LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Love is definitely in the air over at We Love to Illustrate! They have 6 adorably beautiful illustrations available for free download for personal use. Such a LOVE-ly and generous gesture!

VALENTINE GUMBALL NECKLACES

How adorable are these gumball necklaces by One Charming Party? Such a perfect and special treat for Valentine's Day! They are so beautiful that I can hardly believe that they are made of gumballs. But they are - see, I'll prove it!


Here is a gumball being pierced with a skewer to create the necklace. Go here for the how-to!

For a similar look that will last a bit longer, check out these adorable designs from Stella & Dot. Each necklace arrives packaged in an adorable little tin for a lovely presentation and safe keeping. An adorable gift for a sweet little Valentine.

WEB LOVE FOR MY VALENTINE PRINTABLES

A big thank you to everyone around the web who was kind enough to feature my various Valentine printables.



Kind Over Matter asked for an exclusive design just for them and of course I was more than happy (and honored!) to oblige. So head over to Kind Over Matter for my exclusive water labels.


Living Locurto and One Pretty Thing, along with several other lovely bloggers, have kindly linked up to my Valentine cootie catchers. Remember those? So fun! There is a girl and a boy version available.



And last but not least, the incomparable Martha Stewart has once again featured my Matchbook Notebook Valentines. There's not much more that I can say about that - she's the Queen!

Watch this week for a brand new design all set to go and available for download this week!

KIND OVER MATTER (and another free printable)

I know I've been MIA for a while and I truly apologize. We've had a few little (and not so little) mishaps of home ownership and then what we not-so-fondly refer to as "the plague" decided to sweep through our family, one by one, creating unearthly amounts of laundry, disinfecting opportunities and horror to invade our home. Suffice to say, it wasn't pretty.

But today, I can tell you exactly where to find me. I'm over at Kind over Matter with a free Valentine printable created exclusively for them. Head on over and check it out, and be sure to stay awhile and browse around. I promise, it will become an instant daily read.

HEARTS 4 HAITI

About a week ago, I received a request from a dear friend in Canada. She wondered if I could help out with a fundraiser her daughter Cadence was hoping to do in her school. Cadence is a Valentine's baby who has a history of using her charmed birthday for good, so when she asked me to create a logo for her latest charitable venture, I jumped into action. Cadence's beautiful idea was to sell hearts in her middle school, rather than the usual candy grams and carnations, for Valentine's Day and donate all of the money to the Red Cross to assist the people in Haiti. A genius idea, don't you think? She called it Hearts for Haiti and with that, the heart above was born.

As I played around with the design of the heart, my 11 yr. old son (you know him as Pumpkin) was looking over my shoulder. You should know that he suggested using the "4" rather than "for" in the design to make it cooler (these are middle schoolers you know!). When I told him what it was all about, he thought he may like to do the same in his school. So as Cadence reviewed the proofs and approved the final design, Pumpkin got busy writing a proposal of his own to submit to his principal. Here is that proposal:

Hearts 4 Haiti Charity Fundraiser Proposal

Dear Mrs. XXXXXX:

I would like to propose a fundraiser for the people of Haiti who have been affected by the Earthquake. My mother was asked by a middle school girl in Canada to design a logo for a Hearts 4 Haiti fundraiser that she wanted to do in her school. When I heard about it, I thought it was a good idea and decided to see if we could do it at XXXXXXX School too.

The idea behind Hearts 4 Haiti is very simple. In the weeks before Valentine’s day, students, teachers and anyone can buy a Heart for $1 (see attached). They can sign their own name on it or buy it for someone else and we could hang the hearts in the school. I think a good place for the hearts to be hung could be the cafeteria, but they can really be hung anywhere. Then we can donate the money to the Red Cross to help the Haitian people with food, clothes, clean water, medical supplies, toys for the children, etc.

The benefits of having this fundraiser at XXXXXXX would be:

1. We would help the Haitians in their time of need.

2. It would bring awareness to the problems that the earthquake created in Haiti.

3. The school would look nice and be decorated for Valentine’s Day.

I would be happy to sell the hearts at lunchtime and find other students who would like to help. My mother also said she would help me organize and maybe a teacher would volunteer to help too.

Thank you for considering this idea.

XXXXXXXX XXXXX, Room XX

I am so pleased to report that Pumpkin's proposal was approved by his principal and Cadence's project is catching on like crazy with Hearts 4 Haiti being sold in not only her school, but many other schools (and other venues!) in her area.

If you would like to start a Hearts 4 Haiti fundraiser in your community, we will be happy to provide downloadable files to get started. Simply comment here with contact information or go to Hearts 4 Haiti's Facebook fan page and let us know you're interested!

Thank you Cadence for a wonderful idea and for inspiring my own son to take action on behalf of the people of Haiti. You are an amazing girl!

And if that's not inspiration enough, I've had this on replay all week long.

VALENTINE SALE!

In celebration of our new Valentine's Day products, we would like to give you 20% off your order this weekend using code: VALENTINE. Get a jump start on your Valentine's Day shopping with a great discount!

Let your little one wear their heart (and name!) on their shirt this Valentine's Day! Beautiful quality, luxe onesie or t-shirt available either short or long sleeve in sizes Infant 3-6 mos., 6-12 mos. and 12-18 mos. and toddler 2T, 4T and 6T.

Our new aluminum water bottle design featuring the same vibrant heart as the tee and, of course, your child's name makes a wonderful and practical gift that will be loved and used well beyond Valentine's Day.

And don't forget about our fabulous Valentine's Day Gift Set which includes both the water bottle, the shirt and matching, personalized notecards that are only available as part of this set!

"Valentine" discount valid now through Sunday, January 24th at midnight PST.

VALENTINE COOTIE CATCHERS - FREE DOWNLOAD!

ETA: Many are having trouble with scribd. To download directly from this page, simply click on the image and drag to your desktop. Then simply print and fold as instructed. So sorry for the inconvenience. It seems that scribd has changed their user policies.

Almost immediately after posting the Valentine Cootie Catcher free download yesterday, I realized that I really need a boy version as well. After all, boys love cootie catchers too and it really does make a fun and unique classroom Valentine, so we definitely do not want to exclude half the population! So without further delay, here is the "Boy" Valentine Cootie Catcher.

And just so everything is neat and organized, I've added the "Girl" Valentine Cootie Catcher here too. Better to keep them both in one place. Download the girl version here.

Download the boy version here. Then Print off as many copies as you need, trim on the solid line and start folding!

A note about printing: fortune tellers look and hold up best when printed on a crisp paper like parchment paper.

To see more of my free Valentine printables, go here!

NEW VALENTINE PRODUCTS AND A FREE PRINTABLE!

I am so excited to introduce some new Valentine's Day gifts that are both useful, practical and really cute! First, we have a new aluminum water bottle design that features a fun and vibrant heart and, of course, your child's name.

Next up, the first of several new onesie and tee shirt designs that we will be introducing over the next couple of weeks. Let your little one wear their heart (and name!) on their shirt this Valentine's Day! Beautiful quality, luxe onesie or t-shirt available either short or long sleeve in sizes Infant 3-6 mos., 6-12 mos. and 12-18 mos. and toddler 2T, 4T and 6T.

We have also put together a fabulous Valentine's Day Gift Set which includes both the water bottle, the shirt and matching, personalized notecards that are only available as part of this set!

I was so excited to introduce these new products that I just had to include a Valentine's Day freebie as well! How fun is this Valentine's Day Cootie Catcher? Also known as a fortune teller, at least in my day!

Download the Valentine Cootie Catcher here and print off as many copies as you need. Then trim on the solid line and start folding! How's that for a unique and affordable classroom Valentine? Just go ahead and print to your heart's content!

A note about printing: fortune tellers look and hold up best when printed on a crisp paper like parchment paper.

LAST MINUTE VALENTINES: FREE PRINTABLES

I know I said no more Valentines, but I couldn't resist. I was asked to make a fortune teller (a/k/a cootie catcher. I never know what to call these. I always referred to them as fortune teller, but it seems cootie catcher is the more common term) template for a little girl's Valentine's Day Birthday, and it turned out so cute that I just had to modify it for a Valentine. Just click on the image to enlarge and drag to your desktop. Once it's printed, trim to a 7X7 square and fold.

For more printable, last-minute Valentines, check out these great freebies:

Owl Valentines from Living Locurto.

Fun and Colorful Valentines from Secret Agent Josephine

Lollipop Holder Valentines from Tricia Rennea

Snail Valentines from Zakka Life

My Matchbook Notebook Valentines

and 

Beautiful Je T'aime Valentines from none other than The Black Apple

All ready to print so noone will ever know that you were a last-minute Suzy. So go ahead, spread the love!

ETA: I couldn't resist adding one more from No Fuss Fabulous. It's too fun to pass up!

WE ♥ SICK DAYS

Petunia was home sick last week and since she's my crafty little bug, we decided to <3 sick days. Not to be confused with loving sick days, because noone loves to be sick, but since it was the week before Valentines Day, Petunia made the best of her time home and ♥ ed to her hearts content.

Since we were house-bound, we had to use supplies we had on hand. One project she especially enjoyed used only some old, yellowing, legal-size copy paper, leftover red paint and a paintbrush. She painted hearts, and lots of them, onto the paper, cut them out and we used them all over the house!

We made a garland for the fireplace.

Which Petunia requested be shown at several angles for the best effect.

Tucked one in a teacup.

And spruced up our dining room lampshade.

We also added our flock of birds to the mantle, worked on classroom Valentines and enjoyed countless other projects during her time home. She's back to school today and while she was excited to see her teacher and friends, I have to admit that the day is not nearly as fun as when we were ♥ing her sick days.

I had planned on showing some classroom valentines as well, but looking back on the past week, I think we have DONE Valentine's Day here at Pumpkin Petunia. I may save those, but we'll see. Any opinions?

VALENTINE TREATS

What would Valentine's Day be without treats? Nothing. That's what it would be. Yeah, sure, you would still have all the love and all that, blah, blah, blah. But what's love without chocolate? So in keeping with this incredibly romantic spirit, I have compiled a list of Valentine's Day treats complete with links to recipes and instructions.

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes from Martha, because it wouldn't be a holiday without Martha. Obviously.

Chocolate dipped Rice Krispie Treats from No Fuss Fabulous, because the only way to improve on Rice Krispie Treats is to dip them in chocolate!

Candy Cane Heart Lollipops from Skip to My Lou. Very resourceful - love that. (also seen above as a cupcake topper)

And saving the best for last, my all time favorite treat for any holiday: Pretzel Kisses! These are especially fun for Valentine's Day because the mini pretzels look like little hearts. Just be warned, once you start eating these, it's impossible to stop. Instructions found here at No Fuss Fabulous.

Here's to a ♥ Sweet ♥ Valentine's Day!

ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE

My good friend Czamama commented in the previous post that she wished for a flamingo valentine template (well, indirectly wished for it, but I knew what she meant). So I figured, if she loved flamingos enough to make this, the least I could do was make this:

These sweet little love birds are now part of the Valentine Matchbook Notebook template set.

Enjoy!

MATCHBOOK NOTEBOOK VALENTINES - FREE TEMPLATE

Update: Download templates here.

Monkey Matchbook Valentine

Elephant Matchbook Valentine

Flamingo Matchbook Valentine

As my children get older, each year the pressure increases to create Valentines that are "cool" and, more importantly, not "lame" or "embarrassing." Pumpkin is at an age (10) where he still likes to give and receive Valentines at school, but he doesn't necessarily want to admit that he likes it. Luckily, this matchbook notebook Valentine fit the bill perfectly last year. As a matter of fact, as Pumpkin saw me photographing the notebooks for this post, he told me that some kids still carry their notebooks with them from last year! So I guess that's proof-positive that matchbook notebooks as Valentines are kid-approved.

Always the critics, Pumpkin and Petunia thought that the standard, matchbook-sized matchbook notebooks were too small, so we adapted the idea and made them a bit larger. We added graphics of Pumpkin and Petunia's two favorite animals (monkey and elephant, respectively) and printed them up. One 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper makes two notebook covers. The following show what the templates look like for each design.

Print the templates on the paper of your choice, we used textured cardstock, cut using the solid lines as your guide and score and fold as indicated. (measuring from the top of the paper, you will fold at 1 1/2 inches, 6 3/4 inches and 7 inches). It is much easier to fold the paper if you score it first. You can easily score the paper using a straight edge and a bone folder or the dull side of a butter knife.

Once the notebook covers are cut and folded, just cut scrap paper to fit inside. You can use paper right out of your recycle bin, stacked so that the unused, blank side is showing. You could also use lined paper if you have stacks of it lying around like we do. Here is what the inside of the notebooks look like. We measured our notebook paper to be about 3 1/4 by 4 1/2 inches.

We stacked about 10 to 15 sheets of paper to include in each notebook. Once you stack the paper, just slip it under the bottom flap of the notebook cover and staple in place. Then fold down the cover and slip under the fold. The finished notebook is approximately 3 1/2 by 5.

Last year, we made about 50 of these fun little notebooks for classmates, teachers and friends. They do take a bit of extra time, so definitely plan ahead, but the end result is well worth the time and effort and your children will give something fun and useful to all of their friends! Matchbook Notebooks would also make great party favors!

If you would like me to send you a pdf file of the templates, just email me with the subject line Matchbook Notebooks and I will send the templates right off to you!

SNOW-DAY EMERGENCY: VALENTINE CRAFTS

If you're looking down the barrel of a snow day (like me!), here are some fun Valentine crafts to keep the kids busy and make you feel oh-so-organized for getting a jump on Valentine's Day before February 1st! 

Love Birds from Mrs. D. Lightful

These cute little birdies are so clever. Made with just paper and paper clips! We're planning on making an entire flock.

Felt Heart Cookies from Chasing Cheerios

Felt food is all the rage and you likely have some felt scraps and a needle and thread lying around.   These would make the most adorable classroom Valentines; something to be cherished forever. Just attach a tag with your valentine message and your child will have the most heartfelt handout in the class! (sorry - I had to say it)

Valentine Hand Warmer from Sweet Tidings

This is just the best idea ever! So sweet and charming; the perfect little gift for teachers, grandmas, aunties. Head over to Sweet Tidings' beautiful blog for a template and complete tutorial.