"Donut" you want to be my valentine? + FREE printable

Happy (day before) Valentine's Day!

Elise and I had fun putting together these homemade valentines for her preschool class. We found the mini donut erasers at Party City for 25 cents each. Love them! Then I Googled for an appropriately punny valentine phrase, printed up some simple cards on pink cardstock, and tied on the donuts with ribbon scraps. Easy, simple, no fuss.

(She told me she was taking pictures for her blog!)

I've posted the cards as a free printable, if you want to make your own! Personal use only, please.

Download donut valentine printable >>

Click on the link, then select File > Download to save to your computer.

(You could also attach the cards to real donuts and bring them over to my house, if you want.)

See more Valentine projects >>

LOVE is all you need: Back-painted heart frame

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm going to sneak in one last heart project. 

This is a subtle variation on the back-painted mirrored year project I showed you last month, so I won't belabor the steps again. (Go check out that post or my other back-painted glass projects if you want to see more.)

I ran across this heart shaped float frame at Michael's. At first glance, it was not at all something I would normally consider buying.

In fact, I kind of cringe at the suggestion that I should put our wedding photo in it. But it was so... weird? Something made me buy it. And then I brought it home and did what I do with all float frames -- I painted it.

OK, so maybe the verse is cliché. But it's classic, and it's true. And who doesn't love The Beatles? (I mean, really, just go watch this and let it give you goosebumps.)

Yarny heart ornaments

Here's my take on the yarn-wrapped wreaths/letters that have been floating around the internet.

I'm not normally into the yarny sort of look, but it seems appropriate for February and Valentine's Day. A time of the year that begs for warmth, sweaters, and yes, yarn. If not now, then when?

These wooden hearts are mid-nineties vintage Wal-mart. A few months ago, my mom and I discovered a box of craft supplies in her basement, untouched, like a time capsule, since they moved into their house in 1994. Lots of wood cuts and baby's breath. The baby's breath went promptly into the trash, but all the wood cuts came home with me!

First, I painted the hearts a similar color to the yarn I was going to use in case any showed through.

Then (and this is really hard so pay attention) I wrapped the hearts in yarn. This yarn was leftover from a scarf my mom knitted for Elise. These hearts are only about 3.5 inches tall, so it didn't take much. 

For the first layer I kept things pretty orderly. Then I wrapped a haphazard second layer on top to make things look more disorganized.

I hung them on the chandelier above our dining room table. Another one of my favorite places to hang ornaments!

Paper heart cutout poster

I have a pass through (that used to be a window) in my kitchen where I like to hang ornaments and other seasonal decor. I wanted to swap out winter's snowflakes for something valentiney, and came up with  this paper cutout idea. Mine is hanging and visible from both sides, but this could work in front of a window, mirror or anywhere you have some free space, really.

I found some red wrapping paper I got years ago at The Container Store. This stuff is thick and red on both sides. You could also use something like heavy kraft paper or poster board. I would definitely stick with paper that's a bit thicker than say, regular printer paper because it will be less prone to tearing.

I started off drawing a few hearts on the backside of my paper and cut them out with a razor blade. But it quickly became apparent that my drawing was unecessary. It was too hard to trace the lines with the blade and was easier to cut them out freehand.

I didn't spend a lot of time plotting out the design.. I just cut perfectly imperfect hearts here and there, big and small. If I screwed one up, I just trimmed it to be a little bigger. Easy to fix those kind of mistakes. When that was done, I cut a few of the almond sliver-type shapes to fill the gaps between the hearts.

This was super super easy and probably took less than half an hour start to finish. I might have to trot this idea out again for Elise's next birthday party.

p.s. Did you notice the creeper that sneaked into my photos? Little Miss Nosey!

You make me smile: Toothbrush valentines

Now before you go calling me the Grinch of Valentine's Day or something equally horrific, I will note that these valentines are for little kids.

Two facts:

1. Most little kids like Yo Gabba Gabba almost more than sweets, and
2. I have never, ever heard a mom say that their kid wasn't getting enough sugar. They will get it one way or another, I'm sure, but I don't need to be the supplier.

That said, aren't these cute? I found these toothbrushes on clearance at CVS and packaged them up in cello treat bags from Target's dollar section. I printed a simple topper on card stock (after googling for an appropriate corny phrase) and stapled it on. Quick, cheap, easy!

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Re-post: Upcycled "peek-a-boo" paint chip valentines

Here's a recycling idea I'm recycling from last February: Paint chip valentines! If you have some paint chips lying around, put them to use! Even if they aren't pink or red tones, a heart is enough to symbolize a valentine. Wouldn't these look great in gray?

See the step-by-step tutorial >>

p.s. My grandma still has this valentine on display in her kitchen a year later!

Guest post at White House, Black Shutters

Today, I'm guest posting over at one of my favorite blogs, White House, Black Shutters! 

Drop by to see these No-Cost Paper Grocery Bag Valentines!

Valentine ornaments from polymer clay

I found some red polymer clay in my stash and thought I would whip up a quick little valentine craft.

I rolled out the clay and used a cookie cutter to make some hearts.

Then I made some simple loops from wire.

And inserted them into the tops of the hearts.

Next I stamped some "conversation heart" messages with alphabet rubber stamps. Then I baked the clay according to the package directions.

After the clay was cool, I applied some white paint into the letters and wiped it off the rest of the heart. (Quick tip, I found if I wet the letter area a little with some water before putting on the paint, it wiped off much easier.)

Hang on ribbons and done!

Valentine button shirt

I had been looking for a cute valentine shirt for Elise, but wasn't having much luck. Everything I saw was either ugly or wasn't available in her size, so I decided to make her one.

I started with a plain white turtleneck onesie she wore under a dress for Christmas. I didn't see her wearing it again, plain as it was, so I thought we'd try to get some more use out of it.

I found these supercute heart buttons at Jo-Ann Fabric, supercute and supercheap! (For the record, the buttons were $1.38; that is $2.29 minus a 40% off coupon.) I only ended up using about half of them.

The assembly is pretty obvious; I just sewed the heart buttons onto the shirt. Simple and easy!

The hardest part of this project may have been the lack of cooperation I got from my model when I was trying to figure out where the hearts should go.

These photos don't quite capture the serious bed head she was sporting.

P.S. This should go without saying. These buttons are tiny and may present a choking hazard, so keep an eye on those babies.