Happy February!
“I don’t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine’s Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.”
– Author Unknown
Huzzah for February!
January is finally behind us, and we find ourselves one step closer to spring!
But before we get that far we have a minor holiday or two to celebrate while the weather is still on the chilly side – and next in line is good ‘ol Valentine’s day! What fun!
I should prolly take a moment before starting festivities to make my own feelings clear about this one. . . I don’t really believe in Valentine’s day. I am of the opinion that, like several other supposed ‘holidays’ in the lineup, all this day really comes down to is a way for card, stuffed animal, and chocolate manufacturers (not to mention florists) to make an extra buck. . .(or thirty).
That said, I am now the proud owner of a very small girl-child, and you must know by now that I’ll jump on any and every occasion to make her life just a little bit more exciting. So, along with the myriad of change that motherhood has brought me, I now find myself to be an avid celebrater of any and all holidays – Valentine’s day included!
So bring it ON!
The fun is already underway! First step was the window clings. Puff ran about like a teeny tiny loon festooning every glass surface in the house with hearts and ‘kissy lips.’ Our door hanger is also in place and ready to go! And for our first Valentine-y craft of the season, we made some LOVE BUGS!
These were very simple and amazingly fun crafts for little hands to put together – and cheap! Everything she used for these we got either from the craft store or from the dollar store for one dollar or less, and we still have TONS left over for other projects. These projects were all so simple, that T was able to do everything pretty much by herself. Since then they’ve been floating all around our house, bringing smiles into the hearts of Scrooges everywhere! We made several species of critter. . .
First up – lady-love-bugs. . . We made these using a glittery red foam heart. T drew a line right down the center with a permanent marker (go T!) to show wings, and then glued a smaller foam heart on for a head. Obviously, googly eyes came next, and T chose to make the lady-bug spots with craft gem hearts. Finally, we glued some gimp behind the head for antennae, and ta da!
Next up, butterflies! We used the same heart-shaped craft foamies and glued 2 of them onto a popsicle stick. . . actually, it’s a tongue depressor. Given the size of the wing/hearts, these were much easier for T to handle. T’s tattoo artist father gave us some from his stash (I’m not quite sure what he uses them for, but we’re glad to have some among our arts n’ craft supplies) Then we glued foam hearts down the center of the stick/body to hide the stick (a bit), added eyes and antenna, and. . .Huzzah! Puff had created butterflies!
After T had made a few and mastered the butterfly technique, she decided that she just had to make a dragonfly. After a few moments of head-scratching on my part, I came up with the idea to use tissue-paper for the wings, which Puff approved of and it worked out very well!
Finally, my favorites. . .
I don’t even know if these little creatures count as bugs. . . but they are. Because Puff said they are!
Foam hearts became feet, tinsel craft pom-poms for the bodies, and great big googly eyes! That’s it! Super-simple. PLUS I was thrilled to find out that, things stick to tinsel poms (and vice versa) very easily with plain old white glue, as opposed to the regular fluffy poms. T was able to do these all by herself. These little critters are sooooooo cute, and the coolest thing is that their feet are actually stickers, so we can peel off the bottoms and stick them to things, which is loads of fun – believe me!
Hope you all have a super-happy February!
Huginn, Muninn, and me 
Sarah Benedict said,
February 1, 2010 at 8:29 am
Those are super cute! I love them and may have to steal your ideas for my two! Oh and I love that phrase in the beginning of your blog!
Kendall said,
February 1, 2010 at 10:12 am
How very cute!!! I agree, I’m not big on Valentine’s day(though I DO expect a kiss, card, and/or flowers! lol). We took your idea and made our own Valentine’s day bugs, but not the pom pom ones! The girls will LOVE that idea. And yeah…totally gonna do glitter on them now that they’re totally dry. T did an awesome job!
maygan said,
February 1, 2010 at 10:56 am
So cute! Trent’s actually been asking to make lady bugs, so this would be perfect!
maygan said,
February 2, 2010 at 11:59 am
We did ours yesterday and trent loved it so much he actually had to sleep with it- thanks you!!
I forgot to mention it, but Trent got the cutest alphabet book I’ve ever seen for Christmas and I think you’d all adore it too: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152066799/
The letters are “hidden” on the page as well, so there’s the extra bonus that they have to search for them.
Me said,
February 10, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Awww! I’m so glad he had a blast with it! How cute that he took it to bed!
That book looks AWESOME! Thanks for th’ tip. . . I wonder if they have a number version, too?
Amber said,
February 2, 2010 at 7:25 pm
So cute. I so wish I had the patience for crafts. But glue makes me cranky I guess.
Tori said,
February 2, 2010 at 9:41 pm
AWWW!!!! Tell T that I think her bugs are great! And they all happen to have my favorite color in them….. PINK! I’m suprised such a non pink person that you are allowed for all the pink! haha yeah you’ll probly say… “Only for Valentines Day!”
Me said,
February 10, 2010 at 9:42 pm
I told her, and thanks!
As for the rest, since you HAD to go there (giggle). . . from the moment I discovered that I was pregnant with a little girl I resolved myself to the fact that sometime between the ages(ish) of 3-5, she would (like all little girls) become obsessed with the color pink. I’m not sure if its society that does it, or if its something genetically hard-wired into the female sex from birth – but at any rate, I made the decision then and there that while I was allowed to be in charge, I would keep pink to a bare minimum. . .because once the day comes (and we’re getting close) its all over. I know this.
Additionally, I have no problem with the color when properly applied. Pink flowers are lovely, for example. A baby covered from head-to-toe in Pepto, with matching bows, shoes, blankets, and car-seat – is not. . . pink is fine in moderation.
Kelli said,
February 2, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Valentine’s Day is so…lovely!! Puff once again did a great job with the crafts. My faves are the bugs too!!! Take care!
FooFoo said,
February 10, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Way to go, Teaball, your crafts turned out fabulous! Love them all, especially those butterflies.
Very curious, where do you store all of T’s finished crafts?
Me said,
February 10, 2010 at 9:38 pm
heehee – I don’t – does that make me a terrible person?
Holiday crafts are started about a month before the actual event – T loves making a big stink outta things – We decorate with window clings, and I have a door-hanger for every holiday/season. . .
After that, all of our crafts get hung as decorations, until the holiday/season is over. . .We clean up our walls and windows about once a month to clear out the old and make room for the new.
Some stuff I store for decorating with the next year, but by and large it gets recycled or thrown away. Things that can be un-done and put back into our craft section are – like the gems on our love-bugs, their foam wings, and the sticks. A little soak in warm water loosens the glue, and these can be re-used time and time again. . .paintings often get recycled and used when we do a craft that requires colorful paper. We try to re-use as much as possible, otherwise arts n’ crafts can get expensive!
I DO save some things, like one of the Christmas cards she made, and the tree ornaments, but for the most part I ‘save’ everything by capturing it on-camera. . .
FooFoo said,
February 15, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Very interesting, I’ve always wondered! Glad you can dismantle and reuse some of it.
bits of flaggy goodness… « Huginn, Muninn, and me said,
July 3, 2010 at 8:22 pm
[…] lying around in the pom bin since last July (we used some of the red and silver ones for our little Valentine’s critters). We didn’t have quite enough to do the proper number of stripes, but T had fun with this […]