Happy Valentines Day!

*Warning: this post is pic heavy*

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend some time with family. My sister and her hubby had a very special Valentine's date planned which meant that I got to spend some precious time with my niece, Madeline (almost 4) and nephew, Caleb (just turned 7). So while mommy and daddy were out, I brought some of my craft goodies into the kitchen to let the kiddos make some Valentines for mom and dad. It was the first time that my niece and nephew ever stamped. My daughter, Leah (4 1/2), however, has stamped many times with me before. So, after a quick little teaching, I let them go at it. I limited the stamp sets to 2 and the ink pads to 4. They used my heart and circle punches and I even let them turn the crank on my cuttlebug to add a few last minute accents. They added coloring and writing where their little hearts led them. It was so much fun to see the joy on all of their faces. We had such a blast!

 (Left to right: Madeline, Caleb and Leah)

 Madeline showing off her work

Caleb hard at work

Leah hard at work

I was also able to finally take pictures of the goodies that my daughter helped make to hand out to her classmates. I stamped the ladybug image from 2010 Love Tags and she colored them in with colored pencils. She was an excellent helper stuffing all of the bags full of candy while I stapled them closed and added the ladybug to the topper.

You can also see the Valentine box that we made last year to help collect the goodies that she receives from her classmates. It is a shoebox covered with kraft paper. I had her leave her hand prints on the top and used my Alphalicious cartridge for her name. We have a tradition and make a Valentine's Day album every year. I buy a few things from the Target dollar spot to help make them. When she turned 2 1/2, I got her involved with making her own artwork and scrapbook embellishments. So last year, we made an abundance and I added them to her box for school. I love the fact that we get to reuse this project this year. I realize that her hand prints are from last year, but we love the box. The only input I had on decorating the box was the placement of the Cricut cut outs and the tulle stitched heart. The rest was up to her.

Thanks for looking. Hope your day is fabulous and filled with love!