Heart Quilt for Valentine's Day

I wanted to share with you the first quilt I ever made. It is perfect for the Valentine season. I don't quilt enough these days because of the time involved. I do much better with fast crafts and projects. My youngest, otherwise known as Captain Grouchy in the mornings, adores my sewing machine. I can't sew without him in my lap, and you can only guess how well that goes. There are way too many buttons and shiny moving parts that he wants to touch, turn, and grab.

This heart quilt pattern has a very simple concept. Four squares are made of plaids and four squares are small prints. I created a heart pattern to pin to the 4 squares to cut out the heart form. Then I sewed a heart on top of each four square, alternating patterns. I sewed the heart with 1/4" seam so the rough edges would show and fray with washing.

Ten years later, this quilt is still in great shape. My friends all tease me that I won't have anything to do when I am 90, because I already sew quilts and do crafts. Ha! Maybe I will be better at it by then.

35 Creative, Clever, and Unique Valentine Ideas for Kids

Only one week until Valentine's Day!! I truly enjoy coming up with fun, creative, clever, and unique Valentines. My boys love taking something different to school to share with their friends. Last year I hit the post Valentine sales and bought a ton of Valentine cookie cutters on sale. They were 90% off at Dollar General. I paid 10 cents for a pack of four. What a deal!  I made them into one of the Valentine's I am going to share with you today, in my roundup of 35 creative, clever, and unique Valentine ideas for kids.

Here are 35 fun ideas for Valentines that I have found in my travels. I have tried very hard to give credit where deserved to these wonderful ideas.

1. Fortune Cookie Valentine by Lisa Storms


2. Fry Box Valentine by Then She Made



3. Maze and Pick Valentine by Then She Made



4. Monkey and Lion Valentine by Lisa Storms

5. Pop Rock Valentine by Lisa Storms

6. I Dig You Valentine Shovel by Family Fun

7. Valentine You Rule by Family Fun

8. Valentine You're a Blast by Family Fun

9. Valentine you make my heart bounce by The Crafting Chicks

10. Bear Hugs from Family Fun

11. Valentine Airplane by Givers Log

12. Superhero Valentine by Zakka Life

13. Goldfish Valentine by Tammy Mitchell

14. I'd Snap at the Chance to be Your Valentine by Unknown

15. Tic Tac Toe X's and O's by Shim and Sons

16. Seed Starter Valentine by Marthastewart.com

17. Valentine Flower by Marthastewart.com

18. Girl Scout Valentine by Greene Acres Hobby Farm (me)

19. Valentine You Set My Heart on Fire by Greene Acres Hobby Farm (me)

20. Valentine for a POP-ular Teacher by Greene Acres Hobby Farm (me)

21. Valentine...You STIR up the Sweetest Emotions in Me by Greene Acres Hobby Farm (me)

22. Hand and Footprint Valentine by Tons of Fun Preschool Activities

23. Pirate Valentine by Mer Mag

24. Conversation Heart Valentine by Bunny Cakes

25. Valentine's Day is for Suckers by Bunny Cakes

26. Valentine You've Arrested My Heart by RockNRegalia

27. Valentine I've Had My Eye on You by Dandee Designs

28. You Make my Heart Glow by The Teacher Wife

29. Rollo Valentine by Family Fun

30. Crayon Valentine by The Long Thread



31. Stick Em Up Valentine by Sherelle Christensen



32. Hacky Sack Valentine by Alexis at jacolynmurphy



33. Army Men Valentine Ideas by Alexis at jackolynmurphy



34. I think I glove you by Alexis at Jacolynmurphy

35. You Were Cut Out to Be My Valentine (Cookie Cutter Valentine) by Greene Acres Hobby Farm (me)

Thank goodness for all the creative people out there! I will never be without a fun valentine for my kids again! Now, the biggest challenge is making them ahead, so I won't have to do it the night before the party!

Superbowl Snack Spicy Pretzels

It's officially Game Day! My husband is pumped. I wish I could get more into football, but I would be lying. I have two little boys that will play sports soon enough, and I am sure that will change my sports knowledge and interest. I can't wait. We go to a huge house party each year to watch the big game. I wouldn't be surprised if there are 75-100 people there. They set up a big contests for betting and winning prizes. This year I decided to get out easy, and make a snack for the party. These are great spicy pretzels minus the oven step...added plus. (Many recipes call for the oven.)

Ingredients:

Pretzels (bag of mini)

1 package Ranch style dressing mix (dry)

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 tsp Lemon pepper

1 1/2 tsp Garlic salt

3/4 cup Vegetable or Canola oil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients, except the pretzels in a small bowl.

2. Place pretzels in LARGE (jumbo) bag.

3. Pour in mixture from bowl. Shake well. Marinate 2 hours-several days turning bag often to evenly coat.

4. Enjoy your spicy treat!

Blog Anniversary and Frosty the Snowman Snack

It is officially the one year anniversary of my blog. Crazy. When I started this blog for fun, I felt so silly typing about all the crafting adventures I try. Then I started getting such sweet feedback from readers, I began to enjoy it even more. I don't have any local friends to do crafts with, but now I have all of you.

 I read on a blog every day how a blogger is getting burned out and having trouble keeping up with their blog. Luckily, I don't have that problem. Probably because I don't make any real money off of it. I post when I have something to share, and I don't worry about the rest. I was excited with 30 page views a day, and now I average over 300. I just made it over 100 followers last month and my husband promised me dinner. I might have done a little jig!

I love having this "blogging" hobby because it encourages me to do more projects, and spend even more time with my kids, doing fun crafts and activities. I found the following post from a year ago that I never published. It made me smile to see how young my son looked one year ago. My little guy turns 4 in a few days and a pirate party is in our future. Thanks everyone for your views, comments, and support. It brightens my day!

2/3/11...

 I am sure you all know of the childhood favorite "Frosty the Snowman." I enjoy incorporating reading into crafts if at all possible. Just another easy way to encourage your child to love reading. This week my three year old and I read...

 

My little golden book dates back to 1950. Such an amazing classic! We then made snowman snacks. This is not a new idea but it sure was fun. I gathered large marshmallows, skewer sticks, small candies, and frosting. Luckily, all items I happened to have on hand.

Oh yes...and I had sour straws to use for the scarves. What fun and a tasty treat too!

I Love You Because...Mirror with Dry Erase Marker

I have been inspired by Pinterest once again. I saw some cut out signs with I love you because. I have had a mirror that I picked up at a garage sale for 50 cents laying around my storage building. It was finally time to do something with it! With Valentine's Day around the corner, I thought this would be the perfect decor. And besides, my 3 year old informed me today, that we just did not have enough Valentine's decorations out. I think I have created a holiday monster. Lol!

 

Here is the ugly gold mirror I started with...

I taped it off and spray painted it with glossy black paint. Oops. I forgot to take a picture of this step. Then, I finally tried some of the precious little flowers I see on blogs everywhere. I found a great tutorial. The pictures were so amazing, and the steps so clear, that I made my first rosettes (rolled flowers)!

I found this awesome tutorial at My Sparkle. Check out her blog here.

Here are my first five attempts. The rolled flowers were easier to make then I anticipated. I can't believe I waited this long. Just remember, they don't have to be perfect. Imperfection adds to the creative unique look in my opinion. I just hot glued my little rosettes to the mirror. The last step was adding the saying, I love you because... I sure wish I had a fancy machine, but I just used some stickers.

I think the hardest part was taking the pictures to share with you. It is sooo hard to get a good picture of a mirror without some crazy reflection! I set a dry erase marker out, and I can't wait to write some love notes to my family on the mirror.