Kids Craft: Cheap & Easy Valentine's Day Care Packages

Hi! It's Jilly. I know Valentine's Day is this Saturday, but we made these cute and easy Valentine's Day care packages for the kids' cousins and I just had to share them with you!

Supplies:
Empty toilet paper tubes
Scrapbook paper
Glue
Small toys or candy
Clear packing tape



Directions:
1. Cut hearts out of scrapbook paper and glue all over the outside of the toilet paper tubes.

2. Fill tubes with little goodies. We got little Valentine buttons, heart suckers, and Sixlets from the dollar store.

3. Write the lucky recipient's name and address on a solid colored piece of paper and tape to the tube. Cover the tube with packing tape so the packages will arrive intact.

4. Take the tubes to the post office and mail to your distant loved ones. Ours only cost $2.32 to ship from New York to the West Coast and Hawaii. Not too shabby!

The kids had a lot of fun putting these together. Hopefully the cousins will like their little surprise!

Do you send Valentines to anyone who lives far away? What is your favorite Valentine's gift you've ever received? Let me know in the comments, or on Faceboook!

More Valentine's Day Goodies:

Printable Alien Valentines

Printable "Sucker" Valentines

Two Last-Minute Printable Valentines

Valentines Heart Hair Clips

Personalized Song Lyric Picture Frame

Hi! It's Jilly. Hubby and I have been married almost twelve years. TWELVE! So crazy! One of my favorite things in our house is this personalized picture frame my friend and I made as a anniversary/birthday/Christmas present for Hubby. (I had the idea for a long time and it took me a while to bring it to fruition.)

I wrote my husband a song and sang it to him at our wedding reception as a surprise. I was sooooo nervous, but it was worth it! He loved it, and there wasn't a dry eye among my mom and aunts. Ha ha!

I wanted to display the lyrics somehow, plus display one of our wedding pictures. This picture frame was the perfect solution!

Want to make a picture frame with special lyrics on it for your honey?

First, get a picture frame with a wide, white mat. You'll want plenty of room for the words.

You can either use a Cricut or Silhouette to cut out your lyrics on vinyl, or use alphabet stickers. I had my friend cut vinyl letters for me with her vinyl cutter.

Carefully lay the letters on the mat. If using alphabet stickers, brush a light coat of Mod Podge over them when you're done. You don't need to if using vinyl.


That's it! It's such a great way to make a meaningful, personalized gift. And, it's easy, too. ;)

Hubby was really touched by the gift. He says it's one of the best gifts I've ever given him! (Ignore the pajamas. It was Christmas morning!)

Do you have a special song with your significant other?

Like this gift idea? Be sure to pin it on Pinterest! 

*I'd love to see your sweet face over on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!*

Alien Valentines with FREE Printable!

Hi! It's Jilly. I love making my kiddos Valentines. It's a fun way to be creative. Michael was watching me edit some photos on PicMonkey, and when he spied these aliens he knew that's what he wanted on his Valentines! (Btw...if you follow that link up there you can try PicMonkey Royale FREE for a day! :) )

He chose which aliens to use, and even helped me come up with the sayings! My favorite is, "Aliens are green. Spaceships are blue. My Valentine is you..you..YOU!". Ha ha!

I paired them little Milky Way bars, because I thought they went well with the whole "aliens/space" thing. Get it?! Milky Way?!

There are 6 Valentines per sheet. Get your free printable HERE!

More FREE printable Valentines:

 

If you like these Valentines, don't forget to "pin" them! 

See ya on Pinterest, Facebook,  or Instagram! :)

Natalie's Valentine Book Picks {Literature Contributor}

Hi, new blog friends! I’m Natalie from Cosmos Mariners: Destination Unknown, and I love books. In my life before my daughter, I was a college professor and gifted and talented teacher; I loved being able to share my love of literature with my students everyday. My baby is a little young to talk about books yet--she much prefers trying to eat them--so I’m excited to get my literature fix each month through my guest posts here on Jillian’s website! Each month, I’ll suggest a few books based on a theme. Hopefully, you’ll find some new favorites!

This month, the theme is “love.” What else did you expect for February?! The two books I recommend for your pre- and post-Valentine’s day reading will make you believe in the power of true love. (So cheesy, but so true!)

Natalie’s pick #1:

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

I stole this book from my sister’s library years ago, and I am so glad that I did because I loved every page of it!

"Sucker" Valentine with FREE Printable!

Hi! It's Jilly. I love coming up with fun Valentine's for my kids. It's so much fun! Last year after Valentine's I bought a couple bags of heart suckers on clearance, 'cause I knew they'd still be good this year. So, I needed to come up with something involving those heart suckers.

I went through a few different 'saying' ideas. I thought that I probably shouldn't put "You don't suck" on an elementary school Valentine, so I decided on "I'm a sucker for you".

"Always" Embroidery Project- Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Hi! It's Jilly. My bloggy friend Jenna at Call Her Happy has been posting pics on Instagram of all her darling embroidery projects lately, and it inspired me to pick up the needle again! I haven't embroidered anything in ages! I'm not very good, mind you, but it's nice to make something once in a while.

I wanted to add something to my Valentine's Day decor, and the wheels started turning! Since I'm such a big HP geek (and my kids are, too), I thought the word "always" would be a nice little thing to stitch. (If you don't know why "always" is important in Harry Potter, watch this clip.) Plus, Hubby and I like to watch Once Upon a Time together, and in that show Prince Charming and Snow White say to each other "I will always find you". I think it is so sweet! Any other OUAT fans out there?! Can I get a "Woot!"?!

To make this, all I did was use a pencil to write "always" in cursive on my fabric, then added a few little hearts for good measure. Then I...embroidered it. (Amazing, I know. I told you I wasn't a pro!)

Valentines Heart Hair Clip

Hi! It's Jilly. My hubby has to work until 9 AND he's on-call, so it's just me and the kiddos tonight. Happy Lame-en-tines...

We watched a chick flick together last night to celebrate (Return to Me, one of our 'special' flicks. Have you seen it?! It's awesome!). But, half the movie I was busy putting together the kiddos' Valentines. Funny how things change over the years, eh?

Last night I also made some hair clips for the girls to wear today. They are SOOOO ridiculously easy. I'm not even kidding. Took me, like, 5 minutes. 10 tops.



What do you need?
2 pieces of felt in 2 different colors (I used hot pink and red.) The cheap sheets from the craft store are perfect.
Hair clips/alligator clips
Craft glue
Hot glue gun with glue in it (Obviously. Won't do you any good w/o the glue in it, right?!)

The Tute:

1. Cut 2 hearts out of a square of felt, one a little smaller than the other.

2. Glue the smaller heart to the bigger heart.

3. Glue a button in the center of the smaller heart. Wipe off the excess glue that squooshes out of the button holes.


4. Cut a scrap of felt big enough to cover the alligator clip. Clip the hair clip onto the felt scrap.

5. Squirt hot glue all over the backside of the clip & felt.

6. Press the felt and clip down onto the backside of the large heart.



That's it!! I told you it was super easy! You might even be able to whip one up before the kids get home from school!

I hope you all have a fabulous (not lame-u-lous) Valentines Day!

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Two Last-Minute Valentines with Free Printables!

Hi! It's Jilly. If you're anything like me, you probably aren't done with your kids' Valentines for school tomorrow. Well, have no fear. Jilly's here! This morning I put together a couple of Valentines for my kiddos, and I made a FREE printable for you!



In the party favor aisle at Wal-Mart they have a a 32 pack of jumping frogs for $1.97.

My son loved the idea of giving out those frogs to his class, so I came up with this cute little Valentine. I used this fun font called "Hornswaggled" for the 'toad'ally awesome part.

Go here to get the free printable.

I thought the font Penmanship Print was so sweet for this "You're the 'write' one for me" Valentine. Love it! The pencils were 97 cents for a 12 pack, also at Wal-Mart. 

Go here for the free printable.

Hope you have a 'hoppy' Valentines Day!!

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