60+ Valentines Crafts and Activities

Welcome to the weekly Kids Co-op! So many wonderful ideas were shared last week, so thanks for linking up! I love curling up with a cup of coffee and browsing through them. Last week I featured 12 Easy Kid Valentine Crafts perfect for little fingers to make. Looking at the links, we must all have Valentines on our brains! I had a hard time choosing my favorite, so I thought I would let you decide. Check out this list of 60+ Valentines Crafts and Activities that were linked up from last weeks Kids Co-op.

Valentines Crafts

Valentines Creation Station from Learn with Play at home
Valentines Mail Boxes from Reading Confetti
Valentines Hand Print Craft from B-Inspired Mama
Make Cards for Valentine’s Day Using Shaving Cream from Mess for Less
Conversation Heart Magnet from Crafty Journal
Lasting Valentines Bouquet from Crafty Journal
Sewn Valentines from Housing A Forest
Potato Heart Print Valentines from There’s Magic Out There
Conversation Rocks from Super Mommy
Butterfly Pencil Valentine from Buggy and Buddy
Lovely Loved Ones Garland from How The Sun Rose
Melted Crayon Valentine Garland from Teach Beside Me
Shining Heart Cards from Blog Me Mom
Scented Valentines Cards from Blog Me Mom
Magnetic Artwork Puzzle from Housing A Forest
Immaculate Heart of Mary from Tercets
Valentines Made Completely by Your Child from Buggy and Buddy
Valentines Heart Tissue Paper Sun-Catchers from 2 Big 2 little
Valentines Day Frame from Laughing Kids Learn
Hearts and Art from CAUTION! Twins at Play
5 Valentines Crafts for kids from The Chirping Moms
Valentines Stick Dolly Gift from At Home with Ali

Valentines Art

Valentines Scratch HeART from Putti’s World
Sticker Resist Painting and Printing from Putti’s World
Mono Printing Valentines Art from Playful Learners
Q-Tip heart Painting from Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
Painted Doily Hearts from Puti’s World
Heart Tube Stamping from Housing A Forest
Cookie Cutter Valentine Printing from Playful Learners
Tape Resist Hearts from Rainy Day Distractions
Valentines Marbleizing with Shaving Cream and Food Coloring from Happy Hooligans

Valentines Reading and Math

Top 40 Valentine’s Day Books from the Educators Spin on it
Valentines Day Kids Early Reading Activity from Carrots Are Orange
Valentines Diamond Count from Timeless Adventures
Conversation Heart Sight Word Matching Game from Mess For Less
Valentines Day Math for Toddlers and Preschoolers from Reading Confetti
Kindness Challenge: Create a Love Books Package from The Educators’ Spin on It
Valentines Math With Dice from Timeless Adventures
Valentines Roll and Count from Timeless Adventures
Learning with Conversation Hearts from 2 Big 2 Little
Valentine’s Day Crafts and Books for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners from the Homeschool Classroom

Valentines Science

Dancing Hearts from Inspiration Laboratories
Candy Heart Ingredients Experiment from Inspiration Laboratories
Dissolving Hearts Experiment from Inspiration Laboratories

Valentines Recipes

Homemade Box of Chocolates from Raise A Boy
Apple Heart Tarts from Domestic Goddesque
Q is for Queen ~ Alice in Wonderland Muffin Tin from Life Is Fantasmic

Valentines Activities

Homeschool Valentines Day from Living Montessori Now
February Table Topics from Growing Book by Book
14 Days of Ways to Show Your Kids You Love Them… from Little Wonders’ Days
The Teddy Bear Project from Seeking Shade
Toddler Play Date Valentine Gifts from Seeking Shade
DIY Lacing Cards from Sugar Aunts
Valentines Day Play Dough from Sugar Aunts
Valentines Day Sensory Box from Buggy and Buddy
Inexpensive Valentine Gift Ideas from Moms Have Questions Too
Love is in the Water from Trial & Error Mama
Tub Time Sight Words for Valentines Day from Tutus and Tea Parties
A Valentines Day Round-Up from All Our Days
Go Red For Heart Health from Mama Smiles
Valentines Sensory Bin from Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails
Easy DIY Valentine Freight for Wooden Trains from Play Trains

If you were featured this week, feel free to grab a Housing A Forest button.

Come back every Thursday to see if your creative idea were featured and link up any new ideas! (I will be using one image and a link back to your blog.)

If you don’t want to miss out on any of the fun we are having at Housing A Forest, make sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Google + and Twitter.

DIY Microfiber Cleaning Slippers

My hubby found a set of Slipper Genie Microfiber Cleaning Slippers at the local hardware store and sent me an image. When I found these Microfiber Cleaning Sponges at the dollar store and I immediately knew what I was going to do with them. My kids love cleaning, and they would get a kick out of wearing sponges on their feet to clean the floor. I was right they loved our DIY Microfiber Cleaning Slippers.

To make your own set of cleaning slippers your will need:

2 Microfiber Sponges ~ you can find them at the dollar store
1 Terry Cloth Hand Towel
Glue Gun

I love that all the supplies can be found at the Dollar Store, which means the cost for this little project is relatively minimal. I put these little cleaning slippers together in about 15 mins, which is also a bonus. Quick and easy, my kind of craft!

These little slippers are so easy to put together.

Cut strip of towel lengthwise that is about 5″ or 6″ wide (the whole length of the towel).
Fold your towel over twice so the cut edge is folded into the middle. That way the factory edge is what you see, no fraying and no need to sew anything.
Run a bead of hot glue along the factory edge to stick your strip together. You should now have a long towel tube.
Cut your towel tube just larger than the width of the sponge. You will need one of these for each sponge.
Position the towel tube so that it fits your foot like a sandal. I choose to fold my edges in so that the frayed ends were not showing before I glued them.

That’s it, easy peasy! Hot glue is your friend for this project. No need to sew!

Just like the store bought slippers, no need to clean with water. These little Microfiber slippers are perfect for picking up dust, pet hair and dirt. They are soft, so need to worry about scratching your floors. I can’t say they are going to be a miracle cure for cleaning your floors, but I will say that your kids will have a blast wearing them!

These little slippers are the perfect way to get your kiddos excited about cleaning. I mean who wouldn’t want to go running and sliding through out the house all in the name of cleaning! Your kids are going to be begging to clean your floors:) Now that is something that you won’t hear from your kids everyday.

I would love to hear your tricks and tips for getting your kids involved in cleaning or daily chores. Making if fun and interesting works best at our house, and I have to say that these little slippers are just that.

Glitter Tissue Paper Heart

With Valentines Day right around the corner, and the kids have been busy creating heart projects. These simple glitter tissue paper hearts were a huge hit. I we add glitter to anything it seems to be a hit;)

Supplies needed:

A Cardboard Heart ~ We cut ours out of a cereal box.
Tissue Paper ~ since the tissue paper will be crumpling it up, we recycled some from a recent birthday present.
White Glue
Red and white paint ~have them mix pink
Glitter

Have your little one paint the cardboard heart with glue, and spread a sheet of crumpled tissue paper on top. Once the glue is dry, have them paint another layer of glue and add one more sheet of crumpled tissue paper. The wrinkles in the tissue paper will add texture and interest. Don’t worry if the tissue paper rips, it will be covered by paint.

Once everything is dry, fold over the edges of the tissue paper to the back of the heart and tape. Now its ready for paint. This is a great opportunity to have the kids work on mixing colors. The kids actually spent a ton of time mixing just the right shade.

While the paint is still wet, have them sprinkle it with glitter. This was their favorite step:) The wet paint will act like a glue for the glitter. I mentioned in a earlier post that we received a delightful package from CraftProjectIdeas.com that was packed full of craft supplies. One of the things in it was these wonderful glitter shakers. I love that they are the perfect size for little fingers to hold.

Simple quick and adorable.

Do you embrace the mess of glitter with your kids. I would love to hear your tips and tricks for cleaning up glitter. Does anyone else find glitter in the strangest places after a fun project like this?

For more Valentines Day inspiration, then check out my Be Mine Pinterest board.

Toddler Sewing Activity

This simple toddler sewing activity is a great way to introduce your little one to the world of sewing. I love that all the materials for this activity were found around our house. No need to buy anything special.

All you need is:

Mesh Produce Bag ~ potatoes and oranges are often packaged in mesh bags
Plastic Lid ~ we used a yogurt lid
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors
Pipe Cleaner
Yarn or Embroidery Thread

Simply cut out the center of the plastic lid leaving just the ring. Cut a mesh circle to fit into the ring and secure with hot glue. This will act like an embroidery hoop, to keep the mesh tight. Make a simple sewing needle out of a pipe cleaner. Lay the yarn in the center of the pipe cleaner, and fold the pipe cleaner in half. Twist the pipe cleaner ends together to secure the yarn. That’s it! No need to purchase a special toddler sewing needle fo this project:) Check out Teach Preschool’s tutorial along with a simple DIY sewing busy book. Also check out Rainy Day Mum’s creative pipe cleaner tool tutorial

Sewing is a great way for your kiddos to practice their fine motor skills. Your little one will love exploring this simple sewing activity. You can either guide them on how to sew or just them them explore on their own.

The mesh is a great starter sewing material. It is strong, so it can with stand lots of tugging and pulling with our binding. I also love that it is see through. That way they are able to really see what they are doing and where the needle is (unlike fabric).
The kiddos had fun practicing their sewing skills. Since these little hoops are compact, they would be perfect activity to keep little hands busy in the car, or while you are out and about.

How have you taught your little ones how to sew?

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Magnetic Artwork Puzzles

I love when the doorbell rings unannounced and there is a package waiting on the door step. To my kids surprise, the package was brimming with all kinds of sparkly wonderful crafting supplies from CraftProjectIdeas.com. The kids found pompoms, glitter, pipe cleaners, jewels, magnetic sheets and so much more. They could not wait to start crafting. Our first project was making Magnetic Artwork Puzzles from the kids art work.

Magnetic Puzzle Materials:

Magnetic Sheets
Child’s Artwork
either a Cuttlebug and Puzzle Die Cut or printable puzzle template and scissors

The kids made simple art work by using a homemade heart cardboard stamp and our DIY stamp pad. We trimmed their painting to be just larger then the magnetic sheet. I love the the sheets have a self adhesive backing. This made adhering the art work to the magnetic sheet a snap:)

Next we ran the magnetic sheet and art work through the Cuttlebug with the puzzle die cut (the Cuttlebug is a simple die cut machine). Don’t worry if you don’t have a die cut machine, scissors will work great too. You can print off a puzzle temple, trace it onto your art work and then cut it out. I was really surprised at how easy the magnetic sheets were to cut.

The kids had so much fun playing with their simple magnetic puzzles.

Now your have wonderful custom made puzzle! They would make a fun addition to your fridge, or could be adorable gifts.

Here are a few ideas on how to use your Magnetic Puzzles

Grandparents would love to receive a one of these special puzzles in the mail.
Instead of artwork, why not make a photo puzzle.
These would make great travel puzzles. Just bring along a cookie sheet.

The possibilities are endless! What are you going to make with your magnetic sheets?