Journaling Ideas @ 'Or So She Says'

Hey there!  It's the second Monday of the month, so that means I'm over at Or So She Says today.  I've done a post all about journals.  Holiday journals, family journals, journals for yourself, and journals for your kids.  Here's a sneak peak of what you can find over there today.  

Valentine love notes and mailboxes.

Journal jars and journal prompt sites.

How to start a family journal.

Click here to go take a look, and stay awhile to see what else Mariel has to offer.  She has the best ideas on so many different topics!  Definitely worth your time!

P.S.  I also thought I'd share two of my favortie love songs with you for Valentine's Day.  These come from Disney movies, and are so sweet!

"Love" from Robin Hood. 

"So This is Love" from Cinderella.
Hope you're enjoying your valentine week!

DIY Valentine Tin Cans

I posted some Organizing Tin Cans last week, and they were kind of popular!  I decided to do a valentine version for fun.  We have valentine love notes at our house, and these cans are perfect for holding the writing  tools and notes.  It's kind of our writing center.

I used a tissue paper flower for this can.  I honestly use these little flowers for everything!  Martha Stewart has a great tutorial on how to make them.

Here's a side view so you can see the ribbon I put around the middle of the can.

I got so many comments about the pom pom ribbon on my other tin cans!  I always put the pom pom ribbon on at least one of my cans.  They're just fun!

I used ric rac on this little can and glitter hearts.

And you can't forget the festive writing tools!  Here's bit of my valentine collection.

I used Crate Paper's Fourteen Line on my cans.  I LOVE this line!  The stripped paper did come from Pinkpaislee's City Sidewalks Line.  So many cute papers to choose from!

For more details on the how to of the cans, click here.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Valentine Tic-Tac-Toe (Printable)

My boys are doing a countdown to Valentine's Day, and yesterday we played valentine tic-tac-toe.  I was worried they would HATE using pink and red hearts instead of Xs and Os (which also work perfectly for Valentine's Day), but when I got them out and showed them they said, "oh, cool!"  I was shocked!  Come to think of it, they haven't complained once about all of the pink and red I've been using all month long. :)  

I bought some table scatter (the same I used in my Love Birds Art) at Dollar Tree, and the hearts in that worked perfectly for this game!  You could use anything red and pink for the Xs and Os- red and pink M&Ms, valentine Hershey kisses, regular Xs and Os (hugs and kisses), conversation hearts, the list could go on and on! 

I printed my game board out on white card stock.  I didn't get around to it yet, but I also want to laminate it so I can pull it out every year to use.  I might mount it on cute scrapbook paper before I do that (I can't leave well enough alone!).

This would be the perfect game for any classroom parties you may have coming up next week.  I've also been playing around with a valentine Sudoku game.  It's a bit tricky finding the right amount of stickers for one board, but I'm working on it.  Check back next week for that game.

You can click here to print your tic-tac-toe game board. 

Linking up to these parties.

Valentine Garlands

I have a thing for all of the cute scrapbook papers out there that consist of a bunch of little cards on one page.  Do you know the ones I'm talking about?  I buy them and then hurry home to cut them out as soon as I walk in the door (kind of weird, I know).  

One of my favorite ways to use these papers is in a garland.  Holiday garlands, or garlands for any and all occasions. 

  

I found this darling paper at Archiver's (also where I found my paper for my Love Birds Art).  It's from Crate Paper.  Their whole Fourteen Collection is adorable!  I made these two small garlands from one piece of paper. 

Besides the paper, the only other things you need are clothespins (I used the mini ones), red yarn, and glitter hearts.  

I found this paper a couple of years ago and bought several pages of it because it was so cute and versatile!  It's from K & Company, Sweet Talk Postage Stamps.  

The saying and pictures are so clever!  I LOVE them all!

I love making my own creations from scratch, but other times it's SO nice to buy something inexpensive and all ready to go.  

What do you like to use for your garlands?

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Love Birds

I found this fun chevron paper when I was at Archiver's the other day.  I knew I needed to do something with it.  I've been seeing so many cute valentine art pieces with 'love birds' and 'bee mine' in blog land lately, and decided that's what I needed.  This project came together in a matter of minutes, and it just makes me smile!  My only dilemma now is finding the perfect frame for it.  I need something white and swirly.

Supplies

*Crate Paper  pink and white chevron paper (I got mine at Archiver's)
*Making Memories red glitter chipboard letters (I got mine at Michaels)
*light gray card stock
*Imaginisce polka dot paper (I got mine at Archiver's)
*red glitter hearts (I got mine at Dollar Tree, they were table scatter)
*cut out birds (I used my Ribbons & Rosettes Cricut cartridge)
*adhesive

How To
*Cut out bird images.  I used my Cricut, but you could easily find your own bird image to use.  My polka dot birds are 2" and my light gray birds are 2 1/4". 
*Ink the edges of the polka dot birds. 
*Layer the polka dot bird images on top of the light gray birds.  Adhere.
*Apply adhesive to the back of the birds and glitter letters.  Center on chevron paper, and adhere.
*Hot glue the red glitter hearts to the birds.  I used hot glue because the hearts have glitter on both sides, and regular tape or adhesive didn't hold too well.

I love using scrapbook paper and supplies to make seasonal art.  It's inexpensive and a lot of the items I use I can pop off and reuse for a different project.  Sometimes these kind of projects can be a bit trendy and when I pull them out the next year, I'm not in love with them.  I like having a lot of classic, traditional holiday pieces, mixed with some fun and trendy ones that can be changed from year to year.

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Here's your Tuesday quote.  Click here to print it.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

Valentine Love Notes & Printable

We have a tradition at our house of writing little love notes to each other during the month of February.  In the past, we've just used plain pieces of paper.  This year I decided we needed to make our notes a bit cuter.  With a husband and three boys, Valentine's is the only time of year I can get away with cute, so I do!  This is what I came up with. 

It's so fun to see how excited my boys are to write notes to everyone.  They're so secretive about it, and they write the sweetest things.  I'm always sneaking a look into their mailboxes (a box or tin where we leave each other's notes) to see what they've written to each other.  It really is a great way to reflect on and remind each other of the many reasons we love one another.

I made four notes on one page, so it will be easy to print out LOTS of notes.  We have five of us in our family, and we sometimes go through 20 notes a day.  I always make sure to have plenty on hand, so we don't run out.

  I hope you'll enjoy this fun tradition as much as we have!  Click here to print your valentine love notes.

Linking up to these parties & Savvy Southern Style.

February Calendar

I've been holding off on all my valentine posts until February arrived.  Well, it's here so be ready for LOTS of valentine projects!

I like to make a big calendar every month to put up for my boys to use.  Like I mentioned here, calendars are great for teaching countless math concepts.  It's fun to countdown the days to a special occasion, learn the days of the week, how many days in a month, how many days in a week, etc.  Not only are calendars great learning tools, but they can also double as holiday decor.

Here's how I make my calendar.

Supplies

*white poster board 

*black marker

*yard stick

*chipboard glitter letters

*heart stickers

*red & white gingham paper

*alphabet stamp set

*adhesive

How To

I buy my white poster board at the dollar store for 50 cents.  I cut that in half so it's 14" x 22".  Then I measure and mark my lines.  My calendar header is 3" x 22", my days of the week are 1" x 3", and my days are 2" x 3".

Then I cut my red and white gingham paper to 3/4" x 3/4".  I attached my gingham squares to the calendar with double sided tape.  I then stamped the numbers of the days on the gingham paper with my alphabet stamps, and then stamped the days of the week with my stamps as well.

Finally, I added my glitter letters and heart stickers.  I used the double sided tape for those as well.  

I sure do love calendars and holidays!  Speaking of holiday calendars, look what Debbie at Me and My DIY made.  Doesn't this make your heart skip a beat?  It does mine!  I can't wait to make one!  

Linking up to these parties.