Valentine's Day fun

*Disclaimer*  

Yes, I know Valentine's Day was more than a week ago.  It is still February, though, so at least I'm close, right?

I have always been a fan of Valentine's Day.  Even when I had no Valentine.  I like the idea of a special day to tell the people you love that you love them.  Of course, it is made better when you spend every day loving them, but...I digress.

I was really excited to celebrate this year.  My girls are getting old enough to appreciate the things I do to set the day apart.  We had a lot of fun loving each other.

Here's what I learned:

Sunglasses, while cool every day, just look better on Valentine's Day.

 It is a good day to decorate with hearts.  Get some heart stickers and put them everywhere.

 Everywhere.

 Here is a fun idea.  Stick the stickers back to back with fish line in between them.  Now you have a pretty garland!

 If you have a 1-year-old that can reach the pretty garland, though, it won't stay up for very long.

Food:  It's a fun way to share love.

Pink food coloring makes pancake batter awesome.

So do chocolate chips.

And whisks on the head.

If you put food in happy heart shapes, it is more interesting to eat.

Hamburger patties, loaded with cheese, are a good choice for dinner.  They are easy to shape with a cookie cutter.

But, when you cook them, they will fall apart and instead of heart-shaped patties, you will have...

 

piles of meat.  

Still loaded with cheese, though.

You can fix the lack of Valentine-y-ness with a cleverly placed piece of heart-shaped cheese.

 

And pink mashed potatoes.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Folded Felt Ball

My inspiration started here.  I love her blog!  

My idea was to use the folded circle technique to cover some Styrofoam balls and hang them from my mantle.    That is still an idea I might run with, but I have to get more felt first.  

After I finished this one, I set it on top of my little vase to keep curious little hands from playing with it.

 I kind of like it!

It looks like a great big, pretty flower.

I think I'm going to have to leave that one there and make some more to hang from my mantle (and other places around the house!).  

Here is what I learned:

• Folded felt balls are really fun to make and super easy.
• They might even be a little addicting.
• It doesn't take much time or effort to add a little bit of brightness to each day and when you do a fun craft while sitting next to a chatty 2-year-old it is even easier!

Simple Embellished

Recently, my sister-in-law sent me these really cute little vases. 

 I love them.  Really, I do.  But...

Well, when I looked at them, I thought, "Ooooo!  These are nice and simple.  I like simple.  But, hmmm, I could do something with these.  I could make them even prettier!"  

I tried to resist.  Really, I did.  But...

The idea kept nagging at me and I had to give in.  

Here's what I did:

I pulled out some Valentine-y paper and laid it out.  You know, to see which one called to me.

I picked the one that had shapes already printed out on it.  Because I wasn't in the mood to try to cut out "the perfect heart."  

Cut out the heart, add Mod Podge generously.

Then, not being able to let a bottle of glitter be alone, I added some of that on top of the Mod Podge.  I didn't take a picture of that, though.  I wasn't sure I liked it.  I may have gone a little too far with the glitter.  Maybe not.  I don't know.  You'll have to use your imagination and decide for yourself.  (Or just check out the finished picture below and base your judgement off of that!)

Next, I left the vases to dry, then ate a sandwich and watched Little House on the Prairie before I went to bed.  Then I went to bed...and slept very well, thanks!

In the morning, here is what I found!

Yeah, I went a little overboard with the glitter on that middle one.  If I did it again, it would get the same glitter treatment as the other two.  

Still, I think they turned out pretty cute.  Even simple things like to be dressed up every once in a while, right?

Here's what I learned:

• Most things, even if they are already nice and pretty, look better with some pretty paper Mod Podged on.
• Sometimes glitter isn't necessary.
• Glitter is always fun.
• I love Little House on the Prairie. 
• You should always make sure there is no wet glue on the rim of your Mod Podge bottle before you close it or you might have a hard time opening the lid that you have glued shut.