Valentines for the boys

Valentines for boys can always be tricky.  I found some ideas on Pinterest and I decided to give them a try with a little twist.

Original idea for Grenade Valentine - Jacolyn Murphy

Original idea for Wheelie Valentine - Thirty Handmade Days

I made 2 versions of these.  One for Adam (Grenade) & One for Colton (Wheelie)

1.  I started with these tin boxes.  They were on clearance for 10 cents at Michaels and I bought all they had.  I had no idea what I would do with them at the time, but this just happened to be the perfect project.

2.  Designed and printed my valentines to fit the top of the boxes.  

LINK TO PRINT YOUR OWN AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.

3.  Cut them out and then used my corner rounder because it makes the cards look so much better.

4.  Use double sided take to stick the cards to the top of each box

I found these army men at Target and Wal Mart.  They are in the party favor section and come in a bag of 6.  I think they are cheaper at Wal Mart ($2) and the exact same thing as Target.  They are larger than the regular little army men and have a fun little parachute.

You can find the cars anywhere, obviously.  But the dollar store has them in packages of 3.  3 for $1...not bad.  They are also in happy meals right now.  So if you are like me and go to Mc D's more than you want to admit, you can start collecting your cars.

6.  Gather your cars or army men

7.  Fill tin with paper shreds and insert the toy of your choice...you might want to add some candy too. :)

If the tins are too hard to find or too expensive, you could also use a little muslin bag.

Or pillow boxes that can be found in the cake/candy section of any craft store.

Ok...I have never done this before, so I have no idea if this will actually work or if I loaded and saved everything right.  But if you want the printable for either of these try the links below.  Fingers crossed on this one, but no promises. :)  I left a blank space so you can hand write the name.

Grenade Valentine

Wheelie Valentines

Happy Valentines Day!

Here is Adam with his final selection for his classroom Valentine – iphone

He didn’t go for my original idea, because he did not like using a picture of himself.

His other front tooth finally fell out…how cute is he missing his two front teeth?!  He is a little embarrassed and says it makes him look like a first grader, which evidently IS NOT COOL AT ALL when you are in the third grade.  I love it because it makes him look like a little boy again.

Cupcakes …In A Jar…In A Box

I have been seeing the cupcakes in a jar all over blogland.  Such a genius idea!  I made some for Christmas gifts this year but they make such a good gift for any occasion…So I thought I would share this idea I did for a Valentines version.

First you will need jars.  These are my favorite jars for this project and seem to be the perfect fit for cupcakes.  You can find them at Wal Mart, the grocery store or hardware stores.

I cheated and used a box mix! Shocker!  But a little note here.  I did darker cakes at Christmas (Red Velvet & Chocolate) and now after making the lighter cake, I can say I think the darker mix is better for this project because you can see the browned edges more on the lighter cakes…does that make sense?  Or maybe I just burned my cupcake and need to learn how to bake.You just bake cupcakes as usual and then peel the wrapper off.  (If you are making the single cupcake smaller jar version, you can bake your cupcake right in the jar.  But I have not personally tried this.) Just smoosh your cupcake down in the jar.  don’t be afraid to smoosh it, sometimes it need some force.

 

Valentine Ideas

Are you ready for February?  I have been thinking about lots of Valentines ideas lately and thought I would compile a few from the “archives”.

Adam said he wanted to do the same Valentines that we did last year.  I guess the “I LOVE” was a hit.  I was kind of dreading all the work, but I realized this would probably be his last year for school valentines so I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Thankfully I did not rush right out and buy all the supplies, because he has changed his mind several times now and I think we are going to do THIS for his school valentines…also seen HERE.  Amazing! Who thinks of these ideas?  I will keep you posted on how or if they even turn out.

Ohhh…and these valentine versions of the EDIBLE CRAYONS.  I love making these.  Such a fun and easy project for kids to do with you!  The original details from Gourmet Mom are HERE.  And while I was just reviewing her post about the edible crayons I noticed she has added even more labels, including Ohio State!!!!  We will definitely be making those seeing as that is our favorite team!  GO BUCKEYES!

Ok, I know that this was technically a Christmas idea.  But these would be great for Valentines day too.  Imagine cute Valentine papers and ribbons (and let me add that this is a horrible picture of these…my goal for 2011 is to finally get a new camera).  Don’t go buy a box of chocolates…make your OWN. 

Stay tuned for more Valentine ideas coming up.  Cupcakes in a Jar…In a Box! :)  What?