Days 20-26: 365 Photo Challenge

Here are all the photos I took in the past week for my 365 Photo Challenge!

Day 26: Valentine's Day crafting.


Day 25: Look at that Sunset!!


Day 24: Wall art.


Day 23: A great new ring from Etsy!


Day 22: Beautiful puffy clouds.


Day 21: Inauguration Day!


Day 20: Having a Lazy Sunday, reading and watching shows on DVD.

D.I.Y. Valentine Treat Bags

You only need a few supplies to make these quick and easy treat bags for Valentine's Day. After you've printed the free printable Valentine cards and created these heart shaped crayons, assembling treat bags for your little ones is a snap.

You will need: Scissors
Small piece of scrapbook paper
Stapler
Clear plastic/vellum bag (or recycled card protector)
Printable Valentines
Heart Crayons Cut the Valentines in quarters. Fill in the "To" and "From" section of the card. Place one card and one or two crayons inside your clear plastic treat bag. You can see that I recycled a clear card protector for my treat bag.  Cut a piece of scrapbook paper to size for your treat bag, with enough to fold over the top (or opening). Staple each side of the paper topper to the bag to hold it in place. Now you have a cute goody bag to give to someone special on Valentine's Day! Have fun and share the love!

Crayon Heart Valentines

This craft is a fun idea for Valentine's Day! Have your favorite little ones help make these simple and colorful crayons shaped as hearts. All you need is a silicon baking tray with heart-shaped molds, crayons (new or old), and an oven. Using the oven you will melt the crayons in the molds to create heart shapes!

First, you will need to remove the paper wrappers from the crayons. An easy trick to do this is to submerge the crayons in hot water. The wrappers start to lift off of the crayons in only a few seconds in a bowl of hot water. After you peel off the wrappers, dry the crayons on a paper towel. After the crayons are dry, break them into pieces and arrange them in the silicon mold cups. I like to keep like-colors together and then throw one random color in, like pink shades of crayons with one white, or purple shades with one yellow. You can make any combination you like! Next put the silicon mold on top of a baking pan before placing it in the oven at 230 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. After the crayons are melted, remove the baking pan from the oven. Be careful of the hot wax liquid! Place the pan on a level surface and allow the crayons to cool. They cool pretty quickly, but I let them sit for about an hour before touching them. When the crayons look solid, simply peel the silicon away and pop the heart crayons out of the mold. Any size silicon molds will do. I made large and small crayons in all sorts of colors! Pair the heart shaped crayons with these free printable Valentines, and they make a great present. The best part about these crayon heart Valentines is that they are a cheap, and healthy alternative to candy! They last longer than candy too! Enjoy this craft with the kiddos and have a Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Color your own Valentine's Day cards!

I have created a new printable for Valentine's Day! This one is a coloring page with 4 cards to a page. It can be downloaded here. Pair it with some crayons, and they make a fun gift for kids!

If you like these Valentine's Day cards, you might like the ones I made a few years ago too! You can find all of my free printables here.

New Year's Craft videos

Here are the next two videos from the New Year's resolution crafts that Julee and I made on WDRB in the Morning.




If you are local to Louisville, be sure to set you DVRs again for this Wednesday, when we will be on WDRB in the Morning again doing Valentine's crafts!

Day 19: 365 Photo Challenge

Today's photo is from the KY Center for the Arts. My mom and I went with my brother's girlfriend and her mother to see "Kentucky Show." It is a great short film that is really a love letter to Kentucky. It made me proud to be from such a beautiful state, with such a rich and colorful history. I love to see the progress we make as a state (and as a country) and I think that was reflected in the film. If you ever visit Louisville, you should be sure to see it!

Day 18: 365 Photo Challenge

Secret Message in the Library books today. This photo is from day 18 of the 365 Photo Challenge!