I used my Cricut Cake!

Lilly had a Valentines Party at school with her classmates that I helped with, so I was excited to use my Cricut Cake!! Lilly and I made the dough, the icing, and she cut the cookies out and while my mom and I figured the Cricut cake out Lilly Iced and decorated the cookies! It was super easy to use and layer the fondant cutouts. I think my hearts and cupids turned out cute! Lilly was really excited to share her cookies she made at her party! I was thinking about the idea of selling some of my fondant cutouts, what do you think?!

Bits and Pieces

Pictures 1-11: Just a few of our Countdown Activities! Peanut Butter Cookies with chocolate hearts, Dipped wafers, Cupcakes, Cupids House, Homemade Play-doh bake shop,
Picture 12: Lilly's Valentines Lights in her Room
Picture 13: Coloring
Picture 14: Lilly, Raley, and there cousin Ellie hanging out,
Picture 15 & 16: My heart! Lilly, Raley.. and Remy! I love my daughters but I love my dog too!
Picture 17: Lilly doing the freestyle stroke! I started Lilly in swimming lessons around two years ago and work with her a lot on her swimming a several times a week we go to the gym and swim. Raley is also in swimming lesson and I have had her in them since she was a was 10 weeks old, she is getting ready to go into the preschool swimming group because she is so good! When I was Lilly's age I was a fish in water but Chronic ear infections kept me out a lot, their father is also a wonderful swimmer

Valentines Chair Backers

I made these chair backers last year for Lilly and Raley and a tiny one for Lilly's doll! I followed this tutorial, http://ourscoop.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentine-chair-back-tutorial.html . She does a great job explaining the steps IN photos!! Valentines morning I had the Chair Backers on the back of their Svan chairs with there presents in them wrapped and waiting! The bottom picture is of Lilly two days after Valentines Day, we were getting ready to do a puzzle! She carried it around with the Valentines her classmates and friends gave her in it for days!

Valentines Sensory Boxes

I made these Sensory Valentine Boxes for the girls and as usual the have had a blast playing with them!! They really come in handy when I need to cook or do something in the kitchen then they will sit at the kitchen table and play with them! I used white rice dyed pink and purple, X's and O's and heart erasers from the dollar section at target, heart confetti, heart containers ( I really dislike that valentines stuff says "text me, facebook me, tweet me, and then a whole slue of sexually jargon's. What is wrong with people!?! I had to sort threw and get the ones that had good nice clean phrases on them. Sheez.), Mail boxes, cupcake wrappers, pipe cleaners, roses.

Valentine Countdown Calender

I made this countdown calender last year for the girls, with scraps that I had around! Last year I used printables that I found around the web. But I made these cute Tags this year from a website that I LOVE!! It is http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/  and she has some of the prettiest Free images you will ever find anywhere. Iam not kidding, anywhere! Not to mention she is one of the sweetest people I have had the pleasure of "meeting"! Also she created my banner for my Blog and Etsy shop and much more for me!! Ok, ok moving on! So there two sets that I downloaded and used, one for the "I love you because" cards, and one for "Baking and Craft" cards. For the "I love you because" I used the little girl and horse http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/2011/01/freebie-image-adroable-valentine-frame/ . Two things to know about me I love horse's, I have riden since I was 5 in the hunter/ Jumper show ring so I have been riding for about 25years ( you have nooo idea how old that makes me feel..), and I love ANYTHING from the 50's. So I thought they were perfect!! For each day I have two of these cards, one for each girl and I write down a reason why I love them! Lilly is really into it and loves it, Raley is getting into it! My second set that I downloaded is for the "Bake and Craft" card  http://www.freeprettythingsforyou.com/2012/01/%e2%99%a5-more-adorable-vintage-valentines-day-freebies-%e2%99%a5/ . With these card you can print them blank or with the sweet Valentines writing on them, I chose the blank ones. After I printed the cards off (One per day) I then laminated them so I can use them next year! I did not laminate the "I love you because" cards because I am going to put them in their scrapbooks so I will just print off a new set next year of the exact same cards because I love them!! Below are the activity and crafts that we did and are doing! I did both kinds of cards last year and Lilly remembers them and was really excited to do it again this year!!

Baking:
1. Valentines Gingerbread House
2. Sweetheart Cake Mix cookies
3. Heart shaped rice crispy treats
4. Peanut Butter cookies with chocolate Heart
5. Wafer's dipped in chocolate and sprinkles
6. Pretzels dipped in chocolate and sprinkles
7.Valentines Cupcakes
8. Homemade Pink Marshmallows
9. V-day Chex Mix
10. Pink Chocolate Chip Cookies
11. Sweetheart Smores
12. Sparkly Marshmallows
13. Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
14. Valentine Confetti

Craft:
1. Marble Rolling in paint on dollies
2. Owl Mosaic
3. Paper Chain Heart Garland
4. Pipe cleaners with beads
5. Heart shaped crayons
6. Hand print Hearts Picture
7. Pink and Read Homemade Play-doh
8. Make Valentines
9. Decorate foam hearts
10. Tissue Paper stain Glass
11. Fuzzie's
12. Cupids Foam House from Michael's
13. Paint Cardboard cupcakes
14. Bean Bag Game

Things I have made:
Valentines Mail Bags for dramatic play
Felt cookie playing
Valentines Sensory Box
Valentines lights for Lilly's room
Heart Bean Bags
Valentines Play Doh

Pretty Pictures Valentines

I hope everyone is getting in the Valentines Mood!!

http://pinterest.com/anniepwilliams/easter-and-v-day/

Valentine's Felt Mail

I made these "Valentine Mail Bag's" while Lilly was at school the other day! They were really easy to make and the girls have had a blast playing with them! I made both bags with 3 pieces of felt. I showed above how I cut them and then how I pinned the bags together. Once the bag was sewn together I then flipped it inside out. When the bag was flipped out the correct way I pinned the flap on so the raw edges would be on the inside. ( Sorry for lack of pictures I was trying to hurry so I could suprise Lilly with it when I picked her up after school!)  The letters I cut out and pinned on the top flap and then sewed on with my sewing machine. I used scrap ribbon for the strap. The mail I cut 1 piece of felt in half and then cut the top to an angle for the flap that folds over. I then cut and pinned a little white piece for the stamp and sewed that on and then cut a little heart and sewed that on. Then I folded the the envelope in half (except the top flap of the envelop) and sewed up the sides. I wanted the flap to stick after they put there valentines in envelope so I cut a tiny peice of velcro and sewed it on. After the envelope is all sewn together I used embordery thread and stitched the black lines to look like writing! I cut out little hearts for the girls to put in their envelopes as valentines and I figured they would color pretend valentines and put them in there also! I had orginally cut out white felt to make little "letters" and was going to stitch "writing" on them like the front of the envlopes but in the end I called it good how it was and ditched that idea (too much work for something they could probabley care less about and lose anyways!). I could have put interface inside of the felt to make it stiffer but, that would have taken a lot longer and I just wanted to get it done so the girls could play with it BEFORE valentines 2012!