Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day friends! How is your day going so far? Jon spelled out J+M in a heart for me with chalk on the driveway which started the day out just right.

I've been stuffing my face with chocolates, decadent cookies and Cinnabun pancakes all week thanks to a wonderful Valentines exchange that I was lucky enough to attend over the weekend. Stephanie Ford, from Sycamore Street Press, hosted the get together at her swoon worthy abode and several of us gals brought unique Valentines to share with one another. For my contribution I decided to use watercolor to write out "love" on several different cards. I then added a little quote about love on each card and passed them out with a little chocolate treat.

I can't decide which card ended up being my favorite but I know I had a lot of fun making these. I love the idea of having Valentines parties for just the gals. Have you ever had a get together like this? If not, I highly suggest it.

Any exciting dinner plans for the evening? A night out with your sweetheart, the gals or just a comfortable night in with the family? That is most likely what we'll be doing. Jon and I used to really live up Valentines Day when we lived in NY. We decided it was our one day of the year to really splurge and celebrate each other and our marriage. I remember some melt in you mouth pasta from an Italian restaurant where there was a dress code and the waiters would come and brush away any crumbs that might fall on your table during the duration of your meal. And then there was Cafe des Artists where I had the most phenomenal fish dish in the world. And there was an Asian restaurant that was out of this world. I think it was a star hang out spot and I even think they have filmed a couple of movies there. They had the most gigantic Buddha I've ever seen. That place was a little too fast and furious for our taste but still a lot of fun. I'll have to ask Jon what the name of it was as I can't recall just now.

But for this year, well I think we'll avoid the crowds tonight and then go out on Saturday. I'll have to come up with something scrumptious to make here at home for this evening...will have to see...

Happy Valentines to you all and I hope you enjoy yourself thoroughly!

XO
mer

Make your Valentine turn red in the face...

I love my mother. She is an infinite well of creative, clever and slightly outrageous ideas. And Valentines Day is her time to shine. You wouldn't believe the things she would do for my dad - we're talking pouring bright red tempera paint on freshly fallen Colorado snow to spell out "I LOVE YOU!" for my dad to see when he drove up after getting home from work on Valentines Day. And then there was the daily proclamation of how much she loved my dad - which was done at the top of her lungs (I'm pretty sure the neighbors could here it). And the smooching my parents would do after my dad came home from work...well I won't even get into that. Yeah, she is a passionate mom and I love her for it. So this year, I decided to take a page out of her book and create a Valentine's Day card for Jon based on one she did for my dad a number of years ago.

Basically the front of the card reads: "This Valentine's Day card is sure to turn your face RED." With plenty of fun innuendos implied, your Valentine might shyly open the card...only to find...

...that you have placed a photo of them inside...and with bright red lipstick kisses...

..you have covered their face...making it indeed turn RED!

I thought it was the cutest idea and had to do it for Jon this year.

And if you want to make one too, I have created the card for you which you can download by clicking the text below.


Hope you and your cupid enjoy!! XO

"I'm Stuck on You" Valentine buttons

I had recently purchased a 1 1/4" button maker to make little buttons to sell in the shop and had been having some fun with it when I thought, "hey, we could make monogram buttons for all the kids in Little A's Kindergarten class this year for Valentines!". And well...that is just what we did.

The button maker I purchased was a little too complicated for Little A so I had to do the button making part for him. (But if you want to do this yourself, and want to get your kids more involved, there are several button makers geared for kids that are much more affordable and would work great for this craft. Here are just a few I've found online: 1. 2. & 3.).

I did have him help with punching the holes in the cards and adhering the buttons once they were finished. He loved doing this...in fact when he was struggling he wouldn't let me help him. He just kept on working at it until he got that hole punched into that card. I love his determination.

He then of course addressed all the cards out to his class mates. He was quite particular about it actually. I had a few monogram circles cut out, ready to be made into buttons, that had letters that didn't correspond to any of his classmates names and he was quick to let me know that they were of no use. I loved his little "mom, get it together" sigh whenever this happened.

For the girls we went with the traditional heart motif on the buttons and a mint and red color scheme.

And for the boys we opted for a bit more universal route and went with a star motif (which Little A is completely into). And for the color scheme: indigo and red. And the cards still have a heart to keep with the Valentines theme.

We opted for an out-of-the-ordinary color scheme this Valentines. Last year we had so much fun delving into the traditional vibrant hues of season that we thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit this year. Little A loved the new look, and so do I.

And I do so hope that the recipients in Little A's class enjoy the the buttons as well.

Don't you think they would be so cute sported on backpacks and book bags?

I mean, wouldn't that be so perfect? I would have loved to get a little "M" button to wear around when I was in grade school (OK maybe I just want one now).

(Oh and I had Little O step in as a model as Little A was away at school...so if you are thinking...he doesn't look like a 5/6 yr old, you'd be right. He's 3...but was totally into the buttons. I want to have a little preschool Valentines card exchange party for him...don't you think that would be fun?).

(adorable robot bag from The Happy Birthday Shop)

We'd love to share this craft with you and have created a few PDFs for you to download should you chose to delve into button making for yourself (but I must warn you, you'll get addicted. Anything and everything will soon need to become a button...don't say I didn't warn you).

You can download the various PDF files individually here:

Red Valentine Heart Cards
Mint Valentine Heart Cards
Indigo Valentine Heart Cards
Red and Mint Heart Alphabet Button Templates
Red and Indigo Star Alphabet Button Templates


*and if you are interested in doing this project but don't want to purchase a button maker, then I would suggest downloading the alphabet hearts and stars and then printing them onto sticker paper. You could then punch them out and adhere them preexisting buttons (lots of places give them away for free) or just hand them out as stickers. You could still go with the "I'm Stuck On You" verbiage and everything.

Make a "Pillow-Talk" Pillow for your Valentine

Alison of the Alison Show, and The Little Tiny, is sharing the love this Valentines by hosting a round up of Valentines crafts just in time to get us ready to celebrate the holiday of L-O-V-E. She invited me to take part of the festivities and we came up with this fun little twist on "pillow talk".

I love the idea of exchanging little messages to those you love a top a pillow - and a blackboard pillow nonetheless. A true "conversation heart", if you will. You could start by writing a little love note to your sweetheart and leave the pillow for them to discover. And then it would be their turn to leave a little note for you. The conversation of love could just go on and on...

But don't leave out the littles, because they will love to join in on spreading the love around.

Little O really got into to it and loved being allowed to actually draw on one of mommy's pillows. And I loved seeing him so delighted and engaged.

To make this you'll need to purchase blackboard fabric (I found my at Joann's) and contrasting fabric for the back and sides of the pillow. I referred to this tutorial when making the pillow. When using a stiff fabric I found it necessary to have an inset so this pattern worked well.

I also used webbing, alphabet stamps and multi-surface black ink pad to create a little "pillow talk" tag.

We've been having a lot of fun around here drawing and writing love notes. A great way to jump right into February and the season of love, if I do say so myself.

(simply wipe the pillow clean with a damp cloth, wait a bit for it to dry and then write another message to those you love!)

And don't forget to stay tuned for all the remaining Valentines posts Alison has in store for us. She has quite a line up! I know I for one can't wait to see what's up next!

Happy February!

Featured in Create With Me magazine

Have you come across the new and inspiring periodical, Create with Me? It covers artistic adventures with children and invites you to get in on all the fun with your little ones. If not, you are in for a real treat.

We have enjoyed looking at all the creative ideas that so many great bloggers (and their little ones) have contributed to the first Create With Me, June 2011, issue. So when we were asked to contribute our Triangle Stenciled Shirt project...

and our Color Theory Valentines to the Winter 2012, issue, we were more than delighted to jump in on all the fun!

I have to say that one of the most fun things was showing my littles the magazine. I sat down with them and told them, "OK boys, let's look at this magazine and see all the super fun stuff we can create together." So we went through each project, page by page until we happened upon our Triangle Freezer Paper Stencil project. Little A just started giggling out of control and aksed, in between gasps of giggles, "What am I doing in a magazine?". Little O started giggling as well when he saw himself, seated beside Little A, and pretty soon the whole lot of us were in stitches. And then when we later happened upon our Color Theory Valentines, well the boys just nearly fell on the floor. I had no idea how surprised and delighted they would be about seeing their projects in print. It was such a fun moment for us all.

And now, after reading the articles, I have to make sure I remember to follow up on my promise to provide many a color theory lesson for my littles in the future. And being as I do in fact have a few ideas up my sleeve that I've been dying to delve into, I can't say I mind so terribly much...

[spreading the Lovely, Love around...]

I wanted to start Valentines Day off with a lovely, love story and a new print in my shop to go along with it.

About a week ago I got an email from Ruth Schultz, wife of Scott Schultz - the creator of a little known kids show you might have heard of....Yo Gabba Gabba. Ruth had seen my Lovely, Love My Family paper heart cut out I had made for Jon for Christmas and wanted to purchase a print of it for her husband's office. Needless to say I was completely flattered and more than happy to accommodate.

In fact, her request inspired me to take it further and offer several Lovely, Love prints in various colors in my etsy shop.

After hearing from Ruth I later came across this beautiful story about her, her family and more specifically her lovely daughter, Davy. Darling Davy was born with a cleft lip and palate, congenital heart defects and several other conditions. From there I went on to read more about this amazing mother/daughter team on Ruth's own blog, the mom.

It didn't take long for me to fall in love with little Davy and her talented, humorous, gorgeous, and incredibly strong mother, Ruth. Her blog tells the story of Davy's growth, trials and triumphs and is filled with hope amidst weariness, and happiness amidst adversity...all while being shared in Ruth's transparent, down to earth, day-in-the-life-of writing style.

Ruth is also a mother to three happy, healthy, hyper and hilarious boys, Max, Oliver and Harper. Just about every post concerning these little guys makes me smile with familiarity (and I think I've even spotted one or two or all three of them on our favorite little show ;)). Needless to say, Ruth's a busy woman.

After catching up on Ruth and Davy, I knew right away that these Lovely, Love prints had to be for them. It just felt right. So I have decided that the proceeds from all of the Lovely, Love prints in my shop will go to Davy and her family for things such as hospital, medical, and doctor bills, medications, supplies, etc. (something I've since learned that they are always in need of, despite the success of the show). And to kick it off, I've decided to start spreading the love around by offering ONE FREE PRINT with every LOVELY, LOVE print purchase...all week long!! Just indicate which print you want for free in the comment section at check out and I'll be sure to mail them both off to you.

A very Happy Valentines day to all of you!! And get on over to the shop, and start your week off right by sharing a little love.

xo

Mer

(all Ruth and Davy photos courtesy of the mom)

***And there are more prints now back in the shop! So sorry, I wasn't up to speed on things when Odeedoh posted about this, but now there should be plenty...so keep on spreading the love!

[A little color theory for...]

Can I just say that any holiday that uses an overwhelming amount of saturated reds and pinks in it's celebration is OK by me?

As I was going through my Valentine inspiration files this year I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the powerful, strong colors popping off the pages. I was inspired...and the artist in me just want to dip my brush in and explore the variation and intensity of the wonderful hues.

So for this years Valentines cards, that is just what Little A and I did. We jumped right into a little "Color Theory 101", and ran with it.

I started us out by going through my acrylic craft paints, choosing a variation of beautiful reds (wine, cranberry, tomato, blood, etc.) and then threw in orange to warm things up and white to push us a little into the pink zone.

I then drew out a grid for us to place the various, scrumptious hues.

Little A got right to work. He was very interested in blending colors so we got to the pinks right away. From there I had him mostly work with one color at a time, blending here and there with other colors if he chose to. I was sure to point out the amazing, subtle variations that one hue, RED, could have. I also worked right alongside him, helping him fill in random squares throughout the grid.

He got really into it...taking things pretty seriously (as you can see here).

In no time at all, the entire grid was filled with delicious, eye popping colors.

It really was a little mini work of art. In fact, I almost hated the idea of cutting this up into little Valentines...I almost wanted to frame it and hang it on the wall!

Well cut away we did (but not until I scanned it in), creating little mini custom works of art for each of his classmates and teachers.

We then addressed the cards and fit them into business card size vellum envelopes (that I've had hanging around, and dying to use, for forever).

Of course no Valentine would be complete without a little candy, so we placed a decadent dove chocolate cherry swirl heart in each one (and can I just say yummy!).

I then added little conversation heart sayings to the front of each envelope using some of my favorite pens (these seriously come in SO handy. I'm addicted...and you will be too).

Little A and I had a wonderful afternoon creating these. In fact he's asked me a couple times since if we could make more valentines...

and hey...I'm all for spreading the love around...

...so much so that we have created a downloadable pdf version here for you to use if you don't have time to make one of your own. Just click here to get started.

(And if you are looking for more V-day fixes this year, check out our piratey Valentines downloads from last year (recently featured on Parent Map and Crafty Crow). They were a big hit with Little A's mateys!).

** All downloads are for personal use only. Please do not use for resale, or commercial production.