Disney Store: Valentine Craft Event

I met up with a few friends at the mall this afternoon and our 3 little girls were drawn into the Disney Store. They had so much fun playing with the toys and dolls, and looking at all the pretty dresses. (The moms had a bit of fun, too! I would have LOVED one of those princess dresses when I was little.)

Anyway, we found out about a fun Valentine craft event this Saturday. Bring your kids to the Disney Store from 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. to make a fun Valentine's card for a special someone. They also have a BOGO sale on plush character dolls and lots of deals in their clearance section right now!

Details ---
Where: Disney Store
When: Saturday, February 11th 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Cost: Free!
More Info: For kids 3 and up. No lineup prior to 30 minutes before event. Visit the Disney Store website or call your local store for details.

Valentine's Day Paper Heart Wreath

I'm very excited to have my very first guest post -- you can also see this craft over at Sounds Fun Mom. If you live South of Seattle and you're looking for some fun, check out Maegen's page!

I recently started crafting with my kids. I used to be afraid of messes and clean up. And to be completely honest, the effort involved! But once I got over my fears, I discovered that crafting with kids can be a lot of fun. In just a few months my daughter has turned into a crafting monster. Now almost every day she says, "What are we going to craft today, Mommy?"

Since Valentine's Day is nearing, we've been doing a lot of Valentine's crafts. I found this cute paper heart wreath on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to make. I love crafts that are simple and use supplies you already have in your house - especially the crafts that use only paper and staples like this one.

Supplies:

• Paper (thick card stock paper is best)
• Paper cutter or scissors
• Stapler
• Ribbon

The first step is to cut the strips of paper. I made my strips 2" x 11". To make a circular wreath you'll need 11 strips, if you want an oval shape just cut a few more strips.

Fold each strip in half, loop it around and staple. You can use double-sided tape or mini-glue dots, but I love my good old stapler!

Continue folding and looping and stapling until you complete all the hearts. Then lay them on a flat surface in the shape you want. (This photo shows more hearts than I used in the end. I did a little investigative work during this craft and found out that heavier paper works the best and using fewer hearts will help the wreath to hold it's shape.)

Staple the hearts together.

Cut a piece of ribbon and staple it to the sides of two of the hearts.

Then hang it on the wall and admire your craftiness!

My 3-year-old is a little too young to do this craft on her own, but she had fun folding the paper and making shapes out of the hearts before I stapled them all together.

If you're looking for more Valentine's crafts for kids of all ages, check out the Crafts and Activities page. I'm always trying out new crafts with my kids. I hope decide to try a few with your kids, too!

Paper Plate Heart

Here's another no-mess (ok, maybe a little) and high fun Valentine's craft for your kids. You probably already have everything in your craft drawer and pantry for it.

Supplies:

• Paper plate
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors

Cut the paper plate into a heart shape.

The next part is supposed to be fun for your kids. That is, if you have normal kids. My kids cried when I told them they could rip up the paper into tiny pieces. What's up with that?

Once the tears have dried, spread glue all over the heart plate and let your kids glue the paper on it until the heart is covered. Finley had a great time making this heart and had an even better time delivering a special Valentine to her Gramps over the weekend.

Edmonds Library: Crafty Valentines

Nothing says "I love you" like a handmade Valentine. Bring your kids and creativity to the Edmonds Library on Saturday, February 11th and make your own Valentine. Materials and clean-up are provided.

Details ---
Where: Edmonds Library
When: Saturday, February 11th 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Cost: Free!
More Info: Here

FREE Family Valentine's Party in Mukilteo

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Are you looking for a fun way to spend Valentine's with your family? Head to Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo for fun and FREE Valentine's party for the whole family. There will be food, drinks, dancing, arts and crafts and entertainment for all ages! Sounds like a great way to spend Valentine's Day!

Details ---
Where: Rosehill Community Center (304 Lincoln Ave Mukilteo, WA)
When: Tuesday, February 14th 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Free!
More Info: Here

Daddy Daughter Valentine's Dance in Everett

Everett Parks and Recreation is hosting a fun Daddy Daughter Dance on Saturday, February 11th at 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. PJ Parsons will be DJ'ing the event, so wear your party best and get ready to dance. Uncles, Grandpas and other father figures are welcome to the dance as well. Refreshments and a commemorative photo are included.

Details ---
Where: Floral Hall at Forest Park
When: Saturday, February 11th at 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Cost: $25 per couple, $6 for each additional daughter
More Info: Check out the Everett Parks and Recreation guide for more information. Register online or by phone at 425-257-8300 extension 2.

Valentine's Lovebird

I found this lovebird Valentine's craft on Meet the Dubiens while pinning away on Pinterest the other day. It's really easy, you probably have all the supplies already (if you don't just make do with what you have) and there's no mess! That's my kind of craft.

Supplies:

• Large sheet of paper
• Colored foam or paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Googly eye
• Marker

Cut out a large heart for the body and smaller hearts for the wings, tail, feet, lips and head feathers. If you have a youngish kid, you'll have to do the cutting. If you're kid is approved to use scissors, let 'em at it.

Glue the hearts onto a large sheet of paper to make the bird. Add a googly eye. Then draw the legs with the marker and glue the feet onto the bottom. Easy-peasy!

We're still working on my daughter's writing skills. That's supposed to say "TWEET" but she kept running out of room so the letters just went where there was space. I still think it's pretty cute!

Looking for more Valentine's crafts? Check out the Crafts and Activities page.

Valentine's Day Paper Heart

I found this cute paper heart on Pinterest last night and decided I had to make it right away. I love crafting projects that don't actually require much crafting - the paper and staples crafts. Totally easy and totally doable. I couldn't find a tutorial for it so I just followed the picture and made it up as I went along. If you have older kids, I'm sure they could help out. Since my kids are still toddlers, I made them some popcorn, turned on Kipper and enjoyed a little time to myself.

Supplies:

• Red, pink and white paper (8 1/2" x 11")
• Paper cutter or scissor
• Stapler
• Ribbon

Cut the paper into strips. I made the mistake of making the strips too big in my other paper and staples crafts (the heart garland and the Christmas tree advent) so this time I made the strips 1" wide. You'll need 46 strips. This is where a paper cutter comes in handy!

Fold over one of the strips, fold over another strip, pinch them together at the ends and staple. If you want to get fancy, you can use glue or double-sided sticky tape. But I don't really do fancy so I'm sticking with the stapler.

Make another heart with two strips of paper. Don't staple it yet. Connect it with the first heart and then staple them together.

Continue until you have a chain of 11 hearts. Then make another chain with 11 hearts.

Take the two chains and staple them together at the bottom.

Fold one more heart and connect it two the two hearts at the end of each chain. Then staple all three hearts together. It's kind of hard to explain so try to follow the picture.

How cute is that?

I looped some ribbon to each side of the heart and hung it on the mirror in my living room. It looks really pretty with the heart garland I made a few weeks ago and makes the room bright and cheery!

Check out the Crafts and Activities page for more crafting fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Dance at Samena Swim and Recreation Club

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I found another Valentine's Dance in the area! This one is at Samena Swim and Recreation Club in Bellevue and it's open to moms, dads, sons and daughters. Wear your best evening attire and enjoy an evening of dancing, laughing and making memories. There will be several crafts and games to play along with appetizers to keep up your energy for all that dancing you'll be doing!

If you're looking for a dance up north, there is also a Father Daughter Valentine's Dance in Marysville on February 4th and 11th.

Details ---
Where: Samena Swim and Recreation (15231 Lake Hills Blvd. Bellevue, WA)
When: Saturday, February 11th 5:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Cost: Per couple - $15 for members and $20 for non-members. Additional guests - $8 for members and $10 for non-members.
More Info: See the Samena Recreation Guide or call 425-746-1160 for more information.

Father Daughter Valentine's Dance in Marysville

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The Marysville Parks and Recreation invites Fathers and Daughters of all ages to enjoy the 2012 Father-Daughter Valentine's Dance. Enjoy refreshments and receive a commemorative photo of your fun evening together. Tickets are $20 per couple and $5 for each additional daughter.

There are 4 dances to choose from: Saturday, February 4th at 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, Februray 11th at 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. The dances are held at the Cedarcrest Middle School Cafeteria. Pre-registration is required.

I've heard these dances are very popular and fill up so sign up early!

If you're looking for a dance for the whole family, check out this event at Samena Swim and Recreation Club on February 11th.

Details ---
Where: Cedarcrest Middle School Cafeteria (6400 88th St NE Marysville, WA)
When: Saturday, February 4th and Saturday, February 11th at 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Cost: $20/couple plus $5 for each additional daughter
More Info: Check out the Parks and Recreation Guide for more information or go here to register.

Valentine's Heart Garland

I packed away all our Christmas decorations the other day (except for the Christmas tree which I predict will remain in the corner of the living room for a few more weeks). Our mantel was looking very bare without the cheery Christmas crafts Finley worked so hard on, so I decided it was time for some more Valentine's decorations.

I found this cute and easy heart garland on Pinterest a few weeks ago. This really isn't a craft meant for toddler hands. But it's the perfect time to put on a little music and shoo them into the living room for a dance party while you get your craft on. If you have older kids I'm sure they can help out but my kids are a little too young and I am a little too impatient.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Stapler

I made long strips that were 1 1/2 inches wide, though 1 inch strips might work a bit better. I seem to remember that I did the same thing with our Paper Ring Advent Calendar just last month. I'll never learn, will I?

You can definitely do this with scissors but after one or two strips I pulled out the paper cutter. Things went much faster after that.

Fold each piece in half.

Then loop around.

And staple.

Then connect them just like paper rings. Rinse, lather, repeat. Or loop, staple, repeat.

I looped some pretty ribbon around three of the hearts and taped it to our mantel. And that is what I call a crafting win.

Check out more cute crafts and toddler activities here!

Crafting: Valentine's Heart Sun Catcher

I wonder if posting about Valentine's crafts before December is even over is like stores that put up Christmas decorations in November or October? If so, I'm sorry. But it had to be done.

I decided to start my research into Valentine's crafts figuring if I started now we might have a good chance of getting one or two done by February 14th. So last night I was pinning away and saw this pretty little heart. And then Finley saw this pretty little heart and wanted to make it RIGHT NOW!!! So we did!

Supplies:

• Red or pink paper for large heart
• Colored paper for small hearts
• Clear contact paper
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• String or yarn

Start by cutting out a big heart and then cut out an inner heart from that. Then cut out two pieces of contact paper big enough for the heart.

It helps to flatten the contact paper before you peel it. (Totally unrelated - have you seen this book? It's changed my life. Ok, maybe not changed my life but it has provided me with 3 loaves of delicious, delicious bread! It's super easy and I totally recommend it!)

Back to the task at hand. Let your kid put the heart on the sticky contact paper and then put the smaller hearts inside it. I had pre-cut hearts that came in handy. I'm all about shortcuts around here. Letting your child cut out the hearts would probably be good for their fine motor skills and all that good stuff. But, hey, they gotta teach them something at preschool, right? ;)

When the decorating is complete, put the other piece of contact paper on by starting in one corner and smoothing it down to remove the air bubbles. Ours didn't turn out perfectly smooth, but what craft with kids does? I'm learning to accept imperfection. Next, cut around the heart and punch some holes at the top. Then tie on some string and hang it on your window.

How cute is that? Even with the wet and soggy background outside it makes you smile!

Finley had so much fun with the "sticky paper" that we made a heart for our neighbor, and a few decorations for her room. I'm beginning to think that contact paper is crafting gold for toddlers. I think I'll make a Pinterest board all about contact paper crafts!