Felt Heart Wreath

I am so in LOVE with this fabulous Valentine's wreath at The Idea Room. It is so cute! I will be making one of these in the next couple of weeks. I love the month of February, i love Valentines day and i love that my birthday follows close behind it. I really can't wait to get my Valentines decorations out even though i feel like i just took my Christmas stuff down. Head on over to The Idea Room to see how to make your own felt heart wreath.

Happy Love Day

Hope you are all having a wonderful Valentines Day. I am very blessed with a wonderful man in my life. He is the love of my life and most importantly my best friend. I also have two sweet boys who have shown me what true love really is. I would do anything for those pinchable cheeks of theirs. I hope you all have loads of love in your life because it really does make it all the better.
Here are some pictures of Lovey animals. I am a sucker for cute animals, especially mommy and baby ones.







-Jaime

Melted Crayon Craft

Let me start off by telling you that my oldest son is addicted to infomercials, if you saw my Infomercials post you already know this, he gets it from his dad but I am usually the one dealing with it on a day to day basis. I often hear myself saying, "No, we really don't need that sweetie." At Christmas time the boy was really impressed with a commercial for this bad boy......

While I had to admit that it did look like one of the coolest things on the planet, not really but that's the kind of sentences that are used to describe things at my house, I knew that I had seen somewhere that you could make your own custom crayons at home in the oven. I then proceeded (2 months later) to turn to my best friend Google and this is what I got out of reading various instructions.

Here is what you will need:

• Decorative pan or mold (you can also use a muffin tin with or without paper liners)

• Crayons (don't get washable ones, they don't work as well)

• Non stick spray
  

I got the heart pan and crayons at Wal-mart.

Next start unwrapping the little suckers. If you happen to have old broken crayon pieces already then you are a step ahead of me. My boys don't color too much and the little one is a chronic crayon eater, I know gross right? When we go out to eat at a restaurant where they have crayons and a kid's menu he always has a crayon or two for his appetizer. Yes I do try to stop him but he's one fast, sneaky little guy. At least none have got stuck up his nose yet.
I found the crayons easier to peel if you take a knife and cut a deep slit down the length of it, this is a parents job for sure. Then let the kiddos do the unwrapping.
I think the batman ring is required while doing this so hopefully you all have one...

Spray your pan or mold with a little bit of cooking spray so they will pop out of the molds easier. Break each crayon into about 5 pieces. It's best to group the crayons into similar colors, like reds, pinks, oranges and yellows and then blues, greens, purples, to avoid ending up with all the colors running together and making a big brown crayon.

Next pop them into the 350 degree oven for about 7-8 minutes or until they are all melted.

After they are fully melted take them out of the oven and let them set for a few minutes and then put them in the freezer to cool a bit faster. When they are set up they should pop out of the molds pretty easy. I am, by nature, a very impatient person and wanted to get them out asap to see their cuteness but take my advice and wait at least 10-15 minutes and they will be super easy to get out of the pan.

And the end result....pretty darn cute I think. I am sure we will be making these again with all different molds. Little gingerbread men at Christmas time would be adorable I think! If you do make these for Valentines favors you could include a note that says :

-Valentine, you color my world-

The little one approved of them and to my shock and disbelief didn't even try to eat one. Which brings me to another point, if you do give them to kids as a gift be sure to include a note that says they are crayons so the kids don't think they are a big cookie, although I'm pretty sure it would only take one bite to figure that out for themselves.

Happy crayon making!!

Valentine's Day Decor

I have been trying to beef up my Valentines day decorations lately and i found the cutest Etsy shop to help me in that area. It's Ally's Attic and she makes darling stuff. I love to make crafts but let's face it, sometimes it's just easier to buy. Check out some of the Valentines decorations she has at her shop....

I love these little hearts and am currently kicking myself in the butt for not getting them.

These are the cute topiary's that came to me in the mail yesterday, i was so excited to get them on my shelf. Boy #1 was even a little jealous and asked why one of them couldn't go in his room. Sorry buster these are all mine:)

OK so i just realized while looking at this picture that my shelf is incredibly dusty, gross i agree. I am getting up to go clean it right now. Man this blog is really pointing out my flaws, not sure i am liking that. I also am realizing after looking at my pictures that i need a new camera and i am currently looking for the perfect one. So hang in there with me.

Chocolate Roses

How about a fun Valentines craft to get you going on your Monday. I have made these a couple of times and every time i do i get great feedback on them. My father-in-law was so impressed when he saw them he told me that i should open up a stand on the side of the road and sell them. While i appreciated the comment you will not be seeing me out your car window any time soon.
So here is your Monday craft, isn't it so pretty.....

Here is what you will need: Red cellophane, Hershey's kisses, some fake flowers w/stems(i got this bunch at Wal-mart for $1.50), green florist tape and some scissors.

Fist take all the tops(fake flowers) off your stems and take all the leaves off too, they usually just pop off. Then cut out a square of red cellophane.

Next put two Hershy's kisses bottoms together and wrap the cellophane over them and gather it together at the bottom. Sorry about my ugly fingers in the picture, yes i am rather embarrassed by what years of doing hair has done to my hands.

Then you take one of the stems and stick it where the sun don't shine, just kidding, stick it up in the cellophane just behind the kisses a little. Then take the florist tape and start wrapping the tape around the bottom of the beautiful rose bud you just created. Keep on wrapping, pulling it taunt but not too tight or the tape will break. Keep wrapping until you've covered all your cellophane up and don't forget to grab one of the leaves you popped off and tape it back in by the rose bud.

And there you have it. This is the bouquet i made today. I am giving these out to Cody's Preschool teacher and the teachers aids in his class.