, we want to apologize for the fact that we don’t have photos of the process. Our hands were wet with resin and didn’t want to mess with a camera at the same time.

Step 1: Follow the directions that come with the resin kit, very carefully. Put on gloves, and set up space with disposable cloth. It’s crucial is have good airflow while stirring and pouring resin. We always have a window open close to the craft table when working with resin. Fresh air is your friend with this one. The first step will be to pour a small (1-2 tbsp or so) amount of resin and hardener in separate cups, then pour an equal amount of each into another cup. The two you pour in together is what you’re going to pour into your project, so estimate the right amount. You will have to stir the two together very slowly for 3-5 minutes. You will see some bubbles – we have found that the slower you stir, the smaller and less bubbles (which is a good thing). Once you are done stirring, pour in another cup, and then add your glitter, a couple drops of dye or whatever you are putting inside. Stir and/or mix it in with a popsicle stick.

art n glow resin

Step 2: Pour the resin and add-ins in the molds.

For Hair Clips: You will want to carefully pour to the top of the hair clip molds. If any excess overflows, carefully swipe off with the side of a popsicle stick or wipe with paper towel. You can move any sprinkles or glitter around with a toothpick if you need to.

Hearts: Pour about halfway, not to the top of the mold. If you are adding small alphabet beads, pour a tiny amount of resin in the heart, and then add the beads (you can use a toothpick to help place or wiggle them around), hold a flame close to the top of the resin if any bubbles (they will pop magically), and then pour the rest of the resin to cover the letters The heart should be about 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Step 3: Once the resin is in the mold, you will want to take your lighter and hold it closer to the surface of the resin. We learned this from A Girl and A Glue Gun. It’s amazing – the bubbles pop when the fire gets near it. Carefully hover the lighter over the surface of the resin to get out all bubbles.

Step 4: Wait 24 hours for resin to completely dry/cure. This is super important. It’s hard to do, but you can do hard things! Once 24 hours has passed, push the object through.

diy resin hair clips with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin hair clips with glitter and heart sequins

 

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin hair clips with glitter and heart sequins

Step 5:
Hair Clips: You’re ready to glue the heart resin clip topper onto the actual metal clip. Add e-6000 glue to the metal clip and place the resin topper to the clip. Use chip bag clips to keep the resin in place on the clip. Let dry for at least 2 hours, but 12 is preferable.

Heart keychain: To make this a keychain, you will need the kit mentioned above with the keychain loops, screws and mini drill. Drill a hole smaller than the screw into the top of the letter, so you can twist the eye screw nice and snug in the letter. If you don’t have a drill (like us), you can use a jewelry pliers to twist the eye screw into the letter. It can be frustrating at first, but after a couple twists, it will hold in place, and then you twist further until it’s fully in the letter. Next, add the letter, and you have a darling new keychain.

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

diy resin keychains with glitter and heart sequins

A Bright Idea: Recycle A Pasta Box & Transform Into This Magical Light Box

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

We are Italian, so we eat a lot of pasta. It’s our love language. We still dream of all the delicious pasta we ate everyday in Italy. We love to cook pasta for our families, too. Whether it’s with red sauce, or a creamy pesto sauce, and topped with meat or vegetables, we love to cook it…and devour it. Most of us are gluten free, and initially (years ago), pasta just wasn’t the same. Now, there are so many wonderful gluten free options at the store, we cannot even tell the difference. It’s so yummy. Barilla is hands-down our favorite. It tastes delicious, and it’s easy to cook. Plus, we can buy spaghetti noodles, lasagna no-boil noodles, penne and more! This post is not sponsored by Barilla (we genuinely love their products), although we would love to make some recipes sponsored by them. Hint, hint!

Recently, our Barilla gluten free penne box not only inspired a meal, but also a craft. We recycled the box, and transformed it into a DIY light box for Valentine’s Day. Now, that’s a bright idea worth sharing! The kids helped paint the boxes, and we cut the hearts, so it was a family effort. This DIY project costs very little money, it can be shipped to a loved one, aka grandparents, easily because it’s very lightweight, and when lit, it’s magical. It’s hard not to feel the love when those lights comes on inside the box. If you have little ones that want to continue crafting after they decorate the box, save some noodles, and paint them too. Send a pretty DIY necklace along with the box.

Let’s get started…

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Materials:

  • Barilla pasta box
  • Acrylic paint (optional: glitter and stickers)
  • Paintbrush
  • cellophane paper
  • Xacto knife
  • double-sided tape
  • twinkle lights (remote-operated, color or white lights work)
  • Paint pen, Elmer’s, fine tip

Directions: 

Step 1: Find a heart printable on the internet. Print it. Tape it on top of the box, and begin to cut with the Xacto knife.

Step 2: Paint the box. Two coats is best, depending on the saturation and paint color you choose.

Step 3: Once paint is dry, cut small boxes of cellophane sheets to match the size of each heart. Place the small square over the heart, to make sure it fits. Add a small square of double sided tape to each corner of the box. Now, carefully use your fingers to place the cellophane box inside the pasta box behind the heart you sized it for. Press down on each corner so it stays in place. Repeat until all the hearts have a colorful cellophane sheet behind them.

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Step 4: Place twinkle lights inside. Move them around as you need. As far as twinkle lights go, the colorful ones were the brightest, and we liked them the best. But, white lights are pretty, too. These are so small, the battery pack can be glued inside the box, but not sure they will be the brightest due to 20 fairy lights on each string. If you use a small pasta box, these would work great, and you get more of them, so more bang for your buck.

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Step 5: With the paint pen, add a cute phrase like, “You light up my life.” on the bottom clear cellophane strip already on the pasta box. If you want to make it extra special, you can add a photo behind one of the hearts, too.

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

 

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

diy recycled pasta box-light box craft-twinkle lights

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase any of the items, we may make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting our family blog. 

Try This Anthropologie XO Vase Hack

XO vase-anthropologie hack- valentines day decor-DIY flower vase

I was perusing the Anthropologie site last week. They were having a great sale, and I love to stock up on gifts. I ran across these XO vases. They are darling, and the price is not ridiculous at all, but after a quick trip to Walmart, I saw white cups for .50 cents, and my mind went straight to the cute red X’s and O’s on Anthropologie’s vase. No calligraphy or crazy artistic expertise needed for this DIY XO vase. If you learned how to draw X’s and O’s in kindergarten, YOU GOT THIS!

The DIY vase is not made of glass or pottery, but if you’re looking for a thoughtful, low-budget buy for a girlfriend, friend or loved one this Valentine’s Day, this is a good one. Actually, I’d argue that an XO vase is relevant all year long – we give hugs and kisses all year, right?!

Let’s get this LOVEly vase party started.

XO vase-anthropologie hack- valentines day decor-DIY flower vase

DIY XO Vase, Anthropologie Hack

Materials:

  • White tumblers – here and here (pink and teal also available at Target for .50 cents)
  • Enamel paint, red (Michaels, Joann’s or Walmart)
  • paint brush (thin, slanted tip worked best for us)
  • waterproof sealant (optional, if you want them to last longer)

Directions:

Step 1: With a paintbrush, draw X’s and O’s all over the vase with enamel paint. Enamel paint is best because it’s dishwasher safe. NOTE: Since the cups are plastic, the XO can scratch off, even with dishwasher safe paint. So, spraying or painting the cups with a dishwasher safe sealant is a good idea if you want them to last. Leave a small space between each set of XO’s. Start at the top of the cup and make your way down. If you want to add weight to the bottom, add a rock. Wait to the paint to dry, and then fill with water and pretty flowers. That’s it!

BTW…if DIYing is not your thing, the real version at Anthropologie version is really pretty and a great gift!

XO vase-anthropologie hack- valentines day decor-DIY flower vase

XO vase-anthropologie hack- valentines day decor-DIY flower vase

 

XO vase-anthropologie hack- valentines day decor-DIY flower vase

Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!

We Are Majorly Crushing On This DIY Confetti Frame

DIY heart confetti frame for valentines day

We collaborated with the wonderful women at AVYN, who make comfortable and stylish bras for the modern mom, with a special craft for Valentine’s Day. The founders of AVYN are two women (and moms) trying their best to do their thang with their business and families, and we’re also trying our best to do our thang with our businesses and families! We love to support each other.

Last time we guest posted on AVYN, we were gaga over these DIY bunnies we shared. This time, we traded balloons and bunnies for confetti hearts and photos. Check out the DIY confetti frame post here, so you can make them for friends and family.

We had a memorable trip to Florida in 2019 to celebrate our parents wedding anniversary. Bianca Merrell captured beautiful photos our family will treasure forever. We made these precious moments extra special with glitter confetti! We hope you can find special memory (or two) to frame, too.

Check out AVYN on IG, too. It’s an uplifting account with inspiration for women and mother’s everywhere.

DIY heart confetti frame for valentines day