DIY Felt Valentine Decor

I usually stick to paper projects, because, well...

I know paper. Sewing. Not so much. But I do

always have felt lying around, not sure why. 

I seriously should've been a school teacher with 

all the variety of craft supplies we have holed up

in our home.

More Valentine Decor was in order, so I whipped 

out my stash of felt, cut a few hearts and started 

stitching them together with bakers twine. Don't 

look too closely, there are a TON of mistakes but at

least the stuffing isn't coming out! 

My 7 year old son was quite interested in the new

little heart pillows on our coffee table and wanted

to try his hand at sewing too. 4 tiny handsewn pillows

later, I think I've found a new 'busy' project for him.

I hot glued the white center hearts on first before

sewing the red pieces together, leaving a little slot

to poke the stuffing into and then finished up the

hearts...with wine, of course!

Valentine Heart Banner - Kid Craft

Got all four of my chickens involved in decorating this

year for February. I die cut out these hearts in white cardstock,

and let them go to town with craft paint and Q-Tips. 

Love those sweet little hands...

After the hearts were dry, a simple hole punch for

ease of threading bakers twine (or you can use yarn)

and then die cut letters to spell your desired phrase.

You can also use stickers or draw directly onto 

the dry painted hearts with a sharpie marker, 

if you don't have die cuts for lettering.

Happy Decorating!!

DIY Valentine Decor Amore

After taking down our Christmas decor, the house

felt a little barren and although I love a clean and

uncluttered house, I also love holidays!

We are lacking in the Valentine decor

department, so when I spotted these cool

metal letters at Michael's...I put them back.

Really. I did. I put them back and walked away.

Mainly because there wasn't an "o"...and then

I walked past the Valentine row and spotted 

the perfect "o", the red metal cookie cutter

heart. I quickly ran back and snatched up

my letters and then headed to Home Depot.

Happy girl, happy girl!!!

Picked up 3 fence panels since another project

is in my head, in the works.

Just a two foot section was cut for this craft.

It needed to stand up, so a piece of scrap wood, 

an angled cut & some screws fixed that.

Already had the pink Americana Decor chalk

paint on hand, so I quickly got to work painting.

Of course a coffee break between the two coats.

Finished up the edges with a bit of white chalk paint.

I used the two pots of paint to balance the board on while

spacing the letters and hot gluing. If you wait a couple of 

seconds, the glue is the perfect temperature to smear into

the cracks with your finger without losing layers of skin.

A quick cut with an exacto knife to remove any visible glue 

that seeped out from the tops of the letters and voila!

That's Amore!

Easy DIY Painted Stripe

Checking 'to do' items off our list, one of which

was touching up all the paint in our home. With little

fingers and tiny thrown toys at times, our walls had

a few dings that needed repaired and touched up. 

This dresser had one of those beloved dings on the 

top drawer and it has bothered me for over a year.

I already had the blue paint out to touch up the 

large horizontal stripe that goes around our sons room

and decided to 'fix' up their plain jane white dresser

from IKEA while I was at it.

I eyeballed my first tape line, then grabbed a ruler 

for the second to make sure I was even from each end.

A little hole filler - no sanding on anything - a foam

brush and paint. 

First coat...I waited until completely dry. I set a mini

fan in front of the dresser to help quicken my drying

time, since my todo list seemed miles long, isn't it 

always, haha!

Second Coat

and Third Coat...you can still see a bit of the ding

but it's not as noticeable now that the dresser is painted.

I wanted to make sure the paint would hold up to my boys,

hence the third coat.

 Peeled off the tape and am in LOVE with the new look!

 Have you painted anything in the new year?

Valentine Heart Mini Cupcake Toppers

Who's getting geared up for Valentine's Day? 

These sweet little heart mini cupcake toppers are

sure to put a smile on anyone's face this February 14th.

Just listed 4 sets of these in the Etsy Shop...

Happy Heart Making!!

DIY Chalkboard Art Freehand - Jingle All the Way

Since we just took down our tree and Christmas decor this past

weekend, this post is the perfect way to finish up the holidays

this season. Christmas can still be in January, right?!

This chalkboard is an oldie but goodie. My Great Aunt

taught me K-2nd grade and we each had our own chalk

boards in our desk. Dominos, flash-cards, chalkboards, 

these are the things that built my early education

(and no, it wasn't a little one room school house).

Now of course, until Pinterest and of course the internet,

I had NO idea you could actually sharpen chalk, wow!

No printer ink, no lines, no tracing...I hand sketched

and RE-sketched. Colored and RE-colored, Wiped and RE-wiped

until I was able to come out with the letters I was looking for.

I'm a lefty too, so until Sharpie fine tipped markers

came around, I've had the mark of a right brained

person on my left hand. In purple ink, pencil, marker,

you name it...I made sure to not let my hand rest

on the chalkboard while I was sketching, now

that would've been a disaster!

I added a bit of holly and berries at the end, they added

just the perfect touch of color without taking away from

the lettering.

Did you try your hand at any chalk lettering over

the holidays or any other time? Add your post link in

the comments, I'd love to see your creations!

Holiday Teacher Gifts

If you're looking for a one of a kind teacher gift, look no further

than a personalized stamp! I picked up these beauties from

Pick Your Plum and the teachers LOVED them!

Of course Target has some amazing pens, mini clipboards,

pads of paper, mini note pads and much more. 

I love to 'theme' our gifts and of course when they 

match, all the better!

If you've got a budding artist on your hands, have them

draw a picture of their teacher and frame it, a true

one of a kind gift that will be cherished...

A simple but fun (and not so Christmasy) tag for 

the bag filled with all sorts of goodies. I didn't include 

them all in the photos but some new lip balm, nail polish,

treats, tea...anything that you yourself would love

to receive, is a thoughtful gift for someone who

spends a great deal with your child throughout 

the year. Remember it's not about price but

more about thought...

I made a few note card with the stamps for each teacher

and clipped them to the mini clipboards, so they are 

ready to use as a thank you or note.

What are some of your favorite teacher gift ideas or

memorable items you've received from your students?