Countdown to V-Day begins! Come join the fun!

Valentine’s is one of my favorite holidays. Maybe its all the pink, I’m not really sure. Anyway to celebrate I pulled together a list of my favorite people to do some give aways, I have tons of do it yourself Valentine’s crafts to decorate with or give as gifts and I will also be posting facts about CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) because awareness week is coming up.

Did you know CHD is the #1 birth defect in newborns? I didn’t. But now I do. Right now I am hosting photography sessions to benefit a family affected by CHD. In fact they just lost their darling daughter to it after she spent her little life in the NICU. Every memory, every day being in the NICU. You can do something too! Sell heart cookies, knit up some heart dish cloths, create some heart soap. Its when we think that we are too small to make a difference that we are that small. If nothing else, go donate blood. Every CHD baby that has an open heart surgery needs it! You CAN make a difference.

Today’s give away is from Bethany’s 5. It is an adorable little hat. I will post it separately so I can link directly to each give away post everyday. So make sure you check it out here.

Ok on to the craft. First let me tell you that I am NOT crafty. I’d love to be but I am impatient and not detailed oriented so if it ends up looking good and I made it.. I GUARANTEE you can do it too. And this one turned out good so it’s a winner! Today we are going to make a ribbon Valentine wreath or center piece!

Here is your supply list:

1 wreath

a large pack of straight pins

different ribbons- you need a total of about 45 yards of ribbon

Some pointers: I got a wreath with a flat back. Sounded ok until the pins poked through the back all the time. Go with a real round wreath. This one was 5.99 at Michael’s. You can buy that 3 pack for 7.99. Definitely worth it.

Splurge on 2 ribbon that are super thick. They may cost more but they take up a lot of space and make covering up the Styrofoam a lot easier. Go through your ribbon stock and see what white/pink/purple ribbon you already have that needs to be used up. Michael’s has ribbon 50% off this week also. This project would also be awesome for a scrapper or bow maker that is always finding themselves with extra ribbon. Just pin it on the wreath and create as you have scrap.

Ok step 1 is to cut your ribbon. They all need to be about 4 1/2 inches long. I just cut one and then used it to cut the rest.

Step 2- Roll your ribbon where the two sides are overlapping and push a pin through to keep it together.

Push the pin onto your Styrofoam.

It was easiest to start with the fatter ribbon because the skinnier ones are easier to find room for. I think its also best to do one type of ribbon at a time so you can sort of space them out. So that’s basically it! Continue with the rest of the ribbon and fill in all the Styrofoam. It helps to hold the wreath up directly in front of you sometimes to really see what its going to look like when hung.

So here is my finished Valentine’s wreath. I think it turned out pretty cute! Another thing I’ve done with these is laid them flat on the table and put candle inside to create a centerpiece. This project does take about an hour but it can be a stress reliever as you get to poke things with needles. Also its repetitive and doesn’t require a whole lot of thought which is nice on days when your toddler screamed and cried about 80% of the day. All in all, I am very pleased with this project.

As I was poking away at the Styrofoam, my teacher brain tried to think of an easier and cheaper way to do this for toddlers, preschoolers or early elementary teachers. Pins and children under 12 don’t go well together. So this is the idea I came up with. I have not tried it so let me know if you do.

Supplies: 1 paper plate per child

8-10 pieces of red,pink, white construction paper per child

1-2 pieces of decorated Valentine scrapbook paper per child

Have the child (if old enough) make the paper plate into a wreath by cutting out the inside of the plate leaving just a ring. If you paper is 8.5x11, cut it down the center so you have 2 pieces that are almost 4.5 inches and then cut them into strips. Have child make circles with these and glue them together. Then glue them onto the wreath.

So there you go! First project done! Make sure you follow my blog so you don’t miss out on all the other crafts, give aways and fun happenings we’ve got going on around here to celebrate the big day!