Welcome to day 12 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days of Valentines! From February 1-14 we'll be doing non-stop Valentines posts to celebrate this lovely holiday! I saw this idea on the Disney Family Fun website a couple of days ago and wish I would have seen it earlier this month! Though it's not an original idea of mine, I thought it was too good not to pass on...It's visits from the Love Bugs before Valentine's Day! I came up with a few different versions of the Love Bugs so you have ideas of what to do with them. Version 1: The Love Bugs are a family of bugs that visit your house every night beginning February 1st and leave treats such as Hershey's kisses, Valentine M&M's, or heart chocolates, and notes for your kids. Your children never see the bugs but know they've visited from the things they leave behind. On Valentine's Day the Love Bugs leave a special larger treat for your kids then leave until next year. (This version is similar to the one I saw. Click on the link … [Read more...]
Cupid’s Treasure Hunt
Welcome to day 8 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days Of Valentines! From February 1-14 we'll be doing non-stop Valentines posts to celebrate this lovely holiday! Earlier this fall I did a post about making your own treasure hunt. For Valentine's I'm taking it one step further with Cupid's Treasure Hunt! Please note that the beginning of this project requires time when your kids are not around so you can surprise them. 1) You'll need to start by printing off a Valentine's coloring sheet. I found the cute one above at Mom'sWhoThink. 2) Color the sheet and then cut it into puzzle pieces. 3) Next make a map of your house. You can get as detailed or as not detailed as you want. I made mine heart-shaped on pink paper for Valentines. I also crumpled it, burned the edges, and made some holes just to make it look a little older and like a real treasure map. 4) Put Xs on the map where your children will find puzzle pieces. Make sure you have as many Xs as you have puzzle … [Read more...]
Tutorial for making "50 reasons we love you" deck of cards
Welcome to day 6 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days of Valentines! From February 1-14 we'll be doing non-stop Valentines posts to celebrate this lovely holiday! I had seen a version of "50 reasons we love you" floating around the internet and I thought it would be SUCH an amazing gift to give....of course with my own special tweaks to it. I really hope you like this project and will give it a try too. What you need: a deck of cards paper hole punch paper (either sticker paper or regular and mod podge) zip ties Step 1: gather your cards and use a paper clip to hold them all aligned, punch two holes into each card Step 2: loop a zip tie through all of the cards and secure Step 3: (this part takes the longest) keeping in mind that the average deck of cards measures 2 1/2" X 4 1/2" create 50 reasons you love the person you are giving it to, leaving the first card for the title "50 reasons I love you" and the second card to say "by (insert name) and a date. I used a … [Read more...]
Wax Paper Hearts
Welcome to day 4 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days of Valentines! From February 1-14 we'll be doing non-stop Valentine's posts to celebrate this lovely holiday! Wax paper hearts are a combination activity and craft. This only involves a few items too! Here is what you will need: Wax paper Pencil sharpener Crayons Cookie Sheet Parchment paper (or construction paper will work too) Scissors and string Remove a long sheet of wax paper from the container and place it on the cookie sheet. Have your child (or help them) take Valentine's colored crayons (white, pink, red, a little gray) use the pencil sharpener to create crayon shavings. Spread the shaving out all over the wax paper. Fold the paper in half. Cover with parchment paper. *This part is for the adults* Iron on the lowest setting until the crayon shavings are completely melted. Set the wax paper aside to cool completely. Use a scissors to cut out heart shapes from the wax paper. Attach a string and … [Read more...]
We Love You Because…
Welcome to Toys In The Dryer 14 Days Of Valentines! For the next fourteen days straight (including Saturdays and Sundays) we'll be posting Valentines related posts! Even our Fun Stuff Fridays linky party will be Valentines focused! We'll be going a little off of our usual schedule during this time, but we hope you enjoy our tribute to this lovely holiday. Show your kids that you love them and boost their self esteem with these easy "We Love You Because..." message boards. I have to admit, this is another one of our Pinterest inspired posts. I found this husband geared Love Message Board tutorial and totally thought this would be great for my girls! I'm always looking for unique ways to show them that I love them. These are so easy to make! In fact, they are so easy, I didn't feel the need to take step-by-step photos. I'm pretty sure you're smart enough not to need a visual... 1) Grab your computer, some paper, some scissors (optional), an 8x10 photo frame, and make … [Read more...]
101 answers to "I’m bored!"
How often do you hear your kids say "I'm bored!" We hear it all too often around our houses. That's why we came up with 101 answers to "I'm bored!" Just for you! 1. Print off a new coloring page and color with them 2. Visit your local library and pick out 5 new books 3. Corn starch + water = Fun 4. Learn 3 new words in sign language 5. Play "circus" by performing your own acts together 6. Make your own trail mix 7. Finger paint together 8. Have a date with your kids- movies, pajamas, and popcorn 9. Put on a puppet show with stuffed animals 10. Read a story together but replace the characters with your child's names 11. Cloud Watching 12. Freeze some toys in water and "go on an archeology dig" 13. Build a fort together 14. Put glow sticks in the bathtub, turn off the lights, and have a glow in the dark bath 15. Play music with glasses, water, and a spoon 16. Make S'more cookies 17. Make binoculars with toilet paper rolls and go bird watching 18. Make puppets out … [Read more...]
