Heart Shaped Crayons

These adorable heart shaped crayons make great gifts for kids and are a great way to recycle broken crayons.

You will need...

Crayons (can be new or "nubs")

Oven (preheated to 200 degrees)

Heart shaped tins (or you can use regular a cupcake pan but they will just be circles)

Cookie sheet (I suggest using an older one in case there is spillage!)

I found these great little heart shaped aluminum cups at Target for less than $3.

 

Remove paper from crayons and break into pieces. Place the cups on the cookie sheet. Place crayon pieces in the cups.  I separated them into pinks/purples/reds, blues/greens, and orange/yellow.

Bake at 200 degrees until melted (about 20 minutes).  Check them often.  Let them cool completely in the oven. I left them overnight but a few hours would be long enough.

Carefully take the crayons out of the cups.  The cups I had were easily torn to remove.  If they are in a cupcake pan it will be easier to remove if you pop them in the freezer for a bit.

How cute are these?  I wrapped them in tissue paper to give to Finley's friends for Valentine's day.

Note:  I had a lot of the heart shaped cups left over so I made brownies in them!

Happy Crafting!

Ames

Hugs & Kisses: Pudding Painting

There are only a few more days until Valentine's Day which means I have to squeeze in all my sweet "love themed" crafts. Here is a delicious one!  

You Will Need...

Pudding

Cardstock (or thick construction paper)

Scissors (for the adult)

Sprinkles (preferably in a shaker)

Paint shirt (highly recommended, on old t-shirt works perfectly)

Put a some pudding on the paper and let your kids "paint" with it.

 

 Some pudding will get eaten!

Shake on some sprinkles and continue painting.

When the pudding is dry, cut into hugs & kisses (or any shape you like).

Happy Crafting,

Ames



Hearts On My Fridge Make Me Smile

Today has been a day...a long and exhausting day.  All "mommy days" have their ups and downs. At the end of the day if the number of meltdows is less than or equal to (that's the math teacher in me) the number of make-me-smile moments I consider it a success.  Today was consumed by two teething toddlers plus one toddler that was missing his beloved stuffed monkey. Then there's the cat that locked himself in the bathroom (don't ask).  Let's just say tears were a flowin' (all 4 of us!).  It was the kind of days where you wonder, did I take my pill today? Because OMG I can't give one more ounce to one more person.

After Finley's 2 buddies left for the day I walked into the kitchen (23 pound girl on my hip as usual) to finish dinner.  I looked at my fridge and smiled.  The painted and glued and half crumpled hearts made the stress and feeling of incompetence dissipate.  It's true, art is therapeutic and not just for the artist but it's therapeutic to those of us lucky enough to cover our fridge with these creations.  (And it doesn't hurt to know there is a bottle of Pinot Grigio chilling inside that fridge just waiting for toddler bedtime to arrive.) 

More craft ideas to cover your fridge and make your heart smile tomorrow.

Have a good night all.

Ice Cube Valentine's

This is one of my favorite's.  Cheap, easy, minimal clean up, and very fun!

You will need...

Ice Cube Tray
Food Coloring
Water
Toothpick (to stir up the color)
Large Ziploc type bag
Card Stock

Fill ice cube tray with water.  Put 1-2 drops of food coloring in each cube.  Stir up the water and food coloring with a toothpick.

Freeze.






Place cardstock (I folded them into cards to make Valentine's) and a few of the ice cubes in the bag and zip the top. 

Let your toddler have fun.  Finley likes to carry the bag around and shake it to music. 

Who says you can't create art while wearing jammies?

Take the cards out of the bag to dry.  They will be dry in less than an hour. 



Just put all of the ice cubes in a Ziploc bag in the freezer to save them for next time. 

Happy Crafting,
Ames