Frozen Valentine's Day Printable Tags

Did anyone else totally forget that Valentine's Day is next week? Just me?

 Okay then. Luckily my kids have a way of keeping me on track. Yesterday my oldest daughter came home from school, class list in hand, and demanded that we go candy shopping. After all, "Valentine's Day is a big deal mom! A BIG deal!"

Well sure, who can argue with that? 

The girls wanted to come up with something special to give their friends, neighbors and teachers, so we put our heads together and started brainstorming. I don't know if it's the massive amounts of snow piling up in our driveway, or the fact that the Frozen soundtrack has been playing non-stop in our house since November... but either way I'm loving this year's Valentines inspired by non other than our favorite snowman!

How cute is he? Seriously! 

If I had to pick a favorite character from Frozen, it would definitely be Olaf. He's charming, lovable, and has excellent comedic timing! Everything you want in a Valentine right?! 

There are so many cute ways you could package these Valentines! We decided to do jars of Hugs for the girls' teachers and dance instructors because according to my daughter, "Grown ups really REALLY like chocolate." And we put together little "build a snowman" kits for classmates and friends using sandwich bags. 

The girls and I had a blast putting these together assembly-line style! They were pretty quick and easy to do and I love that marshmallows, pretzels, and chocolate chips are fairly inexpensive (and one bag goes a long way!) 

So if you are still looking for an adorable treat for your kids to pass out on Valentine's Day, I have GREAT news for you! You can download your very own printable tags HERE!

Consider it my Valentine's Day present to you, just cause I love ya!

ENJOY!

UPDATE: If you love Frozen, you'll love my Frozen birthday party!!

Peg Dolls

This year for Christmas we've decided to focus on giving our kids gifts that spark the imagination. Sturdy gifts that stand the test of time. In other words- no electronics. :) We're talking Lincoln Logs, Marble Works, art supplies, and a few homemade items.... like THESE!

SERIOUSLY! How cute is this little line up of Princesses?

They are even cute from behind.

This set isn't for Christmas though, it was actually a birthday gift for my youngest daughter. They were such a hit at her party, even the adults were drawn to them. And in the past few days my girls have spent endless hours playing make believe with these adorable little peg dolls.

Who would have thought something so simple could be so fun!? I bought the pegs at Hobby Lobby with a coupon. They ended up being 8 for $2.50. Then my sister helped me paint them while watching TV one night. (I LOVE a good excuse to chill in front of the TV, and I can justify it because I'm being productive at the same time!)

I also snagged a wooden chest on sale for $3 at Hobby Lobby. I thought it would be a fun container to keep the dolls in. There is plenty of room in the chest for more dolls which is awesome because I decided to make a few more sets for Christmas.

I'm SO excited!

Stay tuned for Super Heros, Phineas and Ferb, and Despicable Me Peg Dolls!

 What are your kids getting for Christmas this year?

Mine have each asked Santa for a special toy, which I'm sure he will provide. Then they each get two gifts from us, something they need and something fun... and apparently I can't stop there this year, looks like I have to throw in some peg dolls too! Maybe they'd make great stocking stuffers!? Do you have any other great homemade gift ideas for me? I'd love to hear about them!

Father's Day is Almost Here Again!

Hi there!  I know we've promised summer fun, but I need to get my Father's Day card up here so you can print it and cut it if you'd like.

It's a simple card, perfect for all of the men in your life--they don't want anything fussy, do they?  I did allow myself a tiny bit of baker's twine and ribbon, but I tried to balance them out with some manly staples.

If you'd like to use a Silhouette:
Silhouette Card Base
Silhouette "Dad" File

If you'd like to print and use scissors:
Dad Printable PDF
Card Base PDF

Mom likes her roses recycled--with a side of ink, please.

It is a gift that's delicious AND practical: after she eats the candy, Mom has something cute to write with.  And these flowers will not die!  Hooray!  Plus, theoretically, it SHOULD make a pen easier to find--though mine are being used as Harry Potter wands as we speak...

I have most of this stuff lying around my house--I bought the pens, because I get a kick out of having the pen actually write in the color of the flower... (little known fact, I'm a pen fanatic--as a child, I'd blow my allowance on Gelly Roll Pens at the craft store)  but you can use any pen, as long as it will write!

Look for floral tape at any craft store with a floral section.  It's quite inexpensive, and one roll will last a good while.

You can use any kind of tape--I just couldn't find my cheap masking tape at the time we took this photo!

The skewer can be anything long and stick-like.  You could use your pen if they have a smooth shaft (mine don't).

I am using a recycled salsa jar because I love the shape.  Plus, I have a million in my craft room and the hubs won't let me save any more unless I use some of the stash!

Use double sided paper (not cardstock).  Most of my stash IS cardstock, so I ended up printing my own using digital scrapbook paper (I used paper from Zoe Pearn's "Birthday Girl" kit--pretty much my favorite in the world).  Think how cute book pages, newspapers, or magazines would be!  Really, I don't know why I don't just make flowers all day long--I'm that excited about it.

Then I cut this shape out using my Silhouette.  But never fear if you don't have one!  You can still make this project!!  There's a tutorial here that shows you how to make a template for these flowers using a coffee can.  There's a tutorial here that has a simpler one--which will make your roses turn out differently, but they are very cute and easy too!

A Quick Gift

I've got a post of a more serious nature brewing, but there are a couple more things that need to be taken care of first, so I thought I'd share our latest grandparent birthday present!

I can't take credit for this one--it was Kirby's idea to do it for his parents, but he got the idea from Jamie's Father's Day roundup post HERE.

We wanted to give them something that the girls created that they could display somewhere, and you all know it's totally "in" to have your last name hung somewhere! Why not incorporate some finger painting while you're at it!?

The canvas was $15 after 50% off at JoAnn's. We were looking for a canvas just this size (I think it's something like 1x3 feet? Kirby actually did the purchasing, so I never saw the actual dimensions. I know, I know--how manly is my man to walk into JoAnns all by himself AND use a coupon from the JoAnns app on his phone!?). We had decided, though, that if they didn't have a canvas the size we wanted we could get three smaller canvases and break the last name up into DA-VIS-ON. Would have been fun that way, too! 

Kirby shaped the letters with painter's tape (I know--he's HUH-MAZING!) and then we let the girls go to town. I let Emily pick between an orange/red/yellow color combo or a blue/green/yellow combo. I made sure to pick colors that wouldn't turn into brown if they got mixed. You can see that spot above the V where it's pretty much one solid green color--Emily just kept going over the same spot over and over again. If there had been any complimentary colors in the mix that would have been completely brown. I just stuck each color in a separate paper bowl, but you could definitely just drizzle paint directly onto the canvas and then mix them that way.

The splatters are complimentary of Kirby--husband of the year, yet again. Mr. Artsy! LOVE HIM!

Can you spot Emily's handprint and Sydney's footprint?

Emily thought this project was the coolest thing since fruit snacks, but Syd kept trying to get the paint off her hands. We'd put some on, and she would just try to wipe it off on her belly. 

I had already started to rinse the girls off with the hose when I thought to document how adorable the girls looked, and Sydney was not happy with me. Not at all.

DIY Photo Gift Boxes

Parents are universally acknowledged (I am making this up) to be the hardest people in the WORLD to shop for.  If they want something, they just buy it.  When you ask them what you should get them, they say, "a hug would be nice..."

This year for my Mom's birthday, she actually mentioned that she would like more pictures of her grandchildren.  I don't want to say that sounded boring--my kids are pretty cute, after all.  But a plain ol' pile of pictures of my fam just didn't seem like a present I'd be proud of.

But a pile of photos in a pretty box--and a BOW?  Yeah, I could get behind that one.  And the best part is, it's SUPER EASY (don't read that part Mom.  I worked REALLY HARD on your present).