Crafting with Kids: Easy Stenciled Valentines

Don’t let the title fool you, this project is for us old folks, too.  It’s just so easy that I labelled it as a kids’ project.  For some reason, this year, I’ve had Valentine’s Day on the brain much more so than in the past.   I guess that’s why I managed to get this little tutorial put together in time to actually use it.  Honestly, it’s a cute project that has many uses, not just Valentine’s Day, so go ahead and let your imagination run wild.

First, this is what you’ll need:

1. Construction paper
2. Scissors
3. Paints (we used cheap craft paints)
4. Cups, plates, etc. for mixing & thinning paints, as needed
5. Freezer paper (NOT waxed paper)
6. Iron & ironing surface
7. Various items for applying paint.  We used sponges, brushes, string, and old toothbrushes

Step 1:

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT-  if you are doing this with smaller children, and would like to get started in a timely manner & not go completely INSANE, then I would suggest you assemble all of your materials BEFORE you tell the kids what you’re up to.  Otherwise, you may just have to hear the phrase, “Please, can we start painting, please, please, PLEASE?????” only about 56,802 times.  Additionally, if your kids are too small to cut out shapes or handle a hot iron themselves, then I would also suggest doing the next step before you clue them in, as that, too, can make their waiting more unbearable.  Since I did neither of the above, I decided to keep my design pretty simple.

Step 2:

Cut your shapes out of the freezer paper and arrange them on your folded construction paper (if you’re making a folded card) shiney side down.  We chose different sized hearts, but you can do just about anything.  The nice thing about freezer paper is it can be used like tracing paper, so go nuts with those royalty-free printouts:

 

Step 3:

** Disclaimer-  this seems obvious, but irons are hot!  Please use your judgement and closely supervise the little people during this step **

With your iron on a medium heat setting, and your card on an ironing board or other protected surface, press down on each piece of freezer paper for a few seconds, until all pieces are securely adhered. 

 You should be left with something like this:

(please ignore that hideous dark blotch across this photo- it wasn’t on my card, and I’m too lazy to Photoshop it out right now).

Step 4:

Now you’re ready to paint!  Gather your paints and other accoutrements and work some magic all over the surface of the card.  Be sure to cover over all of the freezer paper edges with paint to achieve the nicest images.  I personally was quite fond of the sponge technique:

Step 5:

Once the paint is dry, it’s time to peel off the freezer paper pieces.  This  can be tricky, as they tend to disappear a little under all that paint.  Once you get the edge started, though, they peel right off:

And you should be left with something like this:

From here, you can either be done, or continue to decorate them with stamps, glitter glue, etc.  and of course include your personal message.

Freezer paper is a very versatile material, and it’s something that I use all the time in my sewing projects.  The above technique can also be used to paint on t-shirts, pillows, etc. as a “poor man’s silkscreen”. Maybe we’ll cover that project next time.  Until then, have fun, & catch ya on the flip side.

25 Things/ How Do I Love Thee…

By now, I’m sure anyone who’s on Facebook has been tagged (or at least otherwise seen) the 25 Things About Me thing that’s been going around.   After a few sad attempts, and in honor of the big V-Day, I figured instead of writing about myself again, why not dedicate my 25 Things to the man in my life, Mr. Poop and Boogies himself, the pseudo-famous, and always infamous William?  After all, I don’t show him what he truly means to me & our family nearly as much as I should.

25 Reasons I Love William, Let Me Count the Ways:

1. You always make me laugh.
2. You are a shining example of  a good great smack down, top of the heap, funkadelic, like nobody’s business, stellar, superfly, rock star parent.
3. You make me breakfast (sometimes in bed).
4. You put up with some of my crap, but not all of it.
5. You inspire me to be a better person.
6. Even though I’m virtually suffocating under a pile of flab rolls and stretch marks, you still think I’m beautiful.
7. You give me space and time to myself, even if it means giving up your own time.
8. You always stick up for me, no matter what, even if I’m being a *little* dramatic or silly.
9. You wipe the toothpaste spittle off my chin.
10. You still love me despite my belching problem.
11. You always buy (and cook) me crab legs when they’re on sale. 
12. You always crack open & give your crab legs to the boys, getting very little for yourself even though you bought/cooked them, so that I can enjoy mine.
13. You warm up my heat pad at night & stick it under my covers before I get into bed.
14. You always bring me a glass of water at night.
15. You’ve shown me what it truly means to be selfless.
16. You have the confidence and integrity to stand behind what you think & say, and the humility to apologize when you are wrong.
17. You have nice legs.
18. You delivered the most accurate, thoughtful, and touching eulogy for my father even though you were in the midst of losing your own.
19. Anyone can rely on you when in need.
20. You send me flirty emails.
21. You don’t care what other people think.
22. You almost never point out my flaws.
23. You are always up for making out, even if I have the most foul morning/ coffee/ garlic bagel breath.
24. You gave me the best wedding ever, which included death-defying tandem bicycle rides, karaoke, and this cast of characters:

 

    25.  You never go to bed without telling me you love me.

 

I know there are tons more reasons to love William, but these are just a few.  Thank you for improving the quality of my life on a daily basis!

Inspired

Well, I have to be honest, today’s post could have just as easily been titled, “Uninspired”, since cupid has not infused me with any original ideas for showing my loved ones how much they mean to me.  I know, Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark holiday, a lot of people scoff at the idea that we pick one day to celebrate our love for someone, we should be doing it all along, blah, blah, blah.  I don’t disagree, I just normally like to play along. 

This year, I’m not sure what happened, but inspired is not the word.  So I thought I’d share last year’s slam dunk (at least I thought so) gift for my husband (this year, he’s getting a blender…. more on that in a future post).

Our eldest son, Maxfield’s name was inspired by one of our favorite artists, Maxfield Parrish.  Bill & I love his work, & I even used to work for PAFA, where Parrish received some of his formal art training.  Over the years, we have collected a print or two of his.  It’s something that we’ll hopefully build upon in the many years to come.  Last year, I’m not sure what made me even think to do this, but right around the big V-day, I did a search online for “Maxfield Parrish Valentine”, and found this:

  

Turns out, someone was selling a vintage magazine article which featured a personal Valentine that the artist had painted for his 18 year old daughter.  Score!  I bought it, framed it, & gave it to my hubs.  That’s it- I figure that one was pretty good, it should at least buy me a year or two of blenders & toaster ovens until I can think of something worthy again… right??

Consequently, if you haven’t already read Poop & Boogies today, you can check out what I received over there.

So, tonight we will feast on my second annual Valentine’s Day meal, one of Bill’s favorites:

Pot stickers patiently awaiting their fate…

 

And who knows?  Maybe my man will make some decadent smoothies for dessert with his new blender. 

 

Have a great V-day, everyone.