Tag: Valentine’s Day

My Perfectly Not-So-Romantic Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Mama

Well, I can’t say it was the most romantic Valentine’s Day ever, but it definitely was a good one because I got a little boy time, a little girl time and even a little just-me time.

I woke to Valentine wishes from my husband and son and the aroma of blooming paper whites and tulips before I barely wiped the sleep from my eyes. I received two pots of flowers, two wonderful cards and one mega-fast portable phone charger. Utilitarian? Yes. Needed? Definitely! After all, I only gave my husband two mini boxes of candy and a folded slip of paper tucked inside a card. Okay, the paper had a big ol’ bass on it and a promissory note for an out-of-state fishing license. Romantic? Not really, but he thought it was pretty cool.

Since this was the second weekend of the month, which means Second Saturday Sewing at the church, my boys took me to breakfast at IHOP (which we now call Pancake City for some strange reason lost on me) before dropping me off for a morning of quilting and girl talk with the church ladies. It was a small group, but it’s always fun. Thankfully, I finally finished piecing the quilt started over three years ago (no thanks to a Jo-Ann’s quilting class) and I started the border.

After my boys picked me up, we had a quick lunch and both of them went down for a nap. I weighed my options and decided to set up shop in the basement and continue sewing. By the time the boys awoke two hours later, I was sewing the last of my border pieces and was thrilled (and I do mean, very excited) to finally complete my quilt top! Next step? Pull out The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Quilting. Yes, I own it.

The day was capped off with a botched attempt to eat at Dave & Buster’s by a really large crowd and a very rude patron, but dinner was salvaged by Chick-Fil-A, which is always a winner for our son.

Chicken nuggets + Indoor playground = A good time.

photo credit: Catrin Austin via photopin (license) and altered by Small Talk Mama

Saturday Sparks – Love is in the Air

Posted on January 31, 2015January 30, 2015 by Mama

With just two weeks counting down to what is considered one of the most romantic days of the year, today’s inspiration is all about Valentines. If decorating for this day is something you do, then you’ll enjoy some of these fun décor ideas with touches of hearts, love and hugs and kisses.

Kid-Friendly Valentine Banner

Posted on January 29, 2015January 30, 2015 by Mama

Last year my son (three years old at the time) and I spent part of a cold snow day creating a cute little Valentine project for aunts and grandmothers (of course I kept one for myself). Although they all might have been a bit biased, these cute little banners were a hit; so today I thought I would re-share our kid-friendly craft with all of you. I came up with this quick banner idea by combining a couple of Pinterest projects with some of my son’s favorite things — paint and glue.

To create your own Valentine banner you will need:

brown paper lunch bags
empty toilet paper/paper towel roll
red washable paint
scissors
glue
string

To begin the project, cut a paper bag right above the bottom fold. Then cute along the two outside edges to give you two rectangular banner pieces. If you want, you can cut a triangle out of each of those pieces or just leave them square on the bottom. Cut as many bags as you desire for your project. If your child is old enough to handle the scissors, great but make sure an adult supervises this task (I let my three year old, cut on some scrap pieces, but he wasn’t up for the first part of this project).

Next, shape the empty toilet paper roll into a heart. I started by creasing the top inward, being carefully not to make creases in the rounded parts of the heart, and then I creased the bottom point of the heart. After you have the shape to your liking, pour some washable paint on a paper plate. Have your child grasp the TP heart roll around the middle to hold its shape, dip an end into the paint and stamp it onto each banner piece. Your child can redip as necessary.

After the paint dries, flip over each banner piece and run a bead of glue along the top of each one. My son loved doing this and it really didn’t matter that he got a little sloppy (you might want to cover your work space before this step). Meanwhile, I cut string long enough to span each banner with a small gap between and extra for tying off at the ends. After the glue was in place, I came along and pushed the string into each bead of glue. We let it dry over night and by the next day we had a truly heart-warming Valentine banner to hang about the house.

If watching your youngest glue paper bags to his fingers, the table and the cat is not your idea of a good time, you might try one of these alternative methods. 1) Punch a hole at the top of each side of your banner pieces and run the string through the holes to create your finished banner. 2) Fold the top of each banner piece over the piece of string and staple the flap in place to create your finished banner. Which ever finishing touch your choose, pick one that works best with your child’s taste and strengths (and your mama mess index).

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