Everyday Learning – Page 11 – The Creative Salad

Black Paper Pastel Hearts for Valentine’s Day

Here’s a simple project that can easily be adapted depending on the amount of time you have (more on that at the end of my post!).

We had such fun making our Valentine’s Day hearts!

First we used colored pencils and a heart-shaped stencil to trace hearts on to black construction paper:

Our daughter then colored each of the hearts with pastels:

We applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to seal the pastels and give a sheen to the paper:

After the paper dried, we cut out the hearts and wrote messages in metallic gel pens on the opposite sides:

Here’s a tip if you don’t want do deal with the extra step of Mod Podging your project:
Use colored pencils, crayons, or gel markers instead of pastels to color your hearts! Since they don’t rub off, you don’t need to seal them.

A quick and easy alternative with the same colorful, fun results.

DIY Photo Decoupage Platter

The round-up of decorations from this year’s birthday extravaganza continues. To see all the birthday party posts, please click here.

Growing up, the Spritzer family had a special glass platter (with etched hearts!) that came out for birthday celebrations. My daughter and I thought it would be fun to recreate this tradition, while adding a Creative Salad twist to make it our own.

First we cut out some of our favorite family photos that we had printed on plain white paper:

We played with the layout of the photos until our daughter found an arrangement she fancied:

We adhered the photos with Mod Podge on to the underside of a circular, glass Pyrex platter that we found at our local thrift store:

Then we glued small pieces of brightly colored tissue paper on top of the photo layer:

As we placed the pieces of tissue paper, we brushed glue on top to smooth and adhere the paper:

We added glitter glue before adding another layer of colored tissue paper:

Then we sealed the paper side of the platter with several more coats of Mod Podge, being careful not to get any glue on the front side of the platter. Here’s how our birthday platter turned out:

Festive, personalized, and very fun!

A special birthday treat.

DIY Ribbon Chandelier

The round-up of decorations from this year’s birthday extravaganza continues. To see all the birthday party posts, please click here.

We had such fun making the party decorations for this year’s birthday extravaganza!

These simple, festive chandeliers were easy to make, fashioned out of ribbon remnants and embroidery hoops from our local craft supplies resale shop.

We cut lengths of ribbon, then taped them to the inside of the outer embroidery hoop in such a way that the tape is all but invisible once you put the hoop back together.

At this point we decided the double ribbon was over the top, so we chopped off half of each ribbon (just below the place where we taped the ribbon to the inner embroidery hoop):

David hung the ribbon chandeliers for us above our coffee table (that we moved into the middle of the living room for the party).

I love how a simple project can transform the room and set a festive tone. The pink ribbons are out; we’re ready to party!

Well, almost! In the photo, above, from Sunday morning, someone had yet to don her fabulous fancy party outfit:

That’s better. We had such fun!

Pinned: Valentine’s Day Crafts

In our house we don’t typically celebrate Valentine’s Day, although you could say we celebrate it every day: we’re all about hugs, kisses, love and friendship. But just because we don’t typically do anything special on February 14th, doesn’t mean we’re not into Valentine’s crafts!

I recently spotted these sweet heart themed crafts on Pinterest and am eager to try them with our daughter! Which one do you like best?

Featured above:
1. Colorful Puddle-Painted Hearts (original pin) from Makes and Takes
2. Watercolor hearts (original pin) from Joe & Cheryl
3. Simple Valentine’s Day Art for Toddlers using cookie cutters and paint (original pin) from school time : book time
4. Valentine Handprint Cards (original pin) from Rosy ~ Posy
5. Valentine’s Day Photo Sign Card (original pin) from Martha Stewart Holidays

Don’t forget about our easy and fun Melted Crayon Hearts Tutorial:

and last year’s Picture Frame Decoupage Project:

We’re all about spreading the love!

View these and many more fun Valentine’s activities, gifts and recipes on my Valentine’s Holiday Fun Pinterest board.

(images obtained via Pinterest)

The New Game Obsession

Our daughter tends to approach her activities with gusto.

When she was two years old she discovered a love of puzzles, assembling 100 piece puzzles on her own, with me there for company (and to serve as the occasional gatherer of “all the black and white striped zebra pieces,” for example, as directed by the little miss.).

Almost four years old now, she has applied that same sense of zeal to mastering a variety of games: Solitaire, King’s Corner, Uno, Triominos, Scrabble, Qwirkle Cubes, and Checkers.

We play the card games everywhere: at the doctor’s office, in restaurants, in the back seat of the car, while we’re out and about (on our android phones when there isn’t a flat surface on which to play!).

She’s not just fooling around either, she’s actually really good! She strategizes, holding cards until playing them benefits her. Creating variations to make the game more challenging. I’m certainly not that focused despite my love of winning.

And each time she kicks my ass, she kindly reassures me, “Mom, it’s okay. We can play until you win too.” Gee, thanks, honey. “Okay, let’s play!” After all, she’ll be heading off to college before I know it. And games are fun!