Pinterest Test Craft: Heart Crayons for Valentine's Day!

Gia's class is having a little Valentine's Day party and I wanted to make something special for her to give to her classmates. I bought the requisite Disney Princess Valentine's day cards, but that wasn't enough. We are discouraged from sending candy, cookies or cupcakes (which makes sense. Who wants a bunch of 2.5 year olds hopped up on sugar at 9 am?).  So, I started to think about what else I could make.   I remembered that last year a Facebook friend of mine made adorable little crayons in the shape of hearts, so I searched Pinterest for some specifics on how to make them.  I ran into a few snafus along the way (who knew peeling crayons was such a pain the ass?) so below you'll find directions as well as some time-saving tips and tricks.   Here's what you need: 4 boxes of crayons (24 count)  silicone heart shaped "cupcake" mold your oven   Yield: approximately 18 heart crayons 1. Preheat the oven to 250.   2. Lightly grease the mold with cooking spray.   3. Peel all the crayons. If you're having trouble doing this, soak them in water for a few minutes. (I stood them up in a drinking cup.) Once the paper gets wet, it is MUCH easier to peel off.  

  4. Break the crayons up into small pieces and put the pieces in the molds. I did about 4 crayons to a mold. I also put varying colors in each mold so that my crayons turned out multicolored. No need to fill the mold--then the crayons will be too thick anyway. Put the mold on a baking sheet for stability.

  5. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Check on them at the half way point. If they aren't melting uniformly, turn the mold so that the opposite side is now toward the back of the oven. That will help.     6. Once they're melted take them out and cool completely (about 20 minutes). Once they are cool, bend the mold and pop them out. If they are totally cool, and you're gentle, they shouldn't break. (I wasn't too gentle and they still came out very easily.)  

  That's it! Simple and adorable! Pop them in some cute favor bags, or simply attach them to your child's cards and you're done!  

An Update from St. Thomas

I've been wanting to post an update since we got here. It's just so beautiful and we're having a ball. But, I didn't bring my laptop, so I have no way of posting all my awesome pictures. And really, what's an update on vacation with out pictures? Also, I'm typing this from my iPad. And it's kind of a pain. My two pointer fingers are working overtime here.  So I'll leave you with a few quick thoughts and whatever photos I can get to work here... I don't know who took my 2.5 year old and replaced her with a 10 year old, but Gia has been amazing this whole time. She sat in her seat, quietly, the entire plane ride. 3.5 hours and she didn't ask to get up once. We watched Ariel 3 times and, viola! We were in St Thomas. (In case you're wondering, we did give her Benadryl for the plane ride--to help dry up this cold she's fighting. We put her in a pull up and made her go right before we got on the plane. She wasn't much into food or drinks on the plane and held it until we arrived in St. Thomas.)

Jon loves coconuts. Here he is drinking the milk straight from it!

Sunrise view from the condo we're in

Gia loving the pool

Me driving--on the left side of the road!!

Gia hanging out at the condo, watching Ariel

One of the gorgeous beaches...maybe Magen's Bay (can't remember!)

  Now that we're here, she's a little champion. She sings songs, she plays in the pool, runs in the sand, eats and sleeps well.  It's amazing how good she's being.    We are staying in a condo right on the beach and we have a view of the sunrise every morning. It's pure bliss.

Etsy for Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day and I'm not afraid to admit it.   Yes, it's a "Hallmark Holiday" but it's a day centered around love. What could be better than that? This year I was looking for a cute Valentine shirt for Gia but I wanted something a little different than the ones you find at some of the usual kids stores.  I found these awesome mother-daughter Valentine's Alphabet shirts from Mrs. Meshugga in her Etsy shop and I knew they were perfect.

I've been running to my mailbox ever since I placed our order and today they arrived (in a super cute polka dot package, by the way).    The shirts are super soft and awesome quality.    Gia loved hers and immediately wanted to put it on.   Check out my little model in her I <3 U Alphabet shirt.

Mommy & Me matching shirts!

Check out Mrs. Meshugga's Etsy Shop HERE.  She has adorable stuff --and it's not just shirts!