2 Simple Valentine Ideas Even a Toddler Can Do!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and so is Valentine making!

Helping O make special Valentines for his Dad, Grandma's, and Grandpa's usually goes much smoother and cuter in my head than it actually turns out to be. Such is life.

To help smooth out these Valentine woes, I've found two Valentine ideas I absolutely love!

Both of these went so smoothly, and he actually did the work and loved it!
 As an added bonus, they only take supplies you already have around the house. Bingo!

Yarn Heart Valentine

I came up with this idea on my own. It's so simple and so quick! Plus, you're little one gets to work on their cutting and gluing skills.

To help it go smoothly, I cut out some strands of Valentine-colored yarn ahead of time. If your little one is older, they can do this themselves. I also drew a heart where I wanted it on the card and glued on the first strand to make the outline. Then I let O put glue wherever he wanted and add the yarn on top. Just keep an eye to make sure there's an appropriate amount of glue happening so the card isn't swimming and the yarn is sticking.

Presto! Adorable Valentine!

Toilet Paper Tube Heart Valentine

I got this idea from Money Saving Mom.

I love that you get to do a little painting and it's a great way to reuse toilet paper rolls.

Just get your card ready, shape the end of the toilet paper roll to look like a heart, and let your little one dip it in some acrylic paint and use it as a cute stamp.

So simple and so fun!

I hope these fun Valentine ideas come in handy this season as you get ready to share some love!

Do you have any go-to ideas you love?

 Please share them with us in the comments below!

DIY Canvas Wall Art

I'll be the first to admit I'm not great at interior decorating.

Each time we move, I leave the decorating to the very end of the moving-in to-do list, because I'm just not that comfortable with it. When I do get around to doing it, I usually start with the kitchen and living room and go from there. This way the areas that are frequented by guests are at least done, even if the rest of the house is a little sparse.

When we moved into our current house and O had his own room, I made a goal to decorate his room so it would be a special space just for him. I started with a couple ideas and then didn't get around to them. So, it was one of my summer goals to get the boy's room ready. It was a huge help when my grandmother decided to make matching quilts for the boys and my other grandmother decided to make a matching wall hanging. They're super cute and I'm so excited to use them! This got me going and I finally made myself sit down and work on the canvas wall art I had been planning for so long.

I knew I wanted to do the boy's room in planes, trains, and automobiles, since O loves anything that moves. So I dug out a neat old calendar I had saved from the first year we were married. It was a vintage inspired Lionel Trains calendar. I decided it would make a cool collage for their room.

I love up-cycling things and using supplies I already have, so I pulled out what I needed and made a plan.

Even if you don't have all of these items on hand, this is an affordable project. Especially since almost all of these items can be used again for future projects! I love adding new supplies to my craft bin, don't you?

Here's a list of what I used:

 Acrylic Paint- We usually use either Apple Barrel or Folk Art

Modge Podge

Paint Brush- Just an affordable pack with good reviews would be great for this project

Canvases

Calendar

 The only thing I had to grab was a couple canvases in the size I wanted. For the space I'm trying to fill I needed 11x14in. canvases. I grabbed mine in a two-pack at Hobby Lobby for a great deal and then got home and found out they were pretty warped. I've since learned from a reliable source that this is not uncommon for this particular product. I would suggest getting a little higher-quality canvases. However, if you're on a tight budget, like me, then here is how my dad and I fixed them:

 That's right... toothpicks! Just put one in each of the warped corners and pound them in until it flattens out the canvas. So simple and no one will ever know!

With my canvases flattened out, I was ready to get started.

First, I gave each of the canvases a base coat of paint. This way I didn't have to cover every inch of canvas if I didn't want to. This also gives the sides a finished look.

Side note on the paint: My mom is a genius with acrylic, she uses it all the time. When I went to start this project I noticed we didn't have much black left in the Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint bottle. I mentioned going to grab a fresh bottle and she said, "I picked up a quart since I'm always running out of black." I ran downstairs to the craft room to find it and couldn't because she keeps it with the cans of house paint. What?! Is that the same thing? If it's acrylic indoor paint it totally is! This saves you from having to buy a million of the little bottles for bigger projects. Plus, she found out that you can get what's called a "trial can" at your local hardware store for an even better deal. They offer them for people who want to try a color before deciding what they want. They're the perfect size for craft projects!

While this was drying, I opened up the calendar and started cutting out anything I thought would look nice in a collage. For this project I thought the cut edges would look nice, but ripping the paper would also have been an option.

After I had all the pieces I wanted cut out, I began arranging them on the canvases. I felt as though this was going to be the hardest part. Fortunately for me, little Elliott got hungry just as I started this and my brother's friend who works at Hobby Lobby took over while I fed him. When I came back she had the cut-outs all arranged and I loved them!

All that was left was for me to trim the edges and Modge Podge the pieces down. I used a pencil to mark where the edges of the canvas were on the pictures and then I cut them to fit. Finally, I began Modge Podging everything down. 

I wish I had looked up some tips before I started this part of the project. I only Modge Podge often enough to not remember what I learned from the previous project, haha! This time I learned that you should adhere the picture to the canvas, smooth out all the bubbles, and let it dry before applying a top coat. This is a little tricky when doing a collage due to all the layers, but when I did this as best I could on the second canvas, it was easier to keep things from bubbling. Also, the bubbles flattened out a lot as it dried, which was a huge relief!

Here are the finished products:

I'm very happy with my first collage project and I can't wait to see them up in my boy's room!