The last two years we’ve ordered Valentine’s Day cards of the kids (see our 2014 card with just Maxwell HERE and our 2015 card with Maxwell & Natalie HERE). But now that the kids are officially toddlers, I thought it would be really fun to make our own cards this year.
While scrolling Instagram, I saw a handmade Valentine’s and took a screenshot. Making our own cards seemed like a great distraction from the mess of boxes we’ve been in with our recent move back to Detroit. Besides, it meant using glitter glue and patterned washi tape ;) I used the screenshot as a starting point. Here’s what we came up with for our card:
Right now, with the kids being so young, it’s more fun to make a craft with them centered around a holiday than to spend a lot of money on candy and treats for them to eat. Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Halloween are all holidays that come to mind. And I think they have more fun with this, too.
We bought blank Kraft envelopes, washi tape, glitter heart stickers, and card stock paper from Jo-Ann’s. For the photo of the kids, I ordered wallet-size prints from Walgreens and then cut them down to size. Everything was super affordable, and we even have leftover supplies.
This simple craft gave us two afternoons of creating together, one screaming child (Natalie; she wanted to help with the glitter glue SO BADLY, OH MY WORD), and a really fun distraction from missing Zack.
PS. he lands in Detroit tomorrow, and the best way to describe our happiness is this: YEOWWWW!!! :)
They’re adorable!! We don’t typically do Valentine’s Day cards, but we did this year as a way to occupy a 1 year old in cold temps. I just let him color and then put a ridiculous amount of stickers on there. I think we did this 3-4 afternoons. :)
Haha, that is amazing! And I bet your son loved it! :)
These are SO cute! Love how they turned out! I didn’t get around to making Valentine’s this year… maybe next year I will gather inspiration from you! {And glitter glue is just plain fun!}
SUPER fun!! Saying hello from Wisconsin! I have been horrible about commenting lately because I am usually sneaking away from my 2 littles with coffee to read your blog and a couple other favorites but just wanted to say Hi and congrats on the big move!! Keep your chin up, it is a hard process to go through but your home is BEAUTIFUL! You all deserve it, look forward to seeing more :)
You’ll have to share your other blog reads, it’s been awhile since I’ve found a new blog — would love to know some of your favorites! Thanks so much for the comment, you’re so kind! xx
I am not super creative I am sure, I still love Kate’s The Small Things blog and Camp Patton definitely is comforting after a long day with my 2 kids! I am a stay at home mom as well (that’s a recent change! :) ) and we bought our first house this summer! It STILL has not sunk in that it is ours after living in smaller apartments and very frugally…not that that has changed :) Stay warm!!
I love that you took the time to make these, and the memories with your kiddos!
I’ve always loved arts and crafts, and that’s honestly one of the things I’m looking forward to the most about motherhood [I’m 36 weeks this week with my first!]. I’m hoping my little boy likes to dabble with art, as well as whatever else he decides he likes to do.
Seeing you make these with your littles makes me happy and so excited for my own experience!
These are so sweet, and I’m totally with you on the crafts vs candy! That is the kind of thing they’ll remember when they’re older – you spending that time with them. When they are a little older, we’ve found a lovely family tradition around Valentine’s Day which I call Love Jars – a few days before Valentine’s I set out a jar for each family member and a bowl of heart-shaped cardstock pieces. We all write what we love about each other and deposit in the appropriate jar. Then on V day we read them out loud. My kids’ faces are beyond priceless reading them and I always just about burst with delight listening to the things they come up with that they love about each other and us. I keep the hearts each year in an envelope and I think they will make a nice walk down memory lane someday. My older kids were about 5 and 7 when we started doing this. :)