Valentine's Day Archives

1/24/14

DIY Valentine Heart Crayons

part of my goal this year is being focused in my life, and with that, i am focusing on de-cluttering everything. while i was cleaning out my kids toys, i found this giant box of broken crayons. i was going to thrown them into the trash, but then i thought it would be fun to make a few homemade crayon shapes. we really loved how our Earth Day crayons turned out, so how about some Valentine’s Day crayons.

i have some ice trays that make heart shaped ice cubes, and thought perfect. so i unwrapped all the broken crayons and placed them into my ice cube tray by color. you could mix the colors if you want swirl crayons. (tip: a serrated knife works great to remove crayon wrappers. just slice along the crayon and it pops off.)

once all the chambers are full, you can place it in the oven on a baking sheet at 180 degrees for as long as it takes the crayons to melt into the shapes. if you are using a silicone mold, you can have the oven a little hotter, but the ice cube tray are plastic and will melt at hotter temps. (i may have found this out for myself.)

once the crayon pieces are melted, take the tray out of the oven and let completely cool. then pop the crayons out of the mold, put them in a jar or baggie and give them to your sweetheart or friend for a Valentine’s Day gift.

you can find heart shaped ice cube trays at the dollar store, IKEA or places like Target and Walmart in the dollar bins. silicone baking trays can be found at your local craft stores in the baking section.

Posted by Jill | 1/24/14
Filed Under: Craft, Valentine's Day
Tagged With: kids crafts, Valentine's Day
3 Comments

1/18/14

Easy DIY Valentine’s Day Printable Banner | Free Printables

i’m going to decorate for Valentine’s Day this year. i always forget until it is to late to bother. but i really love Valentine’s Day, especially because it gives me an excuse to bring some pink into the house. with all these boys, that rarely happens. so i decided to create a Valentine’s Day printable around my favorite Valentine’s Day candy….conversation hearts!

this banner is super simple to create. all you need is some ribbon, colored card stock and a printer, i’ve created the free printable for you to use. and if you don’t have room for a banner, you can just print out the hearts and put them up on the wall.

it turned out super cute…much better than i thought it would. i especially think the bows made it look so adorable.

what you need
• colored cardstock (7)
• ribbon or string
• free printable Valentine’s Day banner PDF
• hole punch
• scissors

directions
• print out conversation heart messages onto colored card stock. i used colors true to real conversation heart candies.
• cut out the hearts
• punch a hole on each side of the heart where you will run your string through. if you wish to hang them differently, punch your holes accordingly.
• use ribbon or string to tie the hearts together. i thought bows were cute, so i tied a bow between each heart. also tie a piece of longer ribbon to each side of the banner so that you can hang it up. your banner is now finished!

ALSO….if you are interested in having your Valentine banner printed in spanish, you can head over to my BFF Pattie’s website, Livingmividaloca.com and print out the spanish version of this banner! check it out…

Posted by Jill | 1/18/14
Filed Under: Printables, Valentine's Day
Tagged With: Free Printables, Valentine's Day
96 Comments

2/14/13

Valentine’s Day at Pretend City

join Pretend City for a sweetheart soiree of lessons on love this Thursday, February 14th! it’s a Valentine’s Day Sweetheart Soiree – through fun activities that highlight words like “cherish,” “heartfelt,” “caring,” and “tenderness,” your child will learn different ways to share their love with others.

• Sensational Story Time: Woof: A Love Story. Good communication is needed for any true love connection. That’s the lesson learned in this absolutely adorable tale, and as in any good romance, love finds a way. Make sure your children’s love finds its way as you help them write and create their own special Valentine’s Day card.

• “Good to Go” Game: Hugs & Kisses – This is a fun Valentine’s Day twist on the classic game of Simon Says that will engage your child’s listening and movement skills.

• Smart Art: Edible Friendship Bracelet – Learn about friendship bracelets as a symbol of love and caring. Then, create a one-of-a-kind bracelet for a friend.

Posted by Jill | 2/14/13
Filed Under: Orange County
Tagged With: OC mom blog, Orange County mom blog, Pretend City, Valentine Events, Valentine's Day
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2/7/12

Red Hots Apple Pie

if you haven’t noticed that i LOVE red hots from reading my blog…i tell you now….i love red hots. i have made red hots jello with them, red hots popcorn with them and now i have just made red hots apple pies!

what i love about this apple pie recipe, it that the apples turn a blush pink! perfect for Valentine’s Day. and the recipe can be adjusted if you would rather add different spices. and you can even use your favorite apple pie recipe and just use red hots instead of the cinnamon.

ingredients:
pastry for a double-crust pie or small tarts
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 c. Red Hots cinnamon candies
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. salt
7-8 c. apples (peeled and sliced)
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. vanilla (half-strength) optional

directions:
♥   prepare your pie crusts. combine sugar, flour, cornstarch, red hots, nutmeg & salt; mix thoroughly.
♥   in a large bowl, mix your sliced apples with the dry ingredients.
♥ heap into a pastry-lined pie pan.
♥   dot with butter, and sprinkle with the diluted half-strength vanilla.
♥   add top crust, flute edges, cut steam vents.
♥   bake at 425 degrees for 50 minutes.
(if the edges start to burn, use a ring of aluminum foil.)

to make heart shaped mini pies:
♥   using a large heart shaped cookie cutter as your guide, cut the rolled-out pastry dough slightly bigger than the heart for the bottom of your pies.
♥   place a mound of apple filling on the center of the dough. (smaller pieces of apple work best for mini pies)
♥   lay another piece of rolled out dough on top of apples and press along the outside to seal.
♥   using your heart shaped cookie cutter, cut excess dough to create your heart.
♥   using a fork, press softly along the outside edges to further seal and create decorative edge.
♥   cut steam vents.
♥   bake 30 minutes or until golden brown

Posted by Jill | 2/7/12
Filed Under: Eat
Tagged With: apple pie play dough, recipes, red hots apple pie, Valentine's Day
1 Comment

2/1/12

It’s february. Red velvet whoopie pies.

it’s february, so that means a month full of pink, red and hearts all over ♥ so excited to get a little pink into my house….something that i never see since i have a house full of boys!