Thursday, February 3, 2011

{valentines on a stick}

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When I was a little girl my sister & my neighborhood friends formed the "heartbreaker" club. Now wait a second it's not what you think because back in the day our minds were focused more on candy rather than boys. At that time we also felt safe to roam the neighborhood which would often lead us to ride our bikes down to Smitty's. Once inside we headed straight to the candy by the pound section and with all of the change in hand would proceed to ask the clerk, "how many heartbreakers will this buy me". We then raced home, divided the candy and each took turns hiding the hearts from each other like it was Easter. Then we each had a chance to go and find our favorite candy. It was one of the best childhood games. I am sure we still got bored at times but there is something to be said about living in a time and place where kids owned their neighborhood.

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Lately I scramble to find activities for my girls to do because I would never let them roam the neighborhood like I did. Well it has so worked out that we have been able to take away the boredom by carving out time to create handmade valentines. It has been such a great last few days as we have enjoyed using paints, stickers and stamps. Besides myself being the only one to operate the glue gun and coming to the table with the idea, the girls have done everything all by themselves.

As for the idea itself I was inspired by the old school paper party favors that would shoot in and out like a yo-yo. I finally settled on using a roll of paper used for receipts or calculators to execute the project. I am pretty sure the girls classmates will not love these as much as I do because a) I am their Mother and b) they will have never seen the look on the girls faces when they crafted these creations (which goes back to me being there Mother). You can see that there was much "6 year old" life that went into making these and I love that. In fact I think I will have to save a few of them so that I can occasionally pull them out and remember the good old days. I love this stage of life...I really do.

materials needed:

PAPER YO-YOS ON A STICK

roll of receipt paper
watercolor paint/paintbrushes
wooden craft dowels
ink pad/stamps
hot glue gun (to glue one end of the paper to the dowel before wrapping it around stick)
twine
(opt.) special scissors to make the edge of the paper all fancy

SWEET VALENTINE SPARKLERS

garland (paper or tinsel)
bamboo forks
color circle stickers
tags
ink pad/stamps


AND OF COURSE LOTS OF HEARTBREAKERS!!!!

Now it is time to do some clean-up around my house.

I may be back and I may not be back..that is the beauty of blogging out of love..either which way have a very nice weekend!

24 comments:

angela hardison said...

i'm in love with this. amazing!

Haute Mama said...

so adorable and inspiring- and the photography is beautiful!

MeckMom said...

What a clever idea. My siblings and I used to love whacking each other with those yo-yos on our way home from the arcade. They were one of the cheaper prizes so we always stocked up at the ticket counter. Thanks for bringing the memory back. Your site is lovely.

Robyn said...

These are so SWEET and BEAUTIFUL! I think your girls did such a lovely job. I think your blog is so pretty and I'm so happy I stumbled upon it that I must add it to my sidebar so I won't miss a thing. I have twins also but then my second pregnancy I rolled a snake eye! LOL We say we have twins plus 1!

Anonymous said...

What beautiful colors! I love this project. Where did you find those glorious dot stickers? Much better then the run of the mill fluorescent dots!

Caroline @ The Feminist Housewife said...

Absolutely love this!! It's so cute! Your girls are so lucky to have such a creative mom who comes up with such awesome projects for them! = )

Amanda said...

adorable idea and so precious that you let your girls do this (with your help). i wish in my mind i could freak out less about the mess a crafty project with my 3 year old boy would be, and focus more on how much fun he would have. ahhhhh.

you're a great mom!

Debbie said...

Now I see why the girls were painting strips of paper. Brilliant. I'll bet they had so much fun. but how in the world did you keep little boy hands out of the fun???

bluehydrangea said...

Your pictures are amazing!! It looks like something out of a magazine and so charming!!!

Unknown said...

SO fun! I'm going to be making my vday crafts this weekend! Just in time for super bowl - husband can't wait! ;)

Love your blog!!

www.meg-land.blogspot.com
xx

Lynda @ Happenstance Home said...

Another adorable craft! Love it! I really miss my boys being young because they are just not into my crafts these days. It was like pulling teeth to get them to make some Christmas ornaments. Enjoy all the great time you have left! Your girls look like they are having so much fun!

Unknown said...

I have been looking at different valentine ideas and these are fantastic. Oh and beautiful. What a treat for you and your girls to do this together.
BTW, thanks for being my blogging friend too Christina. You are so thoughtful and that transfers to the writing on your blog and your comments. Enjoy your weekend!
Sarah x

Unknown said...

Mom of the year.

angela | the painted house said...

Uh, loving that big tray of watercolors.

So adorably sweet! I wish I had your craftiness. Although you did inspire me to go buy a few supplies today so the kids can decorate for the upcoming holiday. But, again, wish I had your craftiness. I would LOVE to know what the girls' classmates' moms think of YOU!!! ;) Awesomeness.

Speaking of kids' moms...I had to wonder what happened when I sent my then-3yo to preschool with a handful of valentines written with "Love, [his name]" and "OH DICK." What the mothers of the young recipients didn't know was he had just learned to read Dick and Jane books and I insisted that he write his own valentines...and that is what happened. Oh my, it cracks me up to this day to think about it!

Full House said...

Hi nomadiccharm! I found the dot stickers at a place here in Mesa, AZ called Papers Plus. I think they were only .30 a sheet too.

If I find an online source I will let you know.

xx - CB

Mostly Food and Crafts said...

I love this idea - I may need to try this!

Heather J said...

i heart this! what a fun idea.

Anonymous said...

Such an adorable idea! I love all the colors and I am sure the kiddos do also!

nest of posies said...

this made my mother's heart burst with excitement!

YOU my dear are so talented. i love how you take ideas or things people have forgotten & bring them back to life, as only YOU can do.

how about those girl!!! awesome job. lucky for them, it appears they have inherited your talents & craftiness.

xoxo
kellie

Highland Mummy said...

I love this! I am going to do this with my kindergarten class-thanks!

Cassie {Hi Sugarplum} said...

I can't believe you guys made those!! Stunning photos too.

We're snowed in today and daughter and I are making her valentines. Son just informed me he needs 22 also?!!

Annie said...

I think those are so nifty! Good job sissy. You have mad skills.

Laura said...

I love these! I blogged it:
http://6lalas.blogspot.com/2011/02/valentines-on-stick.html

Emily Rose Clayton Sanders said...

Super creative, and inspiring. thank you!