It’s another year of handmade Valentine’s Day cards. I’m still trying to keep things simple and fun for my daughter. We have less to make this year (only 22!), which is good because it was a struggle to get through all of the (34!) pencil cards last year.

I [...]]]>

It’s another year of handmade Valentine’s Day cards. I’m still trying to keep things simple and fun for my daughter. We have less to make this year (only 22!), which is good because it was a struggle to get through all of the (34!) pencil cards last year.

I enlisted some help from technology for these. She wrote her Valentine’s Day message once, I scanned it, printed out a bunch of little versions, and glued them to the back of these cute heart-shaped notepads. I told her that she could decorate them anyway she liked and she chose to just color in the hearts. That was fine with me. We knocked these out Sunday morning and have plenty of time for her to make a few special cards for friends and family.

notes: I found the notepads at Target in the seasonal aisle. Here are cards from past years:

• pencil cards at age 4
• paper flowers a la Martha Stewart at age 3
• hearts cut from original artwork at age 2
• valentine’s day art at age 1

Are you making Valentines this year? Share in the comments!

Think of how much paper we [...]]]> I was headed to the craft store this morning and realized I forgot to print my 40% off coupon. I really didn’t want to drive all the way home so I asked the cashier if she could just use it from my phone. “No problem!” she said. Awesome.

Think of how much paper we could save if everyone who had a smart phone gave up printing coupons!

I don’t like posting without a picture, so here’s the little frame I bought today. Isn’t it cute? Perfect for a little girl who likes pink and little purses.

We are doing very simple Valentine’s Day cards this year. I wanted to keep my daughter involved in the process, but between preschool and nature school, she’s got over 30 classmates. Even though she loves crafts, I can’t imagine her staying interested in such a big project.

Winter break + snow day = a very long time away from nature school. The kids will be studying the Northern Cardinal when they finally return and had homework over the holidays: choose either the male or female to study and make an ornament for the class tree. My daughter chose the [...]]]>

Winter break + snow day = a very long time away from nature school. The kids will be studying the Northern Cardinal when they finally return and had homework over the holidays: choose either the male or female to study and make an ornament for the class tree. My daughter chose the female, which we learned is not the brilliantly red colored bird usually depicted as the cardinal.

I let her do this mostly by herself. I printed the template on cardstock and she cut out the pieces, colored them and glued them together. I helped her pry them apart so we could add the top feathers, legs and string and then we re-glued them together.

This was another exercise in letting go for me. I resisted trimming the blue template lines that are peeking out of the edges and adding more brown feathers. When I suggested a little more brown, she said the cardinal is “a little bit snowy.”

pattern template: I downloaded Purl Soho’s Simple Sewn Bird Ornament pattern for this project. Since we used paper and didn’t need a seam allowance, I just used the interface template. I printed the original and a mirror image for the other side. Paper, string, raffia all from the stash.

Wow. This time last year I was doing the same exact thing: cutting out pictures for my daughter to paste on paper. It must be the official start of the holiday direct mail season.

Last year we put all of the shapes together in a single envelope, which [...]]]>

Wow. This time last year I was doing the same exact thing: cutting out pictures for my daughter to paste on paper. It must be the official start of the holiday direct mail season.

Last year we put all of the shapes together in a single envelope, which created a lot of mess. She’d dump all of them out just to find one or two that she wanted. This year we are sorting them by category to make it a little easier.

Now that she’s using scissors, this is even more fun for her. Of course, we’ve created a whole different mess of scraps on the floor, but who cares. It keeps her busy and she enjoys it. I just need to remind her that we only cut paper and not hair!

envelopes: My daughter loves writing little notes and was cruising through my stash of envelopes. I started saving the ones that come with all of our junk mail. She’s got a nice supply now and that’s what we used to sort her cutouts.

catalogs: Did you know you can cut down the amount of paper that gets delivered to your mailbox? I’ve had good luck with Catalog Choice. Only problem is when you order something new, you get put on the mailing list again. At least we’re putting the catalogs to good use!

Today was another slow day. I feel bad for my daughter. She’s getting bored with this mama-isn’t-feeling-well business. I tried to make today all about her. Most of the morning we hung out on the living room floor. She did her thing and I worked on another charity blanket square.
[...]]]>

Today was another slow day. I feel bad for my daughter. She’s getting bored with this mama-isn’t-feeling-well business. I tried to make today all about her. Most of the morning we hung out on the living room floor. She did her thing and I worked on another charity blanket square.

After lunch, the sun came out, and we spent some time on the deck planting seeds. She painted this little flower pot in school for Mother’s/Father’s day and her teacher put a packet of marigold seeds in it.

We planted a few in the pot and some other small containers I found in the garage. She was having so much fun that I decided to make some paper pots so she could keep on planting. Toilet paper rolls cut in half also work well. You can just drop the whole thing in the ground when it’s ready!

It was a good, but tiring day. I am ready to be feeling better and back at my sewing machine. Those upholstery sample totes are calling my name!

stash: Acrylic yarn from my stash. I don’t remember where I got my PotMaker. I’ve had it a long time. It’s just like this one.

A few months ago I found these stamps while digging through the craft section at the thrift store. One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is stamp — anything and everything!

She already makes birthday cards for her friends by hand, and I thought it would be [...]]]>

A few months ago I found these stamps while digging through the craft section at the thrift store. One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is stamp — anything and everything!

She already makes birthday cards for her friends by hand, and I thought it would be fun to have her make wrapping paper for the gifts, too. Fabric gift bags are great, but sometimes kids just need to rip paper.

I usually use kraft paper for this, but a paper bag works just as well.

Materials
kraft paper or paper bags
rubber stamps
washable ink stamp pads

Step 1
If using kraft paper off the roll, tape it to the table first so your child has a flat surface on which to stamp. If using a paper bag, cut it flat and use a low heat iron to smooth out the wrinkles. (They won’t disappear, but will flatten out.)

Step 2
Roll up your child’s sleeves. We’ve had elbows in the stamp pad many times, which is why washable ink is a good idea.

Step 3
Wrap the gift! If your child wants to help with this step, hold the paper and let her apply small pieces of tape.

Bonus!
Have your child stamp the envelope to match the paper.

recycle: If you missed my post with the frightening statistics about wrapping paper, you should really check it out. I’m happy to say this is one resolution that I’ve had no problem keeping! (Price for the stamps: $4.)

My daughter’s preschool is having a valentine exchange tomorrow. Usually the rule for school treats is no candy, but this time they’ve made an exception: one small piece is allowed. I found this cute valentine flower on Martha’s website.

The first thing I did was trace and cut out some leaves. [...]]]>

My daughter’s preschool is having a valentine exchange tomorrow. Usually the rule for school treats is no candy, but this time they’ve made an exception: one small piece is allowed. I found this cute valentine flower on Martha’s website.

The first thing I did was trace and cut out some leaves. I gave them to my daughter to sign while I traced and cut out the hearts. After she went to bed, I added the “from:” to her leaves and glued the flowers. The next day, she helped me put in the lollipops.

Even though she’s too young to use scissors, I think my daughter had fun with this project. Signing her name to all of those leaves made her feel really involved.

stash: Paper from my never-ending stash of graphic design paper samples. Lollipops are always on hand around here. You never know when you need an emergency “treat.”

Last year I saved a few of my favorite holiday cards for crafting. I planned to reuse the artwork to make new cards, but when I realized I didn’t have any cute gift tags in my stash, I started cutting! I began with 5 cards and ended with almost 30 gift tags [...]]]>

Last year I saved a few of my favorite holiday cards for crafting. I planned to reuse the artwork to make new cards, but when I realized I didn’t have any cute gift tags in my stash, I started cutting! I began with 5 cards and ended with almost 30 gift tags in all shapes and sizes.

You’ll need:
-paper cutter
-embossing stylus, crochet hook or knitting needle for scoring
-ruler
-small hole punch

I just started slicing away without thinking too hard about the end result. Then I went back and sorted all of the bits.

• Large rectangles were scored for fold-over tags. (boy pulling sled)
• Borders made great matching flat tags. (red and cream stripes)
• Images were cut in half to make coordinating card sets. (snow scene)
• Die cuts made really fancy cards. (poinsettia)

Most cards are made out of heavy paper stock and need to be scored before you fold them or they will crack on the fold. If the surface is glittery, cover with a thin piece of paper before scoring.

The final step was to punch holes in the corners so they can easily be tied on to gift packages.

reuse and recycle: This little project didn’t take long and was so much fun. If you sent me a really cute card last year, thanks! You just might be getting it back on a gift this year.

Usually I just handwrite this message on my packages, but sometimes I forget when I’m rushing to get things in the mail. Now I have labels! I printed them on the back of already used paper and just slip them under the packing tape. I suppose you could print stickers, but that’s [...]]]>

Usually I just handwrite this message on my packages, but sometimes I forget when I’m rushing to get things in the mail. Now I have labels! I printed them on the back of already used paper and just slip them under the packing tape. I suppose you could print stickers, but that’s too involved for me. Until I find a way to seal packages without packing tape, this will work just fine.

The image is a striped, felted sweater. I’m thinking of making some with holly leaves and berries for the holidays.

resource: I also made a template for you! Please download it and use it often!