EASY SIMPLE VALENTINE'S DAY DECORATIONS

I have to admit that I have been very busy in the last several weeks and decorating for Valentine's Day has been pushed to the back burner.  However, I was determined to not skip the holiday completely.  As you saw in my previous post, my son and I had fun making Valentine cards! Colton was so cute making them and we will definitely do this again next year.

Even though the last few weeks have been hectic in the Conley household, I really wanted to get a few decorations up before Valentine's Day was over. Here are just a few pictures of some of the decorations. I hope next February is less busy because I have so many fun ideas that I want to complete.

 

 

I found these absolutely ADORABLE mini metal mailboxes in the Dollar section of Target recently.  Seriously, these cute little decorations were only a dollar!! I love them because they make super cute decorations themselves without having to do anything to them.  I filled the top one with those little conversation hearts and one of my Felt Valentine Envelopes (find out how to make them HERE ).

 

I love the framed glitter heart picture the best, the above picture doesn't do it justice. I couldn't get a good picture with the sparkle because of the glass reflection. It's really sparkly in person.  I bought a package of glitter heart confetti at Michael's the other day. At the time, I wasn't really sure what I was going to use them for.  But when I got home I sat down and came up with a few ideas.  It was so easy to make too.  I took a piece of sturdy white cardstock and drew out a heart shape in pencil.  Then I just glued the glitter heart confetti one-by-one around the outline and then filled it in.  How simple is that?  It turned out super cute and looks adorable on my table next to one of the mini mailboxes. 

 

I found these pretty red and white frames (bottom picture) at Michael's as well. They were about $2 and came in several shapes and colors. I bought several more for future projects.  I couldn't resist for the price!  On the same trip, I found larger glitter wooden hearts in their Valentine's Day section.  I glued a heart to the center of each frame and voila! Another adorable decoration that was incredibly easy to make and cost almost nothing!

 

 

 

What would holiday decorating be without a wreath on your front door to welcome visitors to your home.  When my husband and I moved into our first apartment, my mother made me this super cute and simple Valentine's Day wreath.  It has been on my door every year since, and will continue to be.  She made this simple wreath with just a few supplies.  She started with a twine wreath from a local craft store and wrapped glitter heart garland around the whole thing to add some character and sparkle to it.  Next, she bought light pink heart picks from Michael's and cut the posts off of them.  She arranged them around the wreath and attached them with hot glue.  And finally she added some fabric roses to the bottom of the wreath to make it even more pretty!

 

 

 

COFFEE FILTER VALENTINE HEARTS ACTIVITY

There is nothing that I love more than spending time doing activities with my son! He loves exploring new items, textures, and concepts through hands on play. And the things that he has learned from them are amazing! Not to mention that I have gotten some really cute keepsakes in the process!



For Valentine's Day this year, I wanted to have Colton make cards for his grandparents and I wanted to go beyond the normal, give him some paper and crayons and let him color one. So I decided to come up with something that he could do that was different and fun!  Last year, I saw something on Pinterest about coffee filter art projects for toddlers.  I searched through my boards and couldn't find the pin (possibly because I have thousands of pins), but I thought how hard could it be to figure it out myself.  And they turned out awesome!

What You Need:

*Coffee filters
*Washable markers
*Dropper or medicine syringe
*Water
*Cookie sheet (I kept an old brown one for a craft tray)
*Towel

What You Do:

Once I got all the supplies together, I told Colton that we were going to paint with markers and he needed to put on his "Big Boy Paint Shirt" (which is just an old shirt of my husband's).  I placed the cookie sheet on an old towel. I gave Colton some markers and a coffee filter and told him to color it pretty colors. He was really excited for this part because he loves coloring with markers and not just crayons. 

Once he colored the filter, I gave him a small bowl of water and an unused medicine syringe. I showed him how to drop water onto the filter. He thought it was so cool that the color spread out when the water was dropped on it.

 

Then he wanted to add more marker to the wet filter.  This entertained him for a good half hour which is amazing that anything could make him sit still that long.

After he had enough, I placed them on the towel to let the filters dry completely. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, I traced hearts onto the filters and cut them out.





 

That's how easy these were for my son and I to make.  Now you have these cute tie-dye hearts to use in several projects.  And the best part, using different colors or shapes can make this project perfect for any occasion.  Below you will find pictures of a few things Colton and I made using these hearts.

 Valentine's Day Cards

(Colton colored inside to add an even more personal touch)

 

Hands and Heart Picture

(I traced Colton's hands and added one of his tie-dyed hearts)

 

 

I love how this coffee filter tie-dye activity can be used for anything. I think I will have Colton make green shamrocks for St. Patty's Day!

FELT VALENTINE ENVELOPES

Valentine's Day is all about telling the one's you love how much they mean to you. And what better way to do it than to "deliver" it in these cute little felt envelopes. Write a little note and stick it inside with some candy! How simple is that? And they are so darn cute! They can also be made in non-Valentine's Day colors for kid's pretend play!

Making these envelopes are so easy:

First, cut out the envelope base (magenta piece) from one color of felt. Cut a small rectangle out of white felt and a smaller heart out of a different color.

 

Using a sewing machine (I guess you could hot glue them instead), sew the small heart to the rectangle and then the rectangle to the upper right corner (where a stamp would sit) of the base piece.

 

After attaching the stamp, fold the base piece a third of the way up and stitch around the sides and bottom to form a pocket. You will now have an open envelope.

 

Flip over the envelope and stitch (or hot glue) a piece of Velcro to the flap and to the pouch side of the envelope (see below).

 

Now you have a finished envelope! Fill with some candy and a sweet note and it's all ready for the one you love!



 

Couldn't be any easier! You can make a bunch and create a Valentine's Day advent calendar or they would be a cute project for a child's Valentine swap at school! The possibilities are endless! 









WELCOME

Welcome to my "Valentine's Day Ideas" page, here you will find lots of cute ideas to make your Valentine's Day pretty and perfect. I will include crafts, decorations, recipes, activities for kids, and lots of other things to help you prepare and enjoy Valentine's Day!