diy: valentine crafts

i'm not sure if valentine's crafts are in the cards for me this year.

i am HOPING to do SOMETHING...

but as of right now, i got nothing planned.

..........yep. nothing.

so i thought i'd link up some of my valentine's projects from last year..

because the lack of craftiness around here is getting disgusting.

(i need those darn page protectors already...)

secret agent box.

this was my little present to mason last year.

it has been well loved, & the box could probably stand replacing!

glitter cup.

this was our gift to mason teacher last year.

just a store bought plastic cup, all glittered up for valentine's day.

cupid's wingman shirt.

a little felt applique on a onesie for the dude.

he was my little co-pilot for the day, making trips with me to drop off goodies to loved ones.

thumbprint heart keepsake.

this was the little piece that started my obsession for the year.

an inkpad, a pen, & some wiggly little fingers & your done.



fudgy valentines.

mason's class treats.

they were recycled plastic baby food containers,

filled with fudge & topped with valentine's sprinkles.

so cute, and a great way to get rid of some of my stash of stuff to re-purpose!

valentine's glitter frame.

just a few coats of spray paint, some mod podge & glitter.

(this kid cracks me up!)

here's to hoping i find my inner craftiness!

have a great weekend!

xo-k

valentine's day: 2011

i wish i could say my valentine's day plans went off without a hitch.

but no such luck.

mason loved his secret agent box.
rance avoided spitting up on his shirt for most of the day.

i made these for breakfast:

they are not your average cinnamon rolls..

can you make out the bacon?

i said it.

BACON.

i found this idea (cause i'm not sure you'd call it a recipe) on framed cooks sometime last year.

pretty much you just unroll each cinnamon roll individually

put a slice of bacon on top, then roll it back up & bake it.

i liked it.

but mason didn't.

& stephen didn't.

so i'm not sure i'd call the idea a success in our household.

i nuked the bacon a couple of minutes prior to putting it in the bacon like she suggested..

but i think next time (for myself) i'll cook it a few minutes more.

but if you like syrup on your bacon.. i'd try it.

seriously.

then while doing dishes after breakfast i sliced my thumb wide open.

so not fun.

i delivered my packages of chocolate covered popcorn.

no hiccups.

for dinner i was set on making my brother's mother in law's marinara sauce.

(did you follow that? or my sister-in-law's mother's recipe)

we had it in november at her birthday & the hubs fell in love.

shea (my sister in law) gave me the recipe for christmas

& the hubs has been complaining since that i haven't made it.

so we had her sauce with ravioli & chicken parm.

for dessert:

chocolate strawberry shortcake

via food network

they were good.

with homemade whipped cream swirled with strawberry puree.

yum.

most definetly a hit.

soo.. a few bumps & bruises along the way..
but all & all it went off well.

hope you had a good valentine's day. :)
xo-k

linking up:
tatertots & jello
whipperberry

diy: manning up your gifts.

i'm all about giving things a second life.

like the fudgy valentine's the dude took to school that started out as baby food containers.

not only is it environmentally responsible..

but you have the opportunity to make whatever it is unique..

not to mention it's definitely more cost effective..

baby food seems to be the central source of these second life items right now.

these guys were once formula cans.

i tore off the label & was left with a shiny tube.

i would have LOVED to just put something on that silver..

but in taking the label off, it took some of the silver with it

 requiring the whole thing to be covered up.

now, you'd think i'd have 'manly' looking paper laying around my house

 since i am surrounded by little boys..

but no such luck.

(ok i lie, i have plenty of BOY paper.. but stars just doesn't scream valentines day to me)

since these treats were intended for guys, i wanted to 'man them up'.

i took some masking tape & blue electrical tape & wrapped them up.

put some scraps of paper that had hearts punched out of them

(the green was the backside of the paper from mason's valentine's)

& alpha stickers to spell out the message.

(the electrical tape i know is not traditional in color for valentine's day..

but since my husband someone misplaced the silver duct tape i was intending to use...

i went with the electrical tape as kinda a joke to my dad who is an electrician in his other life.)

they may not be every one's taste in packaging..

but it was a quick & easy fix using stuff i already had laying around the house..

and they are less girly.

i'm sure my husband & father will appreciate that as they tote them around in their respective work trucks today.

& just incase you are curious..
they had white chocolate covered popcorn in them..
with valentine m&m's..
& heart sprinkles..
making THAT was an adventure.
not my best sweet making to say the least.
therefore no pictures.
(as i was too busy smacking myself in the head for being so careless)

hope your valentine's day is fabulous!

xo-k

linking up:
tatertots & jello

life: you rock




(made @ http://www.picnik.com/)

happy valentine's day!

my blog, especially my 'secret agent box' & 'thumbprint heart keepsake' posts..

have SKYROCKETED in views this weekend.

you all have left such sweet & kind & encouraging comments.

THANK YOU.

i read each & every comment, and reply to them all.

(given you have an address listed in blogger)

i really wish i had something more eloquent to say..

but..

all i can come up with is THANK YOU.

with heartfelt sincerity..

you made my weekend!

happy valentine's day!

xo-k



diy: thumbprint heart keepsake.

when i started thinking about valentine decorations for the house.. almost instantly i envisioned this little thumbprint reindeer family that samster mommy posted at christmas time.

i figured i could make fingerprints into hearts..

 a little bit of coaxing the hubs & some manuevering of the babe..

(we ended up using his thumbprints because he wouldn't straighten his index finger)



it's pretty simple.

i just cut the cardstock to the size of the frame (8x10)

some red ink, a black pen & fingers. 

once valentine's is over i plan on slipping it into my scrapbook for this year.

next year, we will make a new one :)

i'm getting anxious for valentine's day to get here.

which is odd, since we normally don't do much.

(we kinda pass it over in favor of our own anniversary in august)

but i want to see the dude's face when he get's his secret agent box.

and i have some surprises up my sleeve for the hubs as well.

hope you're having a great weekend!

xo-k

linking up to:
tatertots & jello
whipperberry

diy: my fudgy valentine.

it's been a loong day of crafting.

but i'm finally finished with all but one valentine's day project.

& that one hopefully will be done tomorrow.

i can usually get more done when the dude is in school & it's just me & the babe.

odd, right? you'd think it'd be the opposite.

not here.

so these are mason's valentine's for his class.

i'm not going to lie.

it was a tad bit more work than i anticipated.

but i'm very happy with the end result.

can you tell what the tubs are?

how about now?

yep. in their former life they were baby food containers.

(don't worry i washed them twice, really good, with hot soapy water)

they just seemed like the perfect container for something...

so i put this inside.

(it's fudge. with sprinkles. heart shaped sprinkles. :)

nothing fancy.

kid's aren't that particular about their chocolate, ya know :)

it's a foolproof fudge recipe.

appropriately named & available here at eagle brand.

once the fudge cooled i got to work decorating them.

just needed:

-double sided tape

-corner rounder punch

-tape measure

-paper trimmer

-scrap paper

-pen

-heart punch

i cut a bunch of strips out & taped them around the bottom.

then i cut some paper for the tops & rounded the edges..

and punched out some hearts..

assembled the tops...

i couldn't come up with any cute chocolate or fudge related sayings..

so i just stuck with the above.

lame, i know.

and there ya have it.

i'm contemplating attaching a popsicle stick or plastic spoon for easy eating.

i'm undecided.

what's your thought?

xo-k

ps. i am STILL not done with valentine's day posts. few more coming. :)

linking up:

somewhat simple

fireflies and jellybeans

tales from bloggeritaville

whipperberry

the blackberry vine

tatertots & jello

diy: cupid's wingman shirt

we have some errands of love to run monday..

and since the babe doesn't have any valentine appropriate clothing..

i made him something.

i'm no pro.  

it's been a LONG time since i used a blanket stitch..

and i have NEVER appliqued anything EVER.

i used this tutorial to get me started.

from there i sketched out the design on card stock in pencil.

i made sure it fit on the onesie i grabbed from the stash of hand me downs.

then i cut the pattern into individual pieces.

i pinned the pieces to regular old craft felt squares & cut them out.

then i pinned it all on the onesie, sewing around the wings first (so they would be underneath the heart)

and here is my in-house model wearing his new shirt. :)

couple of things..

i have NO idea how this will wash up.

i will probably wash it by hand & see what happens.

if it falls apart.. i'm okay with that.

it's likely the onesie won't fit him much longer anyways..

(and i only have about 2 hours invested in it, and i'm okay with that too)

i will use less strands of the embroidery floss next time.

i'm happy with the way it turned out for the most part.

i started with a running stitch on the heart, and then pulled out about 8 stitches because i wasn't happy with it.

i ended up doing a blanket stitch in red so it didn't look as busy..

i'm not 100% in love with it.

BUT.. i will probably try appliqueing again..
anyone have advice on the matter?
felt type? stitching pointers? washing?
any tips would be appreciated :)

for my first hand appliqued anything,

it'll do :)

xo-k

ps. thank you for stopping by. thank you for leaving comments. thank you for following me. it DOES mean a lot, & i do read every comment!

linking here:
somewhat simple
fireflies and jellybeans
house of hepworth's
tales from bloggeritaville
whipperberry
tatertots & jello

diy: secret agent box

the dude has been playing 'secret agent' a lot with the kids next door. he gets his watch, his walkie talkies, some handcuffs & his glasses & stays outside until the sun goes down. so when i thought about doing something for him for valentine's day, i knew i wanted it to be something he would really enjoy... & he loves nothing more than little boxes & buckets to collect stuff in & tote it around.

( i think all little boys are like that.)

anyways.. here is what i came up with. the kid version of a secret agent's briefcase, attache, or whatever it is spies carry their secret stuff  around in :)

secret agent box

supplies:

-wooden or metal box with handle (mine is from joanns)

-paper

- colored masking tape (not pictured)

-mod podge

-paint brush

-alphabet stickers

-paper trimmer

-measuring tape

1. measure around your box to determine the length of paper needed to cover.

2. measure the height of your box to determine the width your paper should be. i measured from underneath the closure so that i wouldn't have to cut a notch out of my paper. (i'm kinda lazy like that)

3. trim your paper. my box was 21 1/2" inches around & 3 1/2" inches high. i cut my 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper into (2) 3" strips.

4. starting on the BACK of your box, lay a coat of mod podge down as wide as your strip. (for my box it was about 3" inches, i just eyeballed it) i had to work with two pieces, so i put the back one on first. i put mod podge on the back, and half way around the sides.

5. working quickly, center your strip of paper to the back of the box, and place it down. work from the middle out on each side to ensure full contact & placement.

6. flip your box over, and layer a coat of mod podge down, again going as wide as your strip. this time gluing down your ends from the back strip, and then layering mod podge over the back strip about an inch on each side. (this may vary given the box you choose to work with) once glue is down, work in the same fashion you did on the back to place your front piece down. (start at the middle, work towards the sides)

7. whether it was poor placement, or the curve of the box, or my inaccurate cutting, i ended up with strips that didn't match up. so i decided to put some trim at the top & bottom of the paper. i went with colored masking tape made for scrapbooking. i just wrapped it around & tore it off so the seam was at the back. (much cleaner & more interesting, no?) 

8. because it is intended for actual play, i layered a heavy coat of mod podge over the entire thing.

9. what's a secret agent with out a code name? i went back & forth between a few before i settled on going 'men in black' style & naming him 'agent m'. i put a piece of tape on the top of the box & then used some alphabet stickers to spell out his code name. (*tip: for letter placement & to determine how big of a piece of tape i needed i first put my letters on a ruler before adhering them to the box.)

10. once the name was in place i mod podged over the top of it as well.

11. let dry & fill with secret agent goodies.

a small cap gun, a suspect sketch kit (fuzzy face), a top secret notebook, a set of 'special' handcuffs (chinese finger trap), a cell phone, a footprint molding kit (silly putty) a finger print kit (cards not pictured), evidence bags (not pictured)

for the finger print ink i found a black-ish water based ink pad on clearance at micheals, wrote 'finger print ink' & put two fingerprints on an avery office label & stuck it on top. (also added a rubber band around it so that it would stay closed inside the box)



i found this notebook in the dollar bins @ michaels as well, added 'top secret' in stickers to the top & it was all set for his secret agent box.

add a tag to the handle & you are all set to surprise your little guy with a tailor made gift.

i made him one few years ago when he was into toting his little cars & trucks around. it's a little different, but it's held up pretty good & he still uses it 4 years later. he was tucking rocks & acorns into it during our walk today.. (it's a good gift. i promise!)



proof that sometimes.. little boy stuff can be fun too :)

xo-k

linking up to:

diy project parade

just something i whipped up

today's creative blog
anything related
take a look tuesday
handmade tuesday's
seventhirtythree
whipperberry
tatertots & jello