With Valentine’s Day being one of my favorite holidays, I love to make all sorts of things inspired by the special day. We like to have special Valentine’s Day Treats that we make together. We also like to really decorate the house with some store bought décor but most of it is handmade (and a lot of it is Valentines décor made by the kids!). We try to do at least one special Valentine themed craft or activity on the days leading up to the holiday. We like to give our creations to the nearest and dearest people in our lives. It’s nice to spread love all year but it’s fun to have an extra special day to do so. Here are some of our favorite making projects for Valentine’s Day.

1. Do your kids like weaving projects? Mine do and I’m glad because I like the fine motor aspect of the activity as well as the super fun results. This Heart Weaving project can be done with essentially any color of yarn to make the craft as individual as your child.
2. I just love suncatchers. I think they are a beautiful way to add color to a window, especially in the dreary winter months. These Heart Suncatchers are absolutely perfect for Valentine’s décor!
3. Puffy paint is seriously one of my favorite types of paint! I love how different the beginning is from the end. These super cute Puffy Paint Hearts make the perfect statement pieces for a Valentine’s Day garland!
4. Sometimes it is hard to find a way to display ALL of your child’s art. This Heart Art is such a stunning way to display a child’s artwork! This also makes one heck of a gift!
5. These 3D Paper Hearts can be personalized to fit the Valentine’s Day color scheme or with your favorite colors. A child could create patterns or solid. The options are endless with these super cute hearts! 
6. My love of paper crafts continues with these unbelievably easy Paper Hearts. These hearts would also make a fantastic banner or garland!
7. Another canvas art project that can literally be done by any age. The result is beautiful enough for a museum and your children will be so proud of their masterpieces!
8. This little guy is just too cute for words! I love that this Felt Heart Mobile can start out as a Valentine decoration but then would be so cute in a child’s room for an everyday decoration!
9. Fingerprint crafts are one of my favorites to keep from my children. As their hands grow I can remember how small they once were from the artwork. This Fingerprint Tree is the perfect sentimental Valentine’s Day craft. Sure to bring some tears to my eyes in 5 years!

A lot of these art projects are ones that I would want to see in my house the whole year through. And if not they are ones that will be kept in a box forever and ever! Valentine’s Day is so full of love and I enjoy so much creating crafts and art projects with my kids to celebrate such a wonderful holiday.  

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Valentine’s Day Cookie Bars {Kids in the Kitchen} 

Valentine’s Day is almost here!  You still have some time to get the kids in the kitchen and whip up some of these yummy Valentine’s Day Cookie Bars.  These cookie bars will make a fantastic present for someone special in your lives.  Get ready to share your love in my favorite way – with baked goods

This recipe is one that I have shared many times – it is a basic brown sugar cookie recipe that is perfect to be used for Chocolate Chip Cookies or with any other mix in.  For these yummy treats we used a bag of Valentine’s M&M’s.

M&M Valentine's Cookie Bars

2017-02-08 10:48:01

Yields 24

Festive Valentine's Day Dipped Cookie Bars

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Ingredients

1. 2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2. 1 tsp baking soda
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
5. 1 cup packed brown sugar
6. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
7. 2 eggs
8. 1 tbs vanilla
9. 1 package (12 oz) M&M's (or whatever kind of candy you would like to use)
10. 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional – I never use nuts)
11. Red Wilton Candy Melts
12. Pink Wilton Candy Melts
13. Valentine's Day Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Spray a 9"x13" pan with baking spray
3. Add the butter and sugar to the mixer and blend until fluffy
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix
5. Next add the baking soda, salt and flour - mix until fully blended
6. Add the M&M's and gently mix
7. Use a spatula and put all of the dough into the greased pan - spread evenly
8. Bake roughly 25-30 minutes until fully cooked
9. Cool for 5 minutes in pan
10. Remove from pan and cool completely on cooling rack
11. Cut the rectangular cookie cake into stripes (roughly 24 bars- depending on how wide you cut them)
12. Heat the candy melts according to the package directions
13. Lay out a piece of wax paper
14. Once the candy melts are fully melted dip one end of the cookie bar
15. Place the dipped cookie bar on the wax paper, add Valentine's sprinkles
16. Repeat until all bars are dipped and decorated

Adapted from The Cookie Cookbook

Adapted from The Cookie Cookbook

Crafty Mama in ME! https://www.craftymama-in-me.com/

 The kids love helping in the kitchen – I’m not sure if its spending time with me or just getting to eat raw cookie dough!  For this project they helped measure the ingredients to make the cookie dough.  After the cookie cake was baked and I cut it into bars the kids came back to help dip the cookie bars and decorate them.

Wrap a few of these up in a Valentine’s Day goodie bag and make someone’s day a little brighter.

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Fun and Inexpensive Valentine’s Day Gifts for Kids

Are you looking for a gift for your children for Valentine’s Day?  Take a peek at this list of fun and inexpensive Valentine’s Day Gifts for Kids!  I personally picked up a few of these awesome items for some lucky little kids I know  I picked three categories for my gifts today – books, stuffed animals, and candy.  

Books

I love to give the kids books as our overflowing book shelf can attest.  Below find three different options that I think you will love.

Who Loves Me?  Valentine Edition Storybook & Stickers Gift Set by I See Me!  

(I received a complimentary copy for review purposes – the book is beautifully made and was an instant hit with my daughter!)

My Huggy Valentine by Sheila Sweeny Higginson

Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day is Cool by Kimberly and James Dean

Stuffed Animals

What kid doesn’t love a new cuddly friend?  Do they need another?  Probably not.  Will they love another??  Most definitely yes!

Valentine’s Day Sitting Bull Dog Plush

Valentine’s Day Unicorn Plush

Valentine’s Day Plush Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse

Candy

Would any kid turn down candy?  Not in my house!  We get enough candy from the major holidays to last the year plus some.  If I buy candy for the kids it is usually just one special item as I know they will get more from other family members.

Kisses Giant Valentine’s Milk Chocolate Candy

M&M’s Milk Chocolate Candy Valentine’s Heart Cane

Russell Stover Assorted Chocolates Pet Heart

What is your favorite Valentine’s Day present that you have ever received?  

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Heart Panda Bears

I love holidays if you can’t tell!  As of now my entire blog has been devoted to Valentine’s Day and my #DisneySide Party.  This probably won’t change until after February 14th when I start posting some Saint Patrick’s Day projects!   I promise I will start putting up some baking posts soon – I don’t promise they won’t be holiday themed  One of my friends posted a link on Facebook the other day with heart shaped animals.  I immediately clicked and picked out the panda bears.  The inspiration for this project comes from Crafty Morning.  Last year we made dogs with all hearts and I was excited to have another all heart shaped animal to display for this year.

Materials needed

• Black and White Construction Paper
• Markers
• Glue Sticks
• Googly Eyes
• Scissors

Making the Heart Panda Bear

Right now I have two kids with different skill levels based on their ages.  Boo Boo has started to master scissor work from her time in pre-k while it is still a struggle for Buddy.  Based on the skill level for your kids you may want to have the hearts cut out prior to the start of your project.  This year I traced the lines for both kids and let them try to cut.  Buddy attempted briefly and then asked me to help which was what I expected.  Boo Boo cut all of the hearts out by herself – this was a great opportunity for her to practice her scissoring.

After the cutting was complete we got out the glue sticks.  First put glue on the back of the hearts for the eyes and attach them to the large white heart.  Second put glue on the bottom of the hearts for the ears and attach to the back of the large white heart.  After the ears and eyes are attached glue down the googly eyes on the black eye hearts.  Glue Down the heart for the nose.

Have the kids pick a marker and draw on a smiley face below the nose (if you wanted you could provide just a black marker – I let the kids pick their own color as it allows them to show some creativity).  This is where we were going to stop but Buddy decided his panda needed cheeks and I have to say he is even cuter because of them!  Boo Boo wouldn’t be outdone so had to have cheeks too.

My kids enjoyed this project after we got past the scissor work for Buddy.  As I said you need to determine your child’s skill level with scissors prior to the start to eliminate unnecessary stress on everyone!  This can be a great way to practice scissor skills or just a great use of glue sticks – whatever you think your child is ready for.  Enjoy!

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Quick Tips to Get Ready for Valentine’s Day

Do you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day?  I’ll be honest – it wasn’t my favorite holiday when I was single but since getting married and having children I love celebrating our love.  We don’t do anything crazy in our house but do typically celebrate with special themed foods and gifts.  Take a peek at the list of items below from invitations to decor to presents.  This list will be sure to motivate you as you get ready for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Party Invitations to Get the Party Started

From a fun kids celebration to a singles night with friends, we have the invitations to get your party started. Click any of the options below to visit one of our favorite stores and discover everything you’ll need from the invitations to decor and even serving dishes and favor bags as your guests leave.

Confetti Hearts Invitation

Cupid is Stupid Invitation

Hearts and Love Garland Invitation

Valentine’s Door Invitations

Zippy Heart Invitation

Love Wine? These Valentine’s Gifts & Decor Items Are Perfect!

From novelty glasses to delight party guests to a fun wine gift like a personalized bottle tote to take on a romantic picnic, here are some amazing wine themed valentine’s gifts you’ll love. Click any of the links to find even more options.

Drunk in Love Stemless Wine Glass

Wine Cork Candles

Personalized Insulated Wine Carrier

Personalized 9 oz. Stemless Wine Glass

Personalized Wine Decanter with Wood Stopper

Party Supplies for the Perfect Kids Valentine’s Get Together

Throwing a party for your little ones and their friends? These fun party supplies are perfect to help them celebrate their friendship this Valentine’s Day.

Dessert Plate – Love Crazy

Gold Heart Party Balloons

Plantable Heart Shaped Confetti

Personalized Metallic Foil Heart Stickers

Honeycomb Heart Decorations

Romantic Valentine’s Gifts for the One You Love

Celebrating with someone special this year? From traditional engraved gifts to fun surprises, and even cute novelties like lovers coupons; below you’ll discover some great gift ideas to help you show that special someone you care.

Love About You Journal

Custom Filigree Name Necklace

Locket – Silver Plated – Heart

Engraved Silver Plated Pocket Watch

Monogrammed Cufflinks

Do you have any favorite traditions you celebrate each year on Valentine’s Day?  If so let me know!

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Valentine’s Day Heart Hidden Treasure Cookies

Do you like to bake for your family?  I definitely do!  I especially love making fun holiday themed treats.  I had seen these cookies before around Halloween and made pumpkins for my kids and their cousins.  This year I decided to make Valentine’s Day Heart Hidden Treasure Cookies.

The cookies start out with my basic Sugar Cookie recipe that you can find below.  The recipe was handed down to me from my mom and I’m not sure where she got it from herself.  It makes a nice, fluffy, easily roll-able cookie dough.

Materials Needed

• Two heart cookie cutters – 1 large and 1 medium
• Conversation hearts
• Gummy hearts
• Buttercream Frosting (I use the Wilton recipe found here) 
• Food coloring (I used red to make a light pink frosting)
• Star tip, Regular tip

Roll and cut three large hearts per cookie that you want to make.  The dough recipe should have been enough to make 6 or 7 completed cookies.  Bake the cookies 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Before you transfer the cookies to a cooling sheet use the medium heart cookie cutter to remove the center of one third of the cookies – this will be the center layer of your completed cookie.

Let the cookies cool completely.  Place one large heart on your counter and pipe a thin layer of buttercream around the outside edge of the cookie.  Stack one of the hearts that is missing its center on top (check to make sure you have enough frosting for the cookies to stick together).  Fill the center of the cookie with conversation hearts or gummy hearts or a combo of both (I had to cut the gummy hearts in half to make them thin enough for the lid to close).  

To finish place one large heart on top of the other two cookies as the lid and decorate the lid.

My kids were thrilled to see these cookies and even more thrilled to eat one!  Who would you make these for? 

It was my dad’s birthday celebration the day after I made the cookies so he was a lucky recipient of one of the cookies in a cute Valentine’s day treat box.

Join us in the Valentine’s Day Free Unit Study by taking a peak at some more great ideas below:

Valentine’s Day Board Books for Young Ones from The Jenny Evolution

Valentine Math Worksheet from iGameMom

I Love You Because Read + Make from My Storytime Corner

Preschool Letter Match Valentine Matching Game from Schooling a Monkey

Valentine’s Day Color by Letter/Sight Word from Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading

If you are looking for more Valentine’s Day inspiration click the link below and check out my Pinterest board:

Follow Crafty Mama in ME’s board Valentine’s on Pinterest.

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Easy Kid Made Handprint Heart Valentines

Do you work at a daycare or volunteer with a girl scout or boy scout troop?  If so you might be looking for a fun and easy Valentine’s project to do with your group.  These Easy Kid Made Handprint Heart Valentines are great keepsakes for parents and include a poem.  I did a test run with Boo Boo prior to heading to Buddy’s Pre-K class to  make them with the whole class.  The finished product is so cute

I found my inspiration for these Valentine’s from Growing in Pre-K and they linked to Pre-K Pages where they found the poem.

Materials Needed

• Heart shaped doilies
• Pink or red paint
• Paint brushes
• Poem (free printable here: Valentine Poem Printable)
• Scissors (I used a pair of Fiskars Paper Edgers for a fancy edge)
• Marker
• Glue Stick

Instructions

• Pass out the heart shaped doilies and poems
• Have kids sign their names to the poem
• Next have the kids use the glue stick and adhere the poem either to the bottom of the heart or one of the top edges (we did the handprint first but for a group setting that wouldn’t work as the amount of time allocated wouldn’t allow the paint to dry prior to adhering the poem).

• Have kids line up to have their hand painted with either pink or red paint
• Once the kids have completed their handprints place the Valentines somewhere to dry
• Give to parents!

These are cute and easy but will make kids feel so proud when they hand them to their parents.  I know as a parent I love any handprint projects as it allows me to capture that moment in time.  These Valentines are the type of project that I put away and save for the kids when they are adults.  Do you keep special projects like this?

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Valentine’s Day Hearts Decorated with Foam Stickers

Valentine’s day is rapidly approaching!  In our house this means a never-ending amount of Valentine’s day projects (and I love them all!!).  Today’s project was making Valentine’s Day Hearts Decorated with Foam Stickers.  Using foam stickers is great for helping develop fine motor skills.

Materials Needed

• Foam Stickers (assorted Valentine’s day shapes)
• Heart Shaped Doilies
• Foam Hearts
• Trash bin (for sticker backings)

This is a great independent activity for your older kiddos (smaller children may need help peeling the backings).  Set out materials and allow your kids to lead the project.  They can use any foam stickers they choose to create special Valentine’s day hearts.  

Peeling the backings off the foam stickers is a great fine motor activity for kids.  It is fun to see how much my son has improved at this skill year after year.  

When your children are done they can either hang their Valentine’s up or give them away to family and friends.  As you can tell by the big smile below my son was thrilled with his finished product!  I was the lucky recipient of these two beauties and they sit right above my desk

This project is included with 15+ options for the use of Sticker Learning Activities.  Keep reading for a great list of other foam sticker ideas and links to find out more!

Transportation Theme Preschool Activities from Life Over C’s

Foam Stickers Process Art from Still Playing School

Fill in the Bugs from Learning 2 Walk

Shape Puzzle with Foam Stickers from Mom Inspired Life

DIY I Spy Foam Book by Best Toys 4 Toddlers

Foam Sticker & Rolling Pin Painting Project for Kids from Play Dough & Popsicles

Foam Sticker  Writing Activity from The Kindergarten Connection

Foam Stickers Name Puzzles from Teach Me Mommy

Seasons Weather Sorting Activity with Foam Stickers from In The Playroom 

Fun Foam Sticker Letter Match Activity from Artsy Momma

Sticker Shape Matching from Play & Learn Everyday

DIY Maths Game for Kids from Mum in the Mad House

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Clifford the Big Red Dog Themed Valentine Box

Do you love to celebrate all holidays with your children?  I surely do – it gives us something fun to theme our activities around.  As Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching I decided that this year we should create a Valentine box to store all of the homemade cards my kids make.  Enter our Clifford the Big Red Dog Themed Valentine Box.  We read Lots of Love and it has inspired a few of our Valentine’s Day projects.  Click on the image of the book below and check out our other Clifford projects.

Materials Needed

• Cardboard box (typically a shoe box)
• White paper
• Red Paper
• Valentine’s themed stickers
• Red streamer
• Heart borders (optional)
• Puffy paint (optional)
• Hot Glue gun
• Markers
• Scissors
• Glue stick (optional)
• Foam Heart (optional)

Directions

To prep our box I used a blade to cute a small hole in the top for Valentine’s to be put in the box.

Buddy helped create our Valentine box before he went to Pre-K in the afternoon.  I printed a Clifford coloring sheet that you can find here.  Buddy colored that while I started covering the top of the box with the streamers.  I hot glued them on the top of the box leaving the hole I had cut uncovered.

Next I traced Buddy’s hand to make a handprint Clifford – you can find the inspiration for this project here.  I cut his hand out and drew Clifford’s face with black marker.  I attached googly eyes with hot glue.  Once the face was complete I hot glued it to a foam heart.  When Buddy finished coloring he used the puffy paint to trace the outline of Clifford’s face on the foam heart.

I searched online for a printable dog bone template and found one here.  I cut out a few of the bones to use as decoration.

I covered the box with white paper on the front and back and red paper on the sides.  I also added a heart border along the bottom of the box.  

The final step was decorating.  Buddy used his glue stick to attach the coloring sheet to the front of the box.  Next he used Valentine’s themed stickers to decorate all over the box.  I attached bones to the sides and top of the box and he added a few stickers.  I attached the Clifford handprint heart to the back of the box with the hot glue gun and then Buddy finished decorating.

The finished product is a very cute Clifford the Big Red Dog Themed Valentine Box.  It definitely screams Valentine’s day with the number of hearts Buddy attached.  We had a fun time creating the box together.  Buddy already made his first Valentine and put it in the box for safekeeping!

Take a look at some other great Valentine’s Boxes Inspired by Favorite Children’s Books by clicking the image below:

How to Make a Pete the Cat Inspired Valentine Box by Books and Giggles

Valentine Box Inspired By A Children’s Book by Play Dough & Popsicles

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Valentine’s Day Jello Playdough and Free Printable Mat

Do you love celebrating holiday’s with your children?  I surely do!!  This post is the first of many Valentine’s Day projects we will do this year.  Buddy decided earlier this week that he wanted to make some new playdough to replace the old stuff we had just recently thrown away.  I thought it would be a perfect idea and when he asked for it to be red I knew we were on our way to a Valentine’s Day activity.  That is how our Valentine’s Day Jello Playdough and Free Printable Mat play session came about.

Since we were doing red playdough I wanted it to smell yummy as well and decided to try out a recipe using Jello.  I had a strawberry jello package in the cupboard so we were on a roll!  I found this recipe at PlayDough Recipe.com.  It was simple to make and smells amazing.  The only change we made to the recipe was to add glitter.  Everything is better with a little bit of sparkle  Keep reading after the recipe for a free printable mat to practice counting skills while playing with your playdough.

Jello Playdough Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of warm water
• Three ounces of jello – any flavor you wish
• Silver and Gold glitter (this is my addition)

Directions:

• Combine ingredients.
• Cook over medium heat until it thickens.

• Knead until cool enough to touch. 

We have a bunch of tools to use with our playdough and I got out some specific Valentine’s day cookie cutters for Buddy to play with.  

Buddy is in Pre-K now and has been working on his numbers so I created a fun Valentine’s Day themed printable playdough mat.  We play with playdough a lot at our house so I need to go out and pick up some page protectors to make the mats last longer.  You could also laminate the pages.

Free Printable

Download it here:

Valentine’s Day Heart Counting Playdough Mat

If you are looking for some additional free Valentine’s Day themed printable playdough mats check out the links below:

Gift of Curiosity 

Busy Little Bugs

3 Dinosaurs

Teacher’s Notebook

This post is part of a Kid Craft Challenge.  This months challenge was to create a Valentine’s Day craft.  Click on the links below to find some additional Valentine’s Day ideas. 

Washi Tape Heart by The Resourceful Mama

Crepe Paper Heart by My Bored Toddler

Heart Handprint Keepsake by CraftCreateCalm

Heart Suncatcher by Raising Little Superheroes

Valentine’s Day Heart Wreath by Raising Fairies and Knights

Valentine’s Day Advent Calendar For Kids by Play Dough & Popsicles

Valentine Luminary by The Gingerbread House

Valentine Paper Lanterns by Kidz Activities

DIY Valentine’s Day Decoration With Fine Motor Training by Maria Magdalena Living Ideas

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