| Little Birdie Secrets

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

valentine's home decor craft ideas {round-up}

Today's our big day on The Dating Divas' Valentine's Day craft round-up! They're featuring fun Valentine decor craft projects from their favorite bloggers (including us x2!). Check out all these amazing ideas for darling Valentine's craft projects!

#1) Be Mine Valentine Banner {HowDoesShe} - Add a festive touch to your home every year with this simple "Be Mine" Valentine's banner!
#2) Valentine Garland {Somewhat Simple} - Spend a night talking with the people you love, about all the things you love, while making this fun Valentine garland!
#3) Love Story Print {Eighteen25} - Are you looking for an easy addition to your holiday decor? All you need is an 8x10 frame and this fabulous website provide the rest!
#4) Valentine's Day Countdown {iCandy Handmade} - Using some heart-shaped wedding favors, a cookie sheet and some magnets, create this fun Valentine Advent. Fill it with goodies or love notes!

#5) Pretty Polkadot Valentine Pillow {Sweet Rose Studio} - Create this pillow cover to sweeten up your couch (or your bed!) just in time for Valentine's Day!
#6) Conversation Blocks {Brown Paper Packages} - These adorable conversation blocks are so easy to make and easy on your budget too!
#7) Love Tree Centerpiece {The Crafting Chicks} - A personalized "Love Tree" centerpiece featuring photos and love notes about your family members!

#8) Heart Bunting Countdown {Brown Paper Packages} - Looking for a fun way to count down the days to Valentine's Day and create darling decor at the same time? This heart bunting is the perfect way to do both!
#9) Heart-Shaped Flower Arrangement {My Insanity} - Find out how to use fresh flowers in making a heart-shaped floral centerpiece!
#10) Doily Heart Banner w/Advent Inserts {My Insanity} - This banner doubles as a countdown to Valentine's Day. Each insert has a rhyme with a love challenge for the day!
#11) "LOVE" Banner {Little Birdie Secrets} - This vintage-inspired "LOVE" banner is made with sheet music and a little glitter glue!

#12) Family V-Day Mailboxes {The Dating Divas} - An adorable way to decorate AND keep the love alive during this month of appreciation!
#13) Burlap Valentine's Bunting {Little Birdie Secrets} - Create a darling burlap bunting out of jute webbing. It's quick, cheap, and cute!
#14) Valentine Wreath & Frame {Lil' Luna} - Cute, fun and easy way to doll up your door for Valentine's Day!

Next thing on The Dating Divas' list. . . FOOD! Tune in tomorrow for something sweet to eat this Valentine's Day!

share this on »

Get Creative with The Lorax Blog Tour

In support of Universal Pictures’ Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax movie, we are participating in a blog tour of wonderful crafts and activities inspired by the film. The movie will be in theaters on March 2 and I cannot wait to take my boys to see it!

In coming up with a craft to coincide with The Lorax movie, my boys wanted to help make a garden wrapper for their potted plants. My boys have a big hand in helping with our gardening, and they love to dress up the pots. I also thought this would be a great idea to help them get excited about planting some things since the movie has some focus on conservation. We wanted to make a garden planter that would look like the face of The Lorax while also featuring the Truffula trees that are highlighted in the film.

First we got all of our supplies together.

Then we cut a strip of paper to fit around the pot. We used bright colors for everything to fit the theme of the movie.

Then I drew the face of The Lorax to attach to the strip that wraps around the pot.

We also added some foam eyes, a pompom nose and a tongue to complete the face.

Then we cut out long strips of yellow paper for the trunks of the Truffula trees. We drew black stripes on them and attached them to the wrapper. We made some straight and some curved since they are shown that way in the movie.

Next we wrapped the paper around the pot and got ready to attach some brightly colored pompoms to make the tops of the Truffula trees. You might need to attach another piece of cardstock to the trees to hold the pompoms up.

We're finished! Now the kids can plant anything they like in the pot and watch it grow! If you don't wish to make a garden pot wrapper, you can also let the kids where this as a crown! My boys got a kick out of that as well.

Be sure to check out the trailer for the upcoming film The Lorax.

Also, make sure you visit the other stops on The Get Creative with The Lorax blog tour. You will find so many other fun crafts and activities to do! Here are all the stops:

Feb 1 Today’s Creative Blog

Feb 2 Katydid and Kid

Feb 3 zakka life

Feb 6 Smashed Peas & Carrots

Feb 7 WhiMSy love

Feb 8 Little Birdie Secrets

Feb 9 Art Projects For Kids

Feb 10 Dabbled

Feb 13 Prudent Baby

Feb 14 TonyaStaab.com

share this on »

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

valentine's handmade gift ideas {round-up}

We were so excited to be invited to be a part of The Dating Divas' crafty Valentine's Day Round-Up this year, and it's getting started today! These cute girls partnered up with a bunch of their favorite websites to show off some fabulous Valentine's Day ideas. There will be more coming up the rest of the week, including some of our favorite Valentine's ideas. Today they're sharing tons of amazing DIY gifts that you can whip up for you special someone this coming Valentine's Day!

Here we go.....

#1) Lucky In Love Scratch-Off Cards {The Dating Divas} - Show your spouse how lucky you are to have them this Valentine's Day! Follow this simple tutorial to create scratch off cards to reveal your love for them.

#2) Love Story Pallet Art {Sweet Rose Studio} - Create a special piece of rustic art for your special someone using pallet boards, paint, vinyl, and one amazing quote!
#3) Hate Ironing? I Do! {HowDoesShe?} - Perfect gift for him (and you)! Ironed shirts. You'll love it as much as he does.
#4) Felt Valentine Fortune Cookies {Somewhat Simple} - Give your sweetheart some love coupons in a new, creative way!

#5) "How Do I Love Thee?" Countdown {The Dating Divas} - If you can think of 24 reasons why you love your sweetheart, you are already halfway done with this project! An adorable way to show your love by using a muffin tin and FREE printables!
#6) Made With Love {Eighteen25} - Giving the gift of a homemade treat is a great way to show someone you love them. And we're sharing a cute little tag to help you prove it.
#7) Frayed Cut-Out Applique Valentine's Shirt {iCandy Handmade} - We love to make Valentine's Day shirts for our kids to wear on the big day. Whip one of these up and gift it to them on V-day morning!

#8) ABC's of What I Love About You {Somewhat Simple} - Think of characteristics you love about your spouse for every letter of the alphabet and find photos that illustrate the qualities on your list. I'll show you how to put them together to create a fun mini book printed and bound professionally for less than $5!
#9) Love Buckets {Brown Paper Packages} - Give the gift of love with these darling love buckets! Each day the members of your family can leave each other little love notes, making the countdown from February 1st to the 14th extra special!
#10) Thumbprint Valentine's {Brown Paper Packages} - Put a personal "touch" on Valentines for friends and family this year---perfect for parents, grandparents, and more!
#11) Be Mine Banner {Polkadot Chair} - What better way to surprise your sweetheart on V-Day than by "spelling it out" for him! Recycle an old book into a fun banner perfect for Valentine's Day!

#12) Valentine Button Necklace {Blue Robin Cottage} - Create a darling Valentine's gift by making this unique and charming embroidered fabric button heart necklace.
#13) Valentine's On The Hour {Thirty Handmade Days} - A genius idea for your loved one - give a gift throughout the day on the hour....includes sticker templates!
#14) "Hooked On You" Pail {Lil' Luna} - Easy and cute, these pails are perfect for anyone you're "hooked on!"

#15) Magnetic Heart-Shaped Shoe Clips {Polkadot Chair} - Have any fashionistas in your life? Use some might magnets to make some fun interchangeable shoe clips for a present! Great for lovey dovey day :)
#16) DIY Felt Valentine Envelopes - Pottery Barn Style {The Crafting Chicks} - Make your own felt Valentine envelopes to fill with treats and love notes for your kids! FREE love mail printable, too!
#17) Chair-Back Valentine Envelope Knock-off {iCandy Handmade} - The perfect stash for your child's little Valentine goodies!
#18) Pocket Kiss Flip Book {Brassy Apple} - Blow a kiss to your sweetheart wherever they may be!

#19) Valentine's Kit {Blue Robin Cottage} - Looking for the perfect Valentine's gift for your hubby? Make him a Valentine's kit with all the things in it he loves! This tutorial even includes a Free kit card printable!
#20) "Cross My Heart" Pillow {Polkadot Chair} - Looking for a present for a holiday decor queen? Here is a fun tutorial for a quick and easy pillow to make for that fabulous friend to display on Valentine's Day!
#21) Big Hunk Candy Bar Bouquets {My Insanity} - With some bamboo skewers and a little hot glue, you can make Big Hunk bouquets to give to your husbands. This post also features a FUN "Amazing Race" date you can do on Valentine's Day!!

...and there you have it! A BUNCH of fun gift ideas to try out this coming Valentine's Day! Check back tomorrow for even MORE Valentine's Day ideas!

share this on »

valentine's wreath with spiral rose letters {tutorial}

I told you I was going to use my red burlap Christmas wreath for Valentine's, and I have. It was way too much work to only use for one holiday! I added an X and an O covered with rolled roses so it didn't look quite so Christmas-y to me. They honestly didn't take me that long--I think I did it in three episodes of "Lost" on DVD, plus an episode of 30 Rock to glue them on. Here's a little how to (and video!) for the spiral rose-covered letters (you can find the wreath tutorial here). Can I just say that I LOVE Valentine's crafts? I wish I had more time for all the Valentine ideas in my head!

Valentine's Burlap & Spiral Paper Rose Wreath Tutorial

Supplies:

*Wooden letters (I found mine at Hobby Lobby for $2, but on sale for $1!)
*10-12 pieces of card stock in color of your choice (you may need more or less, depending on how big your letters are)
*Paint to match your flowers
*Hot glue gun
*Wreath (or not)

1. The first step is to paint your letters the same color as your paper. This will make the holes between flowers less noticeable. I used Martha Stewart's craft paint in "Wedding Cake".

2. Cut your card stock into squares. I used these two arrangements to get a good variety of sizes. I also cut 2-3 pages at a time to save time!

Then cut those squares into spirals. The width of my spirals is about .5". You can watch my video tutorial here. It's a bit fancier than the flowers I did here, but it will help you get the concept if you're more of a visual learner like me.

Did you watch it? First, try to forget what a dork I sound like on video. Thanks. Next, you might have noticed that for this project I didn't cut the wavy line around the edges for these flowers, and I used hot glue on the bottom of the flower to make the project go MUCH faster. Those are the major differences.

If you didn't watch the video, here's a quick how to on the spiral roses. Roll your spiral up from the outside in, making a tight spiral.

Then let go of your spiral and watch it bloom!

Turn the flower over and put a bit of hot glue on the bottom in the middle of the spiral.

Press the very inside of the spiral flat against it to hold it together.

Now sit down in front of your favorite Valentine's chick flick and make a boatload more of them.

3. Start gluing your roses to your letters. I laid out a few at a time to make sure they were going to fit well. Don't be afraid to smoosh them in close together. It's just paper--you won't ruin the flowers.

Continue until your letters are covered.

These letters were originally going to be on my mantel, but I decided the burlap wreath needed a little somethin' somethin'. First I hung the wreath with a piece of polka dot ribbon. To hang the letters, I attached picture framing hardware to the back and strung them with fishing line. The fishing line is secured to the top of my door. I hammered two small nails to the top of the door and bent them down, then wrapped the fishing line around them. Sounds weird, but I use this method for most of my wreaths!

This Valentine's craft project was brought to you by Phonechay's Creations!

share this on »

Thursday, February 2, 2012

framed hearts valentine decor {tutorial}

I was able to finish another Valentine's craft yesterday while baby was sleeping. I actually had time to create this piece of framed art, clean a bathroom, change the sheets on the bed, make a phone call to a friend, and eat lunch while he was asleep! Of course I paid for it last night when he was wide awake about 2:00am. Oh well--he is so cute I don't care! This easy framed heart Valentine project is reminiscent of the easy Valentine cards and embroidery hoop Valentine art I showed you how to make last year, and it's just as quick and easy. Enjoy!

Framed Hearts Valentine Decor Tutorial

Supplies:

* 5x7 frame

* Used book page or sheet music to fit in your frame

* Various patterned papers and card stock

* Heart punch (mine is from Stampin' Up!) or die cut, or heart template to trace and cut out

* Glue stick (I love the Anywhere Glue Stick from Stampin' Up!)

* Sewing machine and thread (I used red to coordinate with my papers)

* Ruler and pencil

1. Punch hearts out of patterned paper and card stock. I did 12 hearts total--8 in plain red and 4 in patterned papers. Punch the number of hearts that fit best if your frame.

2. Cut your book page to fit your frame. Arrange hearts on the paper, using a ruler if necessary, to line them up.

3. Use a glue stick in the center only of each heart to adhere them to the page. You mostly want to just keep them in place while you sew them on the page.

4. Use a ruler and a pencil to draw a straight line through the center of the hearts. I extended the line about 1/2" above and below the top and bottom hearts.

5. Sew down the center of your lines with your sewing machine and coordinating thread.

6. To add a little dimension, I popped up just the patterned hearts by folding them toward the center.

7. Put your page in your frame. I put the glass from the frame behind the page so the page would stay put better (and so it wouldn't get broken--I'm sure I'll use the frame for something else later!).