color & shape theme for toddlers: valentine matching.

i've never been into decorating for valentine's day, but for some reason {probably thanks to pinterest} i can't stop planning valentine projects!

painting, gluing, and coloring valentines!

a little photo shoot!

{left - i couldn't throw away the hearts from the
photoshoot so i made a giant heart above our desk!
right - a simple burlap banner hanging from our mantel}

but, the real reason for this post: another color learning activity!

• i just did another search for clip art, this time for hearts.
• printed one of the hearts on card stock as a stencil and traced 8 hearts {2 of each color}. 
• i taped one of each color to card stock {i plan to laminate this next time i'm at mardel}
• and then put the rest in a pile.

she did really well, other than one mistake. She gets the concept of one-to-one correspondence, so she could match them without knowing what color was what. To make sure she was learning as she played, i told her what color to pick up next. She knows purple, but this was great practice for white, pink, and red. 

like i said in the circle bath post, i like keeping the color options small to keep it from being overwhelming and i like to play the game several times a day for reinforcement.

i also love taking advantage of the holidays to learn specific colors and shapes!

you can't tell by her face,
but she was excited when she
looked down and realized she had
hearts on her jammies!

what valentine fun are you up to this month?

love and hearts,
amber.

polka dot garland.

well, let's have a little recap on my week, shall we? 

1. i lost my phone {still haven't found it}, 
2. our computer filled completely up and i had no room to upload or edit pics {hence the failed attempt at birthday week on the blog}, 
3. i celebrated my first mother's day and emery's first birthday {which went absolutely perfect, other than the insane wind. i couldn't use 80% of my decorations, therefore i have no elaborate party pics to post like i had planned. that's what i get for hosting an outdoor party. oh and it was freezing cold.}
4. my aunt is in town for 2 weeks from california. 

at least my list is half good. to add to the positive side, i'm typing all this from our new computer. glory hallelujah! 

so, let's pretend like it's only a day or two from the last post and i'm prepping for a party that's going to go smoothly...

creative idea #9: polka dot garland.
idea sparked by:http://hiphiphoorayblog.com

Tools:

• circle hole punch(es) {i did 3 different sizes}
• paper {i chose stiff scrapbook paper. not sure how well regular paper would work on a sewing machine...}
• sewing machine
• thread
• scissors
• glue
• unwrapped roll of paper towels {optional}

Directions:

• punch circles

• feed into sewing machine 
• i've seen garlands with a fun thread that adds a pop of color, or one that blends in {i love both ways!}
• i've also seen garlands where the circles are fed through  perfectly centered and ones where they're off centered to give a quirky fun look. 
• other garlands have the circles touching, others have spaces of thread in between. get creative!

• when you have the garland the length you want it, snip the thread and use a small smear of glue to keep the thread from coming out of the paper. 
• when the glue dried, i chose to tape one end to the roll of paper towels, and wind it around to keep it from tangling.

just a few projects left to go...

{UPDATE} - my friend kim tweaked this idea and made it into a sports theme! check out the blog post here!

love and birthday cake,

amber.

birthday prep - paper pinwheels.

my friend and i were talking the other day and she said there are 2 types of families in the world - the type that doesn't make a big deal out of birthdays and the type that does. 

i do believe we are the type that does. 

since we've been married we have never had a birthday, we've had a birthweek. we love to get together with family, have date days, eat good food, and celebrate. now we are crazy excited to do this for a baby. we've never decorated or thrown ourselves a party before, but we're sure as heck gonna do it for our kids. so, here begins her birthday week {actually, a few days early}. welcome to the birthday factory!

creative idea # 9: paper pinwheels
idea sparked by: there are tons of tutorials online, but i haven't found one that i've read and immediately understood how to make these things. {maybe i'm just reading the wrong ones...} this is my attempt to make a tutorial that at least i would understand :-) 

tools:

• 2 sheets of paper {i used computer paper. obviously the size you choose will effect the size of the pinwheel. i've also made mini ones out of book pages before}
• tape {both regular and double sided}
• string, yarn, or something else to tie with
• scissors
• hot glue gun {optional}
• circle punch in different color {optional}

directions:

• lay  papers end to end and tape together

• fold accordion style, end to end. {i'm confessing to you now that i am a recovering perfectionist. a few years ago i would have meticulously measured one inch increments along the length of the papers, folded them perfectly even, and, had i messed up, would have thrown it away and started all over. i cannot tell you how great it is to not be like that anymore. like i said though, i'm still recovering. instead of measuring perfectly, i fold the paper slightly smaller than the previous fold because when you press it down, it will become the same width as the last fold. see pic below}

 

• a few years ago i would have also busted out my ruler and measured the exact middle of my accordian fold so i would know where precisely to put my string. i clearly needed a life. this time around, i got smart and folded it all in half so i would know where the middle was.

• tie string in fold

• use double stick tape to stick the sides together

 

• if you want to hide the yarn, or simply help coordinated these further with your theme, hot glue a circle to the middle.

tada! crazy easy.

stay tuned for more birthday fun...

love and confetti, 

amber