Food Fun Family

52 Things I Love About You: Easy DIY Valentine’s Day Gift

Lolli — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 22:13:05 +0000

HI GUYS!

Need a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift? My daughter made these “52 Things I Love About You” cards for her fiancé and sent the pictures over to me so that I could share her fun DIY Valentine’s Day gift. Because let’s face it….there are a LOT of us out there who need some help when it comes to Valentine’s Day gifts.

Also…

My daughter has a fiancé.

Did you catch that?

My daughter is getting married. In April. I’m excited and happy and terrified and in shock all at the same time (only because I am simply not old enough to have a married child, right?? Please just agree with me here).

Honestly, I really AM excited. She is happy. He is wonderful. What more could a mom ask?

Kim shared this easy craft with me just in case there were others of you out there who might need a little assistance this weekend. I love that it uses stuff that most of us have lying around the house (I know we’ve got a bunch of playing cards sitting around ALL over the house (my 10-year-old is currently into “card throwing.” I never knew it was a THING until he started throwing cards at my old foam boards. So…maybe I have too many cards lying around. Hmm…

How to Make a 52 Things I Love About You Cards

Supplies Needed:

Note: Amazon links are used below so you can easily see or find supplies.

Complete deck of playing cards
2 loose-leaf binder rings (one-inch or larger)
Print at home 52 things you love about your significant other and cut out to fit on cards
Mod Podge
Foam brush
Single hole punch

How to Assemble Your Gift:

First, you’ll want to create a document with 52 things you love about your gift recipient. Make 2 “extra” pieces (which will be attached to the Joker cards) for the front cover (“52 Things I Love About You”) and the back cover (“Love, your name”). Each saying should be about 1.5 inches wide and 2.5 inches tall. You can fit 5 across (5 columns) and 4 down (for a total of 20 per page).
Print and cut out your sayings.
Set aside the Jokers and any extra cards in your desk (you just want to use the regular cards for this part. Spread a thin, even layer of Modpodge over the back side (ie, the pattern, not the number) of each card and secure one saying. Press down to flatten and work out any bubbles. Spread another thin, even layer of Modpodge over the top of the papers to seal. Repeat with the rest of your cards and printed messages.
Use Modpodge to secure the front and back cover sheets to the Joker cards. Finish them the same as above. Let everything dry.
Take one of those unused cards and punch two holes in the left side. Use that card as a template to punch holes in your finished cards so that you can ensure the holes are going to line up properly when you put the “book” together.
Secure your book together with binder rings (with front and back cover cards facing out so it looks like a finished book).

That’s it!

This DIY gift costs less than $10 (and even LESS than that if you’ve already got the supplies on hand).

Happy Valentine’s Day! I want to hear ALL about it after the weekend. Deal?

10 Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Adults

Lolli — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:12:10 +0000

I love to create crafts, and Valentine’s Day just seems to be made for fun DIY projects. I usually don’t consider myself a very crafty person. Actually, I take that back. I can make nice-looking things. I just need a really good idea – I can copy just about anything. But ask me to come up with an original idea? Most of the time I’m totally lost.

That’s why I’ve turned to a few fellow crafty bloggers to put together this list of 10 gorgeous but easy Valentine’s Day crafts for adults.

10 Easy Valentine’s Day Crafts for Adults

Whether you’re looking for a little something handmade to decorate your house for the Valentine’s Day season or if you’d like to make something as a gift for someone special, these easy Valentine’s Day crafts are sure to please!

1 – Button Heart Canvas Wall Art from Food Fun Family

2 – Valentine’s Day “I Love You Because….” Dry Erase Frame from Food Fun Family

3 – Canvas and Button Heart Art from The Logbook

4 – Heart-Dotted Sharpie Cups from Organized 31

5 – Handmade Valentine’s Day Felt Arrows from An Extraordinary Day

6 – 3D Hanging Paper Hearts for Valentine’s Day from An Extraordinary Day

7 – Pipe Cleaner Heart Garland from We Know Stuff

8 – Marbled Votive Candle Holders from Director Jewels

9 – Easy Valentine’s Day String Art from Crafts ‘n Coffee

10 – DIY Love Banner from April Golightly

Do you have any Valentine’s Day crafts (for adults OR for kids) that you’re working on this year? I think my kitchen needs some of those 3D paper hearts (don’t they look so cute hanging in the window?) and I KNOW that my kids would love to help me make some pipe cleaner heart garland (and bonus: we have pipe cleaner already!).

Now if only I could figure out what to do with all of that red burlap and paint stirring sticks. I’m taking ideas. Please share your favorite crafts or what you’ve been working on in the comments below.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Cute Animal Valentine’s Day Cards {Free Printable}

Lolli — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 19:10:11 +0000

I tend to be one of those last-minute scrambler when it comes to Valentine’s Day cards for my kids’ class parties and Valentine’s Day card exchanges. Last night, my 9-year-old asked me if he could make some Valentine’s Day cards with some foam stickers I had left over from an old Valentine’s Day craft we did a few years ago. While I know he would have had fun making the cards, I also knew that making his vision for the cards work would take a little help on my part. I sat down with him and began talking about some plans…and an hour later, we had created these Valentine’s Day cards together on PicMonkey.

AJ had so much fun helping me come up with a cute saying for each card that went along with the animal. And since we had so much fun making them, I figured that I’d share our creation. I’m sure there are other parents out there like me who like to leave Valentine’s Day cards to the very last minute.

All you need to do is click here to print off Sheet 1 (with the pink background and white border) or here for Sheet 2 (with the white background & pink border). Or click the images below for the full-sized file (click them to open up the full sized file and save from there). I recommend opening each file and simply selecting print. If you print off both sheets, you’ll have 8 unique and adorable animal Valentines!

For a fun touch, I used some old deckle edge scissors to cut the cards out. Straight edge scissors work just as well, though!

Have fun, and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Be sure to stop by to see my Monster Valentine’s Day cards, too!

DIY Button Heart Canvas Wall Art

Lolli — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 16:28:14 +0000

Before my oldest daughter headed back to college after the holidays, the two of us sat down to do some crafts together. When we were brainstorming what we should create, Kim suggested that I make a button heart canvas based on something she had seen previously. She described what she had in mind and we worked together to craft it…and when it was finished, she loved it so much that she put it in her suitcase and took it back to her apartment.

I love that the finished canvas is perfect for a Valentine’s Day gift or decoration, but it’s cute enough to display all year long.

How to make a button heart canvas:

Supplies needed:

Square canvas
Buttons (variety of sizes and shades)
Black acrylic paint
Large paint brush or sponge brush
Heart shape/stencil and pencil
Hot glue gun and glue

Instructions:

Lay masking tape in stripes along canvas, wrapping tape around the back. Wherever you have not taped will get painted – you can make stripes even or do a combination of thick and thin stripes. Be creative!

Paint exposed canvas, including around sides, and allow to dry completely.

When paint is dry, remove masking tape.

Lightly draw the outline of a heart on your canvas (this can be erased later if desired).

Glue buttons inside the heart outline, filling in spaces as much as possible (this is where it helps to have a good variety of button sizes!).

That’s it! Once the glue has set, erase pencil if visible and hang your art work!

PS – check out my other Valentine’s Day crafts!

Looking for more Valentine’s Day projects?

Check out this quick and easy Valentine’s Day printable wall hanging or put together a simple Valentine’s Day dry erase message frame.

I’ve also got fun animal Valentine’s Day cards (a free printable!) as well as the cutest monster Valentine cards (a craft tutorial).

Be sure to check out this collection of 10 fun Valentine’s picture books for kids and a list of 15 good, clean romance books to read.

These miniature chocolate sprinkled “donuts” are guaranteed to be your kids’ favorite thing!

Valentine’s Day Craft Wall Hanging and Printable #CreativeHOP

Lolli — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 09:00:43 +0000

I love you, a bushel and a peck!

When I was little, my mom would sing the song “I love you, a bushel and a peck” to me nearly every night. The song and its words came to signify a mother’s love for her kids…and I LOVE my kids!

—->GET THE Bushel and a Peck Printable

I love you, a bushel and a peck
A bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck
A hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap
A barrel and a heap, and I’m talkin’ in my sleep
About you, about you…cuz
I love you, a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck I do!
A-do-do-do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do-do

Just the other day, after making this simple little craft (or non-craft, as I like to call it), my youngest son AJ and I went on a walk and sang this at the top of our lungs as we walked around the neighborhood. Now this little wall hanging resides next to my fridge and we sing it to each other daily. I love that a simple craft resurrected an old tradition.

When I made this wall hanging, I used some old scrapbook paper and stickers, but I’ve made it easy for you. All you need to do is print off the scan of my project HERE and slap it in a frame! When you print, make sure to download the PDF version for the highest quality. If you’d rather have the jpeg version, I’ve got that HERE. The PDF has a white border around 2 of the edges which should ensure that the framable image prints out to fit an 8×10 frame. Feel free to resize if you’ve got a smaller frame!

If you’d like to make your own version of this wall hanging, all you need is a frame, some paper (cut to fit your frame), and some letter stickers (plus accent stickers, if desired).

It’s a pretty simple “non-craft” to put together, but be sure to measure out the space you have for each word before starting lay the stickers out. You don’t want to run out of room!

Did your mom sing “love songs” to you when you were little? Do you sing to your kids?

PS – be sure to check out my “I love you because…..” dry erase craft and keep your eye open for my FAVORITE Valentine’s Day craft of all, coming soon!

If you’re looking for other ideas to make your Valentine’s Day a little bit more special, I’m sharing a few ideas from my favorite bloggers. Click around and enjoy!

Romantic Lavender Linen Spray from Confessions of an Overworked Mom
Homemade Bath Salts from Momma D Jane
Pomegranate Cherry Parfait from Upstate Rambling
Chocolate Strawberry Muffins from Day by Day in Our World
Glittered Wine Glasses from How Was Your Day?
Sparkling Cider Etched Bottle with Love Printable by A Mom’s Take
Valentine’s Day Breakfast Recipe by Our Family World
DIY Heart Handwarmers by About A Mom
Reeses Pieces Valentine Jar by This Mama Loves
Valentine’s Day Wall Hanging by Better in Bulk
Decadent Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Recipe from My So Called Balanced Life
Strawberry Cream Parfait for your Cubit from 2Boys + 1Girl = One Crazy Mom
White Chocolate Valentine Hearts from Views from the Ville
Valentine Love Letters Craft from Philzendia
DIY Valentine’s Bath Fizzies from Simply Southern Mom
Heart Shaped Oatmeal Dog Treats from Two Little Cavaliers
Mason Jar Valentine’s Day Craft from Sunshine and Sippy Cups
Valentine’s Class Parties from The Guavalicious Life
Valentine’s DIY Cards from Libby’s Library
Mini Meatloves for Valentine’s Day Dinner from Mom on the Side

Easy Valentine’s Day Craft: “I Love You Because…” Dry Erase Frame

Lolli — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 16:24:05 +0000

About a week ago, before my oldest daughter left to go back to college after the winter break, she and I broke out all of our crafting supplies, turned on a movie in the kitchen, and crafted together. What a fun way to end our vacation! Since Kim tends to have better ideas than I do, I happily took a few of her ideas and made them my own. This “I love you because…” dry erase frame was the easiest craft of the 3 that I did that night. It takes just a handful of simple supplies and hardly requires any artistic ability (something I often appreciate!). And best of all – it took less than 10 minutes to make!

Supplies needed:

Frame (any style or size)
Patterned or colored paper (if you use a patterned paper, make sure it’s not too “busy” and distracts from the words)
Letter stickers
Permanent marker
Dry erase pen
Buttons (optional)
Hot Glue (optional)

Instructions:

1- Cut your paper to fit in your frame (you can trace around the backing of the frame or simply measure the opening and use a paper cutter).

2- Place your letter stickers on the paper to spell out “I love you because,” making sure to leave space on either side to accommodate for natural cropping from the frame.

3- Using a permanent marker or other pen, add the dots after because… and a “fill in the blank” line below your message.

4- Place your decorated paper in your frame and replace the backing.

5- Add embellishments to your frame, if desired. I added 4 buttons with a dot of hot glue.

6- Display your Valentine’s Day craft with a dry erase pen (don’t get it mixed up with the permanent marker you used earlier!) to fill in your “I love you because…” message. The message wipes away easily from the glass with a dry napkin. If you have trouble wiping it off, simply add a tiny squirt of window cleaner or water to a paper towel to wipe clean.

What message would you leave for someone special in your life?