Valentine Garlands

I have a couple of friends who do photography out of their home. One of them recently asked me if I could make a fabric love banner for her to use as a photo prop. I had been wanting to make one for myself, so I jumped at the idea and made two. One for me and one for her. The great thing about making things for photographers is that you can get some great pictures of your product. :o)

 I used an unbleached muslin for the pennants and Heat n Bond for the letters and hearts. After ironing on the letters and zig-zagging the pennants, I stitches them on to some twill tape I had.

Another photographer friend of mine has been doing boutique shoots with her newborn daughter. She was telling me about this shoot she had coming up and I offered to lend her a felt heart garland I had made last year.
It is so much fun seeing things that I have made with these little cuties in these pictures.

Valentine's Love Shirts

This week is quickly turning into Valentine's Week here at Bowl of Cherrys.

I am just wishing that I had more time to make all of the cute ideas I see and want to make. Here are some pictures of the shirts that I appliqued on for the girls for Valentine's last year.

 The good news is that Peachy's still fits her and I already made a new one for Cream. I used my normal Heat and Bond technique for shirt decorating. I like the additional heart that I added to the back.

Also notice that Peachy's is in capitol letters and Cream's is in lower case. Fun.

S'More Valentines

There is just something so fun about Valentines Day. Especially when you have children. It is a sweet holiday that can be all about giving and showing your love to those who matter most to you. There is also that key component about it being in the dead of winter after all of the Christmas business has died down. For me, I am looking for any excuse to celebrate this time of the year.
Here is a charming little gift for children and adults alike, a Valentine S'More Kit. I made mine with some small paper gift bags. I added a fun little label that reads. "Everyday I Love you S'more, Valentine!"

Inside was a Hershey's bar, a Valentine bag filled with marshmallows, and a small package of graham crackers.

A fun and simple treat for your sweet!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Scrappy Valentine Runner

I have lots of fabric. I have big pieces of fabric and little pieces of fabric. Yet I still go out and buy more fabric. Lately I have been attempting to use more of my stash for projects rather than falling prey to the siren call of the fabric stores. Recently I made this runner using only supplies that I already had. Isn't that why we have stashes in the first place?

After searching my scrap boxes for pink and red fabrics, I started by cutting 4.5 inch squares that I then cut in half to make triangles. I sewed pairs of triangles together to make squares again. (Isn't quilting funny sometimes? We cut apart only to sew back together.) There is a certain freedom in using only scraps.I really was just winging this project. I didn't plan how big the runner would be in the end. I didn't count how many triangles or squares I would need. I just went for it.
Once I had what I deemed to be enough squares, I laid them out and started sewing them together in diagonal strips. I used triangles for two of the corners. (At first I started to play around with the pattern. In the end I decided that it was a scrappy project and I could sit there and putz with it all the live ling day or I could just start sewing.)
In an effort to finish off the project in an easy way, I decided to skip binding. Why make this more complicated than it has to be? I did however put some red ric rac between the layers, because I am a firm believer that ric rac makes everything better.

A little simple quilting and I was done. And while this really didn't even begin to make a dent in my scrap collection, I am thrilled with the results. And I can't wait to try some more scrap busting projects.
The printable can be found here. The jars the candy is in were intended to be transformed into apothicary jars. I have the wood and paint, just need to time to do it. Stay tuned to see if they get finished or just get added to the stash of crafting supplies.

I am linking to these wonderful parties this week.
Today's Creative Blog
Making the World Cuter
The Sweet Talk Shop

PS I Love You

This year I have been excitedly gathering Valentine's Day decorating ideas. There is always something sad about packing up all of the Christmas decorations and having a bare house staring back at you. While I still have a few projects I would like to get done, this is one that I finished and have been enjoying for a few weeks now. I saw this idea online somewhere. Unfortunately I didn't pin it and can't remember where I first saw it. If you know, please send the info my way so that I can give credit where credit is due.
I got all of the supplies from Hobby Lobby. I left the P, I, and U as I bought them. I covered the chipboard S with scrapbook paper and the heart is actually a foam heart that I also covered with scrapbook paper. I simply put them up on our mirror ledge in the entryway and had instant Valentine Art.

I am linking to these wonderful parties this week.
Today's Creative Blog
Making the World Cuter
The Sweet Talk Shop

Homemade Crayon Valentines

Looking for a fun and unique Valentine to make this year? Gather up your old and broken crayons and recycle them into new ones for the valentines on your list.

Here is what to do:
1. Remove all wrappers from your crayons.
2. Break and cut crayons into small pieces.
3. Place crayon pieces into a heart shaped silicon tray. (I used an ice cube tray that I had purchased at IKEA.)
4. Place silicon tray onto metal baking sheet in 250 degree oven until crayons are completely melted.
5. Remove tray from oven and allow wax to reset.
6. Pop crayons out of tray.

I wrapped up the crayons in a bag and closed it off with colorful ribbon and a fun tag. I also included some coloring pages that I printed off of the computer onto quarter sheets of paper.

Color your valentine's world this February and make these crayons!

I am linking to these wonderful parties this week.
Today's Creative Blog
Making the World Cuter

Valentine Picture

If you are looking for a fun and easy way to say "I love you" today, check out this simple picture we took of Peachy.

I cut five hearts out of two shades of scrapbook paper, punched holes on each side, threaded through some ribbon and we were ready for our shoot. I used the picture in a Shutterfly card (because I had a free set coming to me that needed to get used), but it would be just as cute and easy to print them up and make cards of your own.
Hope you are having a fabulous Valentine's Day yourself!

Valentine's Day Love

Here are the Valentine's Little Peachy shared with her playgroup buddies.

I simply wrapped scrapbook paper around an animal cracker box. 

Then I added a printed message strip and the initial of the recipient. Super easy and cute.

I mailed these lovebird hand-towels off to two lovebirds in my family. (They made it safely all the way to Japan.)

As long as I was making lovebirds, I added one to the front of this onesie.