Valentine Eye Chart

Happy Valentine's Day!

As much as I was dreading trying to find something cool for 3rd Grade boys...we sure scored! The Mustache Valentines were a huge hit! You know you have done well when you see boys pouring out of the class with a mustache on their face!

For the girls, we went a different direction. As cute as I think the mustache's are, I thought not all the girls would like it. I say not all because at my daughters birthday party last year, almost all the girls ended up taking photos at our photo booth with a mustache! They were meant for my little guy and his buddy, but the girls thought they were cool. Who would have thought?

I found a really cool site online where you can personalize your own eye chart. Listen carefully because this name is hard to remember. Eyechartmaker.com. Ok, never mind, that is totally obvious. I however, must admit that every time I want to create something here, I google "personalized eye chart." Really? I can't remember to type in Eyechartmaker.com?

You can create a chart like at the doctors office, but you can make it say whatever you want instead of random letters. You do have to play with it just a bit to find the wording that works best to fit in the given space, but it is easy. Easy...FREE...and pretty cool.

Look what I made:


I think they are sooo cute! They say "You are a really great friend to me."

I picked up the red glasses at Party City in the individual party favor section. They are just 10 cents each! Not a bad price for this cute Valentine. 10 cent glasses + a FREE printable = my heart is all aflutter!

On the back I typed up a personal message for each girl. Personal touches always make things feel more special...and then there was no need to hand write any names! A double bonus!


The glasses were also a big hit! I wasn't as sure about these I must admit. I knew they were cute, but would they actually wear them? Want to know a little secret? I saw the "cool girls" come out of class wearing them. Yep...I'd say that this Valentine's Day was a success!

I Mustache You A Question...

I'm not sure why, but ever since I saw this Mustache Valentine...I can't get enough of it. It tickles my funny bone...and it drives my kids CRAZY that I find it so funny!

It was "Love At First Sight" and I knew I would be making these for Valentine's Day. However, I thought we would make them with chocolate lollipops. Which was a great idea...in theory. In my opinion, the candy mold only has one cute mustache. It was going to take me 100 years to make all those mustache's! So the kids and I decided to use these:


Party City sells these in the party favor section, and they are already packaged individually. They were also only 25 cents!


Of course I couldn't leave them like they were. I took off the topper that was already on the package and replaced it with my own. This one to "Harry" I find particularly funny.


For my son's class, we decided to give out these Valentine's to the boys, but with a little tweak:


These turned out so cute! I mean cool...these are for boys...these are really cool!


I can't wait to hear what they think of them. I went into my daughter's class on Friday to make a Valentine's Project. One of the boys took a piece of black rick rack and taped it under his nose as a mustache. Next thing you knew, all the boys were trying to make mustache's. They are going to LOVE these Valentine's! I would say that finding a Valentine that you know 3rd Grade boys will LOVE...that is Valentine success!

Valentine Initial Necklaces

Michaels Craft Store has broken my heart. Yep. Broken my heart. I am sure you have seen their fantastic Dollar Section...or what used to be the Dollar Section. After Christmas, it suddenly became the $1.50 section. What?

Ok, I realize the economy is bad. But I am tired of paying for the bad economy. Literally, paying for the bad economy. I am tired of getting less for my dollar.

Don't get me wrong, I am still shopping the "Dollar-Fifty" Section at Michaels. But it is painful. I am much more cautious of my purchase, and I think of how I am paying 50% more every time I look at the products. Ouch! Michaels...the Dollar Store still manages to charge $1 despite the poor economy...why oh why do you hurt us this way?

Alright, enough of the drama. I did find a cool product there the other day:


How cute are these little initial necklaces? You can't see it on the black backing, but the chain is a little black chain. The initials come in all sorts of colors, but I was lucky to find the initials I needed both in pink...perfect for Valentine's Day!

All I did was add the off white paper to the top to personalize the packaging a bit more. I added a black mat to coordinate with the existing package and a personalized message to the girls. They turned out so sweet!



Remember, love is in the details. What kind of details are you adding to your Valentine's Day celebration?

Dinosaur Match Game

I absolutely LOVE the Internet. Do you know how easy it is to search for ANYTHING online? In my quest for cute Dinosaur things to make into Valentines I did a lot of searching. Every time I went to a store, Dinosaurs were on my mind. I can pretty much tell you all the Dinosaur products that are in stores at the moment.

Searching for products online is so much better. Not to mention, a lot of times you can find what you need for FREE. Yep...for FREE!

Nickelodeon has a great website for their show "Dino Dan" where you can find all sorts of great FREE printables...Dinosaur printables. Just look what I found:


How cool is this? A Dinosaur Matching Game...for FREE! All I had to do was print them out. So simple!

Next, I cut the cards using my paper cuter, so I would have nice, straight edges. I chose to cut off the "Dino Dan" logo (sorry Nickelodeon!) cause the boys I made this game for don't watch tv.


They are so cool! It is fun, but really educational too. I haven't looked at Dinosaur names in a long time. Dinosaurs have CRAZY names!

They key to making this a great gift is the packaging. I placed the cards into a small bag that is sold for lollipops at Michaels.


I made a tag to place on the top of the bag to finish things off. So simple...so cute...so FREE!

Wonderful Wednesday...Dinosaur Valentines

I've had an unusually high need for little boy Valentines this year. I guess part of it is because my little man is in school for the first time. So today I am going to show you the Dino-Mite Valentines I made.

I am a big fan of gifting things that will be used for more than just one day. I also want something that won't just get thrown out, so the first part of this Dinosaur gift is food. Who doesn't want fun food for their kids? So when I found a box of Dinosaur macaroni and cheese I was thrilled!

Of course I couldn't just leave it as it was. Yes, I admit, I have a problem! First I printed out the words I wanted to use. I wasn't exact in where they were printed, but close to where I wanted them to be.


Next I used a piece of parchment paper (cause I couldn't find anything else that was see through)...


and traced out the area that I wanted to cover.


Next I cut out my "pattern" and placed it onto my printout.


I moved it around a bit to find where it fit my words the best and then traced around the pattern onto my printed page.


I cut out my words and used glue to stick it to the package.


It looks so much cuter already! However, I really didn't want it screaming Safeway, so I added a strip to the bottom of the box too.


I found a pack of plastic Dinosaurs at Target in the Valentine section. It was $2 for a bunch of them. I would show you what it looked like, but my little guy broke into those the minute we walked into the door. So, sorry, no picture. Since this gift was for multiple boys, I divided the dinosaurs into a "set" for each boy.


I folded a piece of red cardstock and stapled it to the top of each bag.


I mounted personalized cards for each boy and glued them onto the red cardstock (covering the staples).


I think they are adorable! What little boy wouldn't feel special with their own personalized goody bag?

I could have given them the bag as it was from Target, but I really believe that the details are what make a gift special and show your love. Not to mention, the added bonus: money saved! By making each bag personalized, I was able to open up the prepackaged container and distribute the dinosaurs between 4 little boys instead of them all going to one boy. $2 for a gift for 4 boys instead of spending $2 per boy. Special + Savings = A Happy Crafter!


The large bag is a bagged puzzle from Target. I thought it was a perfect compliment to the Dino-Mite theme. I hope the boys are as excited to open these Valentines as I was to make them.

Valentine Contest Winner!

Hi! Life around our house has been extremely hectic this past week. We had a Doctor's appointment, Girl Scouts, selling Girl Scout Cookies, 3 trips to the Girl Scout Cookie cupboard to get everyone from our troop their cookies, AWANA Olympic practice and preparing for a Super Bowl party...those are just all the extras on top of the normal stuff. This week I have had a sick girl home from school, which is not allowing me much time to get anything done...although it has been good to get some one on one time with her. So I am trying to get back on schedule here.

I'm a bit late, but I want to announce the winner of my Valentine Contest! It is...Jean in BC!!

"One of my favorite posts is the robot mugs. Having 2 boys myself, it's nice to see other themes besides sports and cars! ohh... and I like the ocean garland on the door, and the Christmas table, and the ....."
By jean in BC on Woohoo!! Valentine Giveaway!! on 1/29/12

Jean, give me your address and I will get your prize in the mail to you! I will be sending you a heart felt garland


and since you have little boys and loved the project:


Robot Valentine Mugs!

I'm looking forward to hearing from you Jean!!

Valentine Card Week: Owl Valentines

Look what I found in a Dollar bin at Michaels:


How cute are these? I LOVE it when I find a real treasure like this for only $1! I picked up the ink pads for $1 too, because the ink was a perfect match to the blue on the owl wings.

I have been addicted to owls for awhile. I think they are so cute. I know you've seen all the trends that have popped up in blogland and Pinterest. I think they are adorable!

Want to know a funny little quirky secret about me? I hate birds. Yep. Hate, hate, hate birds. They freak me out! I think it comes from being pooped on by a seagull as a kid...not quite sure. I do know I had the hatred long before a seagull attacked me at Sea World recently. Yeah...that was a hilarious site I am sure!

Long story short...I can't stand birds...but I love cute owl products.

Anyways, I thought these would make sweet Valentine treats for some of my daughter's friends. I love using non-holiday specific products t0 make gifts for a holiday. Who wants a bunch of heart stuff the day after Valentines Day? Not me...I am on to the next occasion.


Whooo will you give some love to this Valentine's Day?