Valentines Crafts and Cards

It's almost that time of year for children to start thinking about Valentine's Day.  It's the perfect time for kids to get crafty with handmade gifts for Mom and Grandma...or your sister.  I recently came across a Valentine card my brother made me when he was in grade school. The entire Valentine didn't scan because of the size of the card...but you can get the overall idea. He painted a heart, cut it out and glued it to a piece of construction paper.  Pretty simple....yet priceless in value.

Valentine paper crafts are the top favorite kid's craft activity for Valentine's Day. Most Valentine crafts are inexpensive to make and can be made from products or recycled materials from around the house.  At school, children can make Valentine bookmarks or practice writing lessons on Valentine letter paper. Students can write a special Valentine note or card, then seal it with a Valentine sticker or fun stamp. Kids love to make special Valentine mailboxes and collection envelopes to hold their Valentine cards from friends and schoolmates. Who doesn't remember all the fun (and suspense) in opening those little Valentine's cards not to mention finding a special Valentine from years ago!

From The Old Educator's Parenting Tips website (www.oldeducator.com), is this easy Valentine craft:  (also see the website for Valentine coloring pages.)

Valentine Pop Hearts
Supplies:

• Pink or red construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Colored markers
• Lollipops
• Gift wrap ribbon

Treat the whole class - or your Valentine party guests - to these sweet little tokens of your affection.

To make them, simply write names with colored markers on large heart-shaped paper cutouts, then glue lollipops to the back.

Decorate with ties made from gift-wrap ribbon. (Curl the ends of the ribbon by pulling them along a butter knife.)

Pack them in a decorated box or colorful shopping bag and take them on their way!

Thanksgiving

In a few weeks the official start of the holiday season will be upon us starting with Thanksgiving. Traditionally its a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Thanksgiving is a holiday where families create traditions to be handed down to the next generation. It is a time to be thankful and for family gatherings.

The Old Educator shares his family's Thanksgiving dinner recipes and offers holiday entertainment ideas. Browse the site for Thanksgiving Tips, a useful timetable, recipes and more!

Here's some printable Thanksgiving partyware compliments of Paper & Cake.

Happy Halloween

Make a Smilebox recipe

Homemade Bubble Bath {Recipe}

Here’s an easy recipe for making an all-natural, homemade bubble bath that you can customize to your own preference by mixing favorite scents–also ditches harsh perfumes and chemicals that some commercial bubble baths use.

Ingredients:

1 pint distilled water (warm)
bar of castile soap (2 ounces)
liquid glycerin (2 ounces)
essential oils (lavender, orange, etc.)

Directions:

• Shave the bar of soap into a bowl then add the water and liquid glycerin. Stir to mix well.
• Allow to sit until the soap shavings are soft then stir with a wooden spoon to mix smooth.
• Add your favorite essential oils, stir then pour bubble bath into mason jars, seal with lid.

If you’re making this to give as a gift, add labels that include the ingredients and decorate the jar with raffia, ribbon, charms or whatever embellishments you like.

Source: Green Made Easy by Chris Prelitz

Sunflower Sentiments Note Cards

Recently I had note cards made of several sunflower designs. Using photographs of the sunflower in our yard and a flower arrangement I gave my mom, I designed the cards and uploaded the file to MPIX (www.mpix.com) for printing - they do a great job and fast, too! Here are a few of the designs. The last one is my Twitter background.

Coco and Callie on Camera

My friend, Dana, gave me a Drinkwell after her kitty ignored it. Knowing my cat, Callie (Bengal kitty) LOVES water, she thought I'd get better use out of it. Well, not me, actually, but my cat sure likes it and even my toy poodle Coco. When they didn't think I was watching them, I shot some video of them and then uploaded it to YouTube. My dog watches intently as Callie plays in the water patiently waiting her turn to try it.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

This morning my mom forwarded an email for this 5 minute chocolate mug cake recipe and I can't wait to try it! I don't know who to give credit to since this was an email forward and everyone knows they have traveled the world! I plan to try it later today. Enjoy!


5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (microwave-safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT !
(This can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).


Why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!