Valetines Gift Ideas...

I got this can for $1 at Scrapbooks Etc, my local scrapbook store. I wanted to show how easy it was to make a thoughtful gift! Just tie a lot of ribbons on it, add a heart to the lid on the can, & add a tag! In this case for Valentines Day this year Ger and I are coming up for "25 Reasons Mom and Dad Love..." for each of the kids. They LOVE being told why they are so special and why we love them so much. It boosts their self esteem and their confidence in themselves.

Sometimes if Mia is going to time out really mad she will say to me, "You don't even love me Mom!" This breaks my heart! If this is sitting on her dresser then I will be able to say, "Mia! Read your jar while you are in time out!" Right now when she is really sad or in time out (or sometimes when she is happy too!) she will read this book that I made for her years ago...

It has pics of ALL her aunts and uncles and Grandparents... mom and dad and Sydney too... Friends... (If we have pictures with Mia AND them I use those pics) And even Jesus Christ. The book starts with Ger's side of the family and 0n each page it says, "__(their names)__ love Mia!" The book concludes with "Who does Mia Love?" and has a picture of her. Since most of our family is so far away it is a great way to remember them and that they love her. I laminated it and had it bound at Kinko's and it's withstood the test of time! ;-) Sydney has one too and I've been meaning to do one for Colby now for years... bah! So that is a great valentine day gift idea for a child or grandchild...These cans are SOOO easy to make and so much fun. You can buy plain empty paint cans like this one at Home Depot for a few bucks or use any cans that you have around the house from even food/drink items.

1- Measure the can

2- Cut paper to size (I usually split it up between two colors- above I did the blue and patterned)3-Sewing along the bottom and top edges is optional...

4- Spray 3M General Purpose 45 Spray Adhesive to the back of the paper. (You will want to do this outside and spray paper on a large scrap of paper)
5- Adhere paper to can.

We have done this in years past where I have 5-10 pieces of paper for each of us and we have to write the many reasons "Why We Love Grandma!" or whoever we are doing it for. It is a great FHE activity.

In the larger cans you can put lotions or treats or even lingerie for your hubby! They are great gifts for friends any time of year too to stuff in their (or your!) favorite things. These cute little mailboxes have been sold in the dollar section of target for the last few years. Super easy to cut out paper to fit, use spray adhesive, and add ribbon or whatever to decorate. You can put love notes, service coupons, treats or whatever inside!
This jar (above- with ribbons tied to the top) full of papers has "52 Weekends of Love" in it! Kay Lynne put it together. You can either do it alone or involve your spouse by splitting up the papers. You write down 52 ideas of things you want to do on the weekend together. DIFFERENT than the same old things you always do on the weekends. Maybe it's taking a dance class together... maybe it's feeding the ducks... maybe it's a picnic in the park... maybe it's going kayaking or canoeing down the river! Be creative and think of FUN and NEW ideas that will spark your romance and keep things exciting. Note: Dinner and a movie do not count as one of the ideas! ;-)

This is the cutest idea by Kay Lynne too- you get parchment paper and cut it in the shape of hearts. (Scalloped edge scissors makes them really cute too!) Sew around the edge and add candy to the inside before you are done sewing it shut. Then ink the edges. A similar idea is also featured in Martha Stewart Magazine this month.
Kay Lynne showed how to make these fun cones. You can hang them as decor or stuff them with tissue paper and treats and give them to your visiting teachee's or whoever! You just make a cone out of paper and glue gun the edge shut. Use a hole punch to add the ribbon. The middle one is made of glitter paper and is SO pretty.
On to Hair Bows! The flower is from Ribbons and Lace and the brad is from Scrapbooks, Etc.
The head band is bought by the yard from Ribbons and Lace (though I did see it for 1/2 the price at Hobby Lobby!), the flower is from Scrapbooks, Etc. and then I just blinged out the brad with swarvski crystals and adhered with E-6000...

These shirts are SOOO easy and fun. I bought the shirts at Walmart for $3 or $4... Then the material is Heather Bailey and Michael Miller. Print up a heart shape in Word using drawing tool. Cut out fabric. Fold shirt in half and unfold, leaving a crease, so you know where to position the center of the heart. Spray back of fabric with 3M Spray Adhesive 45 (shown above!) and then place on shirt, using crease as a guide. Allow to dry for 5-10 minutes. Then sew around the edges with a sewing machine- you can do either zig-zag or just straight stitch. A butterfly pattern is available on Sandi Henderson's website in the right-hand sidebar.

Sydney's shirt looks cute layered with a lacey tee from DownEast! Ok, these are great party favors to send home with people or set by their places for a special occasion dinner.

1. You can use lollipop bags to hold the candy or small sealable craft bags. Place candy in until 2/3rd's full.

2. Measure and cut paper 3 1/2 inches by 9 1/4.

3. On the back side of it measure down and mark: 1 inch, 4 1/2 inches, 5 3/4 inches.

4. Fold right along those lines.

5. Punch holes in middle top of bag, with candy bag being pulled to top.

6. Then punch holes in front of bag, using punches in candy bag as your guide.

7. Thread ribbon through as seen above!

Cute different ideas with the bags and bag toppers! Creating Keepsakes has cute cards (like the I Love You with hearts in the bottom right corner) online here.
As you can see, I just fold a piece of paper in half over the top of bag, staple it on, then place ribbon or paper over the staples. The kids are doing this for their class Valentines this year- they love stapling, punching out the hearts, and glueing!

Are these shoes adorable or what?!? I just had to post them. I got them 75% off at Dillards and used E-6000 and Swarvorski Crystals to bling them out for the girlies.

Every year I make a calender for Ger for Valentines of "A Year Full of Reasons We Love You." I create a simple calendar in Word using their table feature and create text boxes for the month title. Then I print them up- 2 months per sheet- and attach a picture from that month of Ger and usually one of the kids or me WITH a reason why we love him. The kids write down reasons and sign their names and it always turns out pretty special. After I finish adding pics, I create a cover and usually sew around the edges. I use that same 3M 45 Spray adhesive to spray it to a thin cardboard and do a back cover also on thin cardboard. Once dry, I compile the calendar and have Kinko's bind it for me. If you need more instructions, let me know!
This is a fun brag book I did for both Grandparents last year! I had the kids tell me all their favorites- food/friends/color/things to do etc. and had pages on each of them so their Grandparents would know all that fun and important info. Then just had cute pictures throughout of them with their Grandparents or them just looking cute or doing what they love. I color copied all the pages and the cover (before I put the pages in the scrapbook) and then laminated and bound the pages so our kids could have a copy as well, without me having to do twice the work! They LOVE looking at this over and over! So that's a fun gift idea for grandparents...

This jar really isn't that cute, but is a fun gift idea... Write down for your spouse 101 Reasons Why You Love Them!

I wanted to post this pic to show you a fun decorating idea- Kay Lynne uses cellophane and wrapping paper to be her table runners! They look so great! She got clear cellophane with red hearts on it from the dollar store and it looked so fabulous on my black table! She also uses tulle to decorate and spice things up- it is SO cheap and looks so great.

Whew! That's all for now! Hopefully you have some fun ideas to use! If not check out this website: http://www.smartmamalove.blogspot.com/