Cute Critter Valentine Cards Tutorial

Time to make some easy, yet sweet Valentine cards for the family.
*Spoiler Alert! Grammies - look away!  :-)

I made these with my daughter a couple years ago for her little neighborhood playmates. Simple hearts turned into little mouse and kitty cat personalities. I can't take credit for the original idea, but it's been around – I think it was from an old kids' book. They're so fun we're making them again! 

You'll need:

Valentine patterned paper or at least red, pink and white.

Folded or flat 3x5 or 4x6 cardstock

Scissors

Paper hole punch

Glue stick

Optional - google eyes

 Cut a heart large enough to almost fill your 4x6 card.

Cut 2 small hearts to make ears. Position the heart upside down for the kitty (below), or right side up for a mouse (above). Glue the ears in place so they tuck behind the big heart, then glue that down, too.

 Use your hole punch to make the eyes and nose! Easy! Just empty the tray and see what you've got! :-)
 You can use the 1/2" punch with a 1/4" punch on top like on the brown mouse card above. Or simple white like directly above, or the google eyes as shown below.

Now cut 6 straight and narrow paper whiskers and glue these down. Glue the punched circle for the nose right on top of the whisker ends. (You could also cut 3 long whiskers and have them criss cross under the nose.)

School Valentine's Day Card Lollipops

Our Kindergarten Valentine's Day treats are just about ready for Monday's class party:

My daughter just needs to sign 2 dozen of these heart cards and they're ready to go! I made simple heart collars for pink Valentine Tootsie Pops. I printed a thick heart outline and "I heart U" onto assorted patterned papers. The thick outline so she can help me with the cutting! We punched holes in the center and that's about all I have time for this year! I couldn't even think of a clever pun for suckers. Oh well. :-) Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!

Silver Fingerprint Pendants / Ornaments Tutorial

Don't you just love the new fingerprint jewelry coming out lately? Here's what you'll see with an Etsy search for "fingerprint pendant":

Loads of people/companies selling fingerprint pendants, rings, wall art, and everything else online. I don't know who started the trend but bravo to all those putting a fresh spin on this theme. It's the "latest thing" and girls, we just HAVE to have it, right? :-)  

Well, fingerprints of your spouse or child ARE something to be treasured, but if the three figure prices are not in your budget this month, then I have just the tutorial for you!! 

FAUX silver fingerprint pendants!  :-)  Yup, let's make our own using polymer clay products and a few other simple supplies! Make a pendant to wear on Valentine's Day, or a gift for the grandparents! How about a large heart ornament, refrigerator magnet, bookmark - just about anything!

Supplies: black polymer clay, silver metallic powder, parchment paper, old baking sheet, turkey roasting bag, small heart cookie cutters, play-doh type rolling pin, rubber gloves, toothpick &/or narrow drinking straw, brush or paper towel, clear matte spray sealer, jump ring, necklace, optional bead or jewel, gift bag.

In December I hosted a Kids' Christmas Craft Party, of which this was one of the projects. We created them in various sizes as Christmas ornaments. Here's my friend with her two daughters - I thought this pic was so cute with one preparing to press her thumb and the other designing with a toothpick:

I tried silver and black Sculpey. Both require an addition of color for the actual fingerprint grooves to show up better - silver on black looked better to me than black on silver. But feel free to experiment because the supplies are so inexpensive. Roll out your black clay, then cut out hearts or whatever shape you desire. Follow the directions on your brand very carefully. Make a heart with one fingerprint and child's name; or in my case, I put my two kids' prints and names on the same heart. Use a toothpick to embellish with any design you like. Use a toothpick or narrow drinking straw to make a hole in the top center or side for threading your ribbon or necklace through. Be sure to date the back, too. The girls at my party did such beautiful work and naturally I forgot to snap pics at the end!

Coat the ornaments with metallic silver powder via a slightly damp paper towel. You'll see the fingerprint lines pop. Set on parchment paper, on an old baking sheet pan and tuck into a turkey roasting bag. The bag: polymer clay is toxic and will perhaps coat your oven. If you're going to just do this once or twice, probably not a big concern, but gals who work with this clay as a hobby must use a separate craft oven! So, for a couple bucks, play it safe with the bag and also don't let polymer clay touch anything that needs to return to your kitchen.

Now that you've baked it according to the directions on your package of clay, and let it cool, spray it with a coat of clear satin or matte sealer. It keeps the silver powder from rubbing off. When it's dry, add a jump ring and thread your necklace and add some bling for a pendant! String it along a pretty ribbon for a bookmark or ornament. Voila!

Linking to Today's Creative Blog and Tip Junkie's Tip Me Tuesday and Sugar Bee's Take a Look Tuesday. 

Valentine Ideas Tutorials Archive

Happy February to you all! Today I'll post a recap of some of my most popular Valentine's Day ideas. I've got everyone covered! Enjoy!

For your daughter:

Valentine Sparkle Tutorial

For your man:

Udaman Chocolate Bar Wrapper Download

For the grandparents:

Valentine Silhouette Cards

For your home:

Charming Valentine Vase Decor

For spouse or kiddos or everyone!

Heart Valentine Smoothies

To search my blog for Valentine's Day or any other holiday or occasion or craft idea, please use the search box in the right side column. Type in what you're looking for and all my posts that apply will come right to the top! For example, here's the search results for "Valentine" 'cause I've got more! Have a great day! Valentine's Day even has its own button under my "topics" list in the sidebar, too!

Valentine Smoothies

We love smoothies at our house! Here are some fun ways to dress them up for Valentine's Day:

Pipe some dark chocolate into heart shapes:

Add marshmallows, whipped cream & sprinkles for the kids:

Pipe chocolate hearts or designs on the inside of a glass:

Fill with smoothie and it leaves a pretty decoration on the glass:

Write love messages right on top!

My strawberry banana smoothie comes out this pink color. Lots of raspberries make a rich red one. Go heavy on the blueberries for a dark, rich purple smoothie. Yummy & guilt-free! :-)

Linking to Get Your Craft On and A Soft Place to Land!

"Udaman" Valentine Chocolate Wrapper & Free Download!

Ladies, if your husband loves chocolate like mine does, then he might enjoy this non-fru-fru edible gift for Valentine's Day:

Let him know he's "Da Man" with these fun candy bar wrappers that you can download for free! Here's how: Snag two of his favorite chocolate bars [Vosges Dark Bacon and Black Pearl in my case] :

Wrap them in this "Udaman Chocolate" custom candy bar wrapper that you'll download at the end of this post:

Complete with Ingredients: LOVE, MARRIAGE, JOY, PATIENCE, LAUGHTER, GOD, TRUST, FUN, PEACE, FAITH, ROMANCE, HOPE, REST, ADVENTURE, FAMILY.

And Nutrition Facts: SERVING SIZE - U DECIDE ‘CAUSE U DA MAN. BEST WHEN ENJOYED WITH YOUR VALENTINE.

 

Download the pdf today and tell your man "You Da Man!" :-)

DOWNLOAD FILE 

(PS: This is my FIRST free download offer on my blog! I'm so excited! The design is centered on a large red square so it can be trimmed to fit assorted size chocolate bars. Please let me know how it works for you!)  ©2010JeanneWinters (for personal use only)

Participating in Kimba's DIY day at A Soft Place to Land and Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog.

"I am Blessed" Charming Valentine Vase

A triple strand of pink "pearls" is just the ticket to glam up this petite glass vase for Valentine's Day:

I've had this strand of rose quartz beads laying around in my craft supplies. I bought them wholesale back when I designed and sold my own jewelry, but you can find the same these days in the bead section of your craft store. I simply looped the ends through a heart charm from Michael's that says "I am Blessed" on one side and "Faith" on the other. I think my daughter will love it on Valentine's Day!

Valentine Heart Decor Tutorial

"Jesus Loves Me" is the focal point of this easy tissue paper heart I made with my daughter:
Print "Jesus Loves Me" in white letters on a red background & cut that out in a heart shape. Glue it in the center of a big cardboard heart (We cut ours out of a clean pizza box cover):
Next cut out piles & piles of white and red tissue paper squares:
Use the old-fashioned wrap-each-square-around-the-end-of-a-pencil-and-dab-it-in-some-Elmer's -Glue-method to fill in your Valentine decoration. Be sure to pack them in close so your design looks very full:Our red heart is framed in white. Finished size is 14" x 15". Add a little wire loop for hanging and you're done!
Visit the linkups at A Soft Place to Land & Today's Creative Blog for other crafts.

Valentine Silhouettes

I've been wanting to do silhouettes of my kids for quite a while now ... Valentine's Day seemed the perfect time to make cute cards for the grandparents. [look away Grammies!]
I wrote "Grandparents are a gift from God" across the top and signed each child's name under their portrait. [I brushed these out in this photo.]

I think if you google silhouettes, you'll find loads of ways to make them, but here's what I did. Snapped a profile photo of each child against a solid color background. And it might take a lot of snaps if you have toddlers! :-) Then in Photoshop I converted to grayscale and increased the contrast so the outline of their heads became more noticeable. Used the magnetic lasso to go around and 'select' the whole shape I wanted. Then stroke or fill that in with black or whatever color you choose. Now I have it digital and can print on any kind of paper or resize as necessary.

Roses + Valentine Question

Look what my darling came home with recently:
He was out shopping on a Saturday with the kiddos [which alone spells L-O-V-E to us moms, anyway, doesn't it???] and he and my daughter picked these out "for mommy and me to share," she tells me. :-) So sweet!!

So I grabbed my favorite vase - this classic pewter pitcher - added a ribbon and silver tag (that usually finds it's home on a little wall cabinet) - and have been enjoying these roses immensely!

Also because I know he bought them BEFORE they cost a gazillion dollars per stem - and I know many of you fellow frugal types agree - it's almost hard to enjoy roses at that cost, right?! Store-bought flowers are a rare treat at our home and that's the way I like it. My hubby knows I love flowers and he is so thoughtful to often surprise me with sweet wildflower bouquets that he picks on his many biking and running expeditions out in the hinterlands! What "unconventional thing" does your husband do for you that spells L-O-V-E?

How do you plan to show your love for him in return on Valentine's Day? see my previous Valentine post for one idea.... and may I emphasize the little coupon?? :-)

Vows for your Valentine

Here's what my hubby will be getting for Valentine's Day:It's a little pyramid box with our wedding vows written across all three sides. Tucked inside is a token gift ... because I already got him something else. It's really easy to create: I found a "tetrahedron" template on this website and cut one out on regular paper to cut and fold as a practice. I printed our vows, layed out in three triangles. You can type yours or write by hand, just measure so they fit within the panels of your pyramid.
Begin folding your tetrahedron after you've cut out the template on your nice paper.
Then cut out your three triangles with your vows and glue onto each side. I layered my red triangles on a sheet of white and cut each with decorative edge scissors. Add ribbon embellishments - I used tape for my two. Tuck in some treats and perhaps a personal coupon! :-) Fold up each side, inserting the glued tabs to secure it.
To see another version of sharing your wedding vows I did years and years ago ... but just blogged about last Feb., see this Valentine post.

Valentine Sparkle

I just made this little Valentine gift for my daughter:
"You are loved" is the theme. The idea is for her to see each ribbon as someone who loves her. She loved it [well, of course, it's pink and sparkly!] She's only 3, but it was a special moment to sit with her and touch each ribbon and have her name someone who loves her: we went through all her family members, some friends, Jesus, etc. It was cute! :-)

Here's what I started with:This was a 70% off Christmas item at a craft store. It's a bead-covered styrofoam ball, about 5 in diameter. I went to my ribbon basket and pulled out a variety of widths and textures in pinks and creams:Cut short lengths and tie each with a simple knot around the hanging loop. Work your way around, covering the entire loop. Make a little tag to say "You are loved!" I embellished a store-bought die-cut tag with my message printed on pink paper that I tore into a heart shape. I layered it on another torn heart and glued both to the heavier tag:

for your Valentine

Here's a little Valentine idea for couples. Give a gift that states, or re-states your commitment to your spouse or significant other. If you're married, make a copy of your wedding vows on colored or patterned paper, roll it like a scroll and fasten with a ribbon. If you're dating, write something appropriate for the stage of relationship you're in - like "I will be here as your support and cheerleader! I love you!" Tuck it in a gift box with his or her favorite chocolates.