9 Easy DIY Valentine's Day Cards for Kids

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Can you believe it's 2014? Each year, as January 1st passes, I get excited about the first holiday. Valentine's Day!

I can remember when I was a kid how fun it was at school to make a "mailbox" from an old shoe box. The next day or so everyone would bring in their Valentine's Day cards to pass out. It was definitely one of my favorite days of each elementary school year!

Today I've gathered nine DIY Valentine's Day cards {or small gift ideas} for you and your kiddos to make together. I imagine their little faces will shine bright as they deliver each of them to their friends!

/1/ Bubblegum Valentines - These are so fun! There's a bonus idea in this gal's blog post, too. {Tip: you can find the tubes of gumballs at Sam's Club. I saw them there just the other day.}

/2/ Heart Gift Tags - You can use chocolate OR heart shaped trinkets for this printable tag.

/3/ Love Potion Valentine - I love this idea! It's simple and SO unique. AND, it promotes drinking good ol' fashioned H2O!

/4/ "Say Cheese!" Printable - The photographer in me LOVES this! Send this free printable to your local print shop for optimum color and quality.

/5/ "In Good Hands" Printable Teacher Valentine - Do you love to spoil your kid's teachers? I do. They keep our silly monkeys six to seven hours of every day, after all. This is an inexpensive way to tell them you are thinking of them.

/6/ "Cake in a Cup" Valentine - Another great idea for the teachers. Pair it with a mug and call it done!

/7/ Popcorn Valentine Printable - This is a Valentine for anyone you love! Friend, spouse, teacher, care taker, babysitter....the list goes on and on.

/8/ Bobby Pin Valentine Printable - Are you crafty? Like, in a "I can make this AND wear it" kind of way? Well, you should share that crafty goodness with those you love! Here's a printable that allows you to show off in a loving way.

/9/ Felt Heart Pocket Bracelet - My daughter would LOVE these. I think I might make her one just because I love her so. Who will you make one for?

Thinking back on Valentine's Day when I was a kid, the cards available were so blah! Just cards. Or, maybe my mom never sprung for the ones with candy. :o) Either way, these are SO MUCH COOLER than the ones offered twenty-five years ago. #whoa #imold #hashtagsdontcare

Want to see more great ideas? Go check out my post on Blissfully Domestic!

Chalkboard DIY Crafts for Back to School

My kids go back to school in two short weeks. It's hard to believe that Summer is coming to an end. We've had great couple of months, though. We...

• went to Walt Disney World Resort
• went to the Disney 24 Hour Event at Magic Kingdom
• went on a Carnival Cruise
• enjoyed a day trip to Downtown Jacksonville with our friends from Tampa
• A few of our days were spent under the sun and in the lake, at Flamingo Lake 
• took advantage of Kids Bowl Free 

WOW! Now that I finished that little recap of our Summer, I realize we had a very eventful couple of months! So, you can only imagine how ready I am for back-to-school season. With it comes teacher's gifts and Fall crafts. I can't wait! Here's a few crafts that feature CHALKBOARD.

 

Chalkboard Fabric Pencil Pouch - I've been making zipper pouches for YEARS...why have I never thought of this? You can bet I'll be making some real soon!

Chalkboard Mason Jar Teacher Gift - Looking for a quick and easy gift for your child's teacher? This is something she probably won't receive on the first day of school.

Smart Cookie Teacher Printable - Dust off your mixer and make Teacher some chocolate chip cookies. You'll earn yourself {and your child} some major brownie points!

Chalkboard Duct Tape Banner - Have you seen Chalkboard Duct Tape in stores yet? There's even Dry Erase Duct Tape! I love this idea on how to create a quick banner using only duct tape and a couple of other supplies. You could even use it as a photo prop for the 1st Day of School!

Back to School Emergency Kit - There's a little bit of everything in this jar to ensure Teacher has a super first day {or week} back at school.

Chalkboard Calendar - Now that Summer is over, it's time to get back on track {and actually know what day it is}. Oh, just me? Surely, during the lazy days of Summer, there were days that you weren't sure....

1st Day of School Photo Idea - How cute is this photo idea? You could personalize this in many ways...and for boys and girls!

Which is your favorite Back to School Chalkboard idea? Show me which you make by tagging me on Instagram. I'm @jonahbonah!

Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas that are A+

Did you know the first full week of May is the official week of Teacher Appreciation? It's the Hallmark holiday, if you will, to show the teachers in your life that you appreciate them!

Having four kids in school with a combined 14 teachers for all of them I like to spread gifts out throughout the school year. Our kid's teachers deserve to be loved on. After all, they love on our children all day, five days a week.

Most years I'm really good about sending in either homemade edible treats or small "thinking of you" gifts. One year Jett's teacher had a classroom theme, the Thompson Turtles. Every time I saw a turtle office supply, like a pad of Post-Its, I'd pick it up for her. She was easy to love on. Another year I sent a series of gifts for the 12 Days of Christmas. That was a lot of fun for me and I got really great feedback from those teachers. {I even had a mom from that school contact me so she could do it for her kid's teachers the following year.}

I think having a baby at the beginning of this school year really through a wrench in my gift-giving self. That, and being without income for months...ya know, when Hubs lost his job. That isn't to say that I don't appreciate our teachers and what they do for our kids. They are super heroes in my book!

Today I've searched some of my favorite blogs for Teacher Appreciation gifts that you can make for your kid's teachers.


/1/ "Thanks for Making Us All Smarties" - You can fill a reusable plastic tumbler full of Smarties and Lifesavers, or even a Mason jar!


/2/ Movie Card Gift - Teachers could ALL use a break. Give your teacher a gift card for her local movie theater so she can relax while catching a newly-released box office hit.


/3/ Target Gift Card Holder - Teachers spend so much of their own money on our children. Give them a gift card to their favorite store so they can go buy themselves something nice.


/4/ Tote-ally Awesome Teacher Gift - Are you crafty with your sewing machine? Whip up a tote for your teacher!


/5/ Best DOGGONE Teacher Gift - This idea is one that I've loved since the first time I saw it. If your teacher is a dog lover it's fur sure a great gift idea!! You can find little plastic dogs here.

Remember, you don't have to wait until the first week of May to love on your teachers. You can do it all year long. Your child's teachers will be thrilled with each and every small token of thanks you send their way. Trust me, I know.

Want to see more great ideas? I've rounded some up and posted them on Blissfully Domestic, too!


{There are a couple of Amazon affiliate links within this post. That means, when you click through and make a purchase I get a small percentage to help support my little{{or big}}family.}