DIY Cooking at Home

Hi there, everyone, hope you're having a great day! It's unseasonably warm here today for the last day of January, but I'm comin' at ya with some fun Valentine's Day crafts anyway. Martha is always good for a do-able idea or two. Here are a couple: Lollipop Heart Flowers Doily Flower Cards Meet the Dubiens gives a way to turn fingerprint hearts into a "love blossom" tree! Or paint their whole little hands for this cute keepsake (also from Meet the Dubiens .) Parents Magazine suggests making cute cards using letter blocks you probably already have. Make some heart-shaped cupcakes without a special baking pan.

Do you get Family Fun magazine? If you like to make things with your kids in the kitchen or at the craft table, this mag has a wealth of original, inexpensive, ideas. I often even find a kid craft that's pretty enough to display in the house proudly, like this leaf mobile . I mean, let's face it, we love our kids but maybe would like our homes to look stylish, too, and some of the "crafts" we make here at our house don't exactly blend with the decor. But this mobile added just enough fall to our family room, which is primarily green and blue, making it hard to incorporate fall colors without looking crazy. (Come to think of it, how am I going to decorate for Christmas this year? Hmmm...) Anyway, the instructions for the leaf mobile are here . Except for the fact that clear contact paper can drive a sane woman mad, this was super simple and the kids loved helping me collect the leaves from around the neighborhood. I just happened to have a roll of the darn...

This cute craft from The Ivy Cottage packs a one-two punch: it's kid-friendly AND seasonal. I love finding fun things to do with our kids for each holiday. Creating decorations that we can unearth each year are especially great because it will remind us of the time we spent creating them together. I had originally thought I'd try this and put it on our front door but then...it might not hold up to the elements. Come to think of it, the candy corn is perishable I suppose. Should we consider spraying it with clear-coat to seal out moisture? Anyway, I love the idea!

It almost seems a shame to feature one of Martha's ideas ...she certainly doesn't need the plug (especially from a small-time blogger like me!) and there are so many other inventive crafters out there. But nonetheless, this craft is truly easy and doesn't require too many special supplies. Most people have a crock pot, and most moms have a ton of broken crayons somewhere in the house. So here you go: dip-dye those dime-a-dozen white pillar candles ! I would venture to say that your kids could help with this, too. The wax surely wouldn't get too hot in an open slow-cooker.