Easy DIY Valentine Cards

So, I struggle with Valentine's Day Cards. There are some seriously AWESOME handmade card ideas floating around the web. If you search Pinterest or Google for DIY Valentine's Day Cards you will see some amazingly creative ideas. I am not that great with graphic design (It's a goal I'm working towards), which makes my handmade cards look much less polished. But, I'm learning to be okay with that. 

I came from a family that did EVERYTHING over-the-top. If you saw my post about Halloween costumes (Here) you can kind of understand what I mean. I used to stress myself out over being the best, and having the cutest gifts and cards etc. I have come to realize that it's not worth the stress. Plus, who really likes that over achiever Mom? Last year, there was a parent in my son's kindergarten class that did all of these amazing and expensive things which made the rest of us feel like we could never amount. I was not a fan of that feeling and do not want to makes others feel that way. 

I try to make my cards cute but not overwhelming. Some are even hand written, and I'm okay with that. Here are some easy, fun homemade card ideas. They are not perfect, but they work just fine. 

<< This is what one of our sons will be bringing to his classmates this year. They are dinosaur erasers from Target. I printed the phrase on cardstock, punched two holes, and wrapped baker's twine around the dinosaur. Goose LOVES it. That's all that matters.

 This Valentine is going to Pre-K this year. This is just a bouncy ball in a jewelry bag. It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

 Last year the boys handed these glow sticks out. I made the printable below using Picmonkey. You can print it by saving the image by right clicking it and saving it to your computer. A single hole punch is the perfect size for the glow stick to fit into. These were a huge hit late year!

 Hand written notes are more personal/intimate. For the Hubs, my cards are always hand written.

 Not everything has to have a creative saying. I made a creative saying using Play-Doh for the show and it was a mouthful! It was also wicked cheesy. I like this simple version better. I wrote on the Play-Doh container with a fine Sharpie then stuck the Play-Doh to a paper heart with glue dots.

 I LOVE these shoes laces or should I say shoe lace impostors. They are silicone and aren't actually laces. They are the perfect gift for the tween/teen in your life! (Notice the typo there -- Like I said, being perfect is not what I am trying to achieve.)

These Tic Tac labels are AWESOME. They are wicked cute and very easy! Props to Sarah over at Somewhat Simple for her talent and creativity. Print yours out today! These make great teacher gifts. Click above ^

The Clementine was a random thought that I had as I was getting ready to go to rehearsal for the show. I was eating a clementine and was still in the cheesy phrase making mood, when I walked up to my husband handed him a clementine and said, "Will you be my clementine?" He rolled his eyes and validated that the fact that I was nuts. It is SO simple. Take a sharpie and write whatever comes to mind. It's an awesome addition to a child's lunch or snack!

Well... That about sums up my Valentine Card thoughts. I hope that you take some time to have fun with Valentine's Day crafts and don't stress yourself out. I'm learning more and more that it is better to just be me and to try not to live up to everyone else around me and those on Pinterest...

Happy crafting and cheesy phrase inventing! 

*Hills

Valentine's Day Decor

This post is last minute, and most people probably have decorations up already, but here are some ideas anyway.

I have a few different set-ups to share with you. I have the set-up for Holiday Fun with Hillary and also how I have decorated my home for Valentine's day.

1. Holiday Fun with Hillary set-up

You can watch the show by clicking HERE.

2. LOVE displayed on a shelf with accents

 For some reason I find that every picture I take of this set up is visually distracting. It is not in real life, however. I was just looking at it, I am thinking that I can trade the hurricane glass with gumballs for the letter "L". I might play with that and make an update.
Credit for the wicked cute printable goes to Desiree from The 36th Avenue <~ Click here to get  yours!

3. Window display

This window stays up almost all year. I love it, so I try to find ways to incorporate it into each Holiday. I used chalk markers and wrote on the glass. I am not a huge fan of how it turned out, but I have set a goal to not criticize myself so much, so I left it. There is also a mason jar sitting filled with M&Ms, a jar with washi tape arrows sitting on old books, and a block calendar. 

4. Melted Crayon Art, Healthy Heart Attack, and Lollipop Tree

The "Healthy Heart Attack" is the the heart bouquet on bamboo skewers. This is something Patrice has done in past years. Cut out paper hearts and tape them onto skewers. You can write messages to make it more personable. Stick them into floral foam in the bottom of a floral pot. It is simple, easy, and cute.

The Lollipop tree is reused from Christmas. Patrice replaced the Christmas ornaments with paper hearts (still using the ornament hook) and stuck lollipops through the open holes. This is perfect for Grandma's house, doctor's office, or simply for fun decor. 

The Melted Crayon Art was a Valentine's gift that I made for my husband a few years ago. It absolutely poured on our wedding day and I thought this was the perfect way to recreate those moments. I used a white canvas, traced the picture onto the canvas with a Sharpie, took the wrappers off of blue and gray crayons, and pushed them through a glue gun. It made a huge mess, but it was fun. It about 3 hours total. I do not have step by step photos because I did this way before my blogging days. This hangs in our bedroom and we love it!

Hopefully you found some ideas to spark your creativity. Coming soon will be a post about DIY Valentine Cards!

Have a happy day! Remember to SMILE!

*Hills