With Valentine’s Day coming up, you are scrambling to help your kids get their Valentines made for the friends, their teachers, and their BFFs.

This project is a great one because the technique can be applied to many different surfaces—blank notebook covers, canvases, or plain greeting cards. And the more you play with the heart-shaped stickers—layering and cutting—the more dynamic your design will be.

To create a very symmetrical pattern like the one featured above (left), first draw a pencil grid using a ruler. Use that grid to arrange your stickers. Once you are finished placing your hearts, erase all of the lines that are exposed.

Or you can play with creating pictures using the heart shape as a building block. This flower pattern here and the fish pictured above don’t require a grid…just a little imagination.

You can choose from a huge selection of heart stickers at Instocklabels.com, and for all different sized blank journals, visit barebooks.com.

PS…if your kids are planning to join me at the Curious Jane Valentine Craft Workshop on February 7th or 8th, this is a project that they will get to do!

Create pictures and designs with various shaped heart stickers.

To design a symmetrical pattern, first draw a grid in pencil, then place stickers in desired pattern, and when finished, erase any exposed lines. Cut hearts to create an even more dynamic design!

Heart stickers from In Stock Labels

Blank Books from Bare Books

Visit the Etsy blog for the instructions!

 “What do you give a friend who has everything?” You’ve said it before, and there’s no doubt you’ll say it again. But here’s an idea: one gift that even the owner of everything could use is a chic box to store all those stylish bibs and bobs in. (Pretty genius, right?) So you start to shop for a cool trinket box, and I’ll tell you, because I’ve done it — you either find the glamorous, glossy, $200 variety or the $10 job that doesn’t quite match the elegance of said friend.

What a pleasant surprise, then, that this DIY faux-geode trinket box — the one that looks like it could cost close to $250 — only requires about $20 worth of supplies, provided you already have food coloring and glue in your craft arsenal. And if you assume you need a lab coat and beakers to “grow” your own decorative crystals, think again. This project can be completed right on your kitchen counter — no science degree required.

Here’s what you need:

Now head over to the Etsy blog for the step-by-step how-to! I’ll just beat you to it: you’re welcome.

I’d say, hands down, my most favorite craft for the Christmas season is an advent calendar. From the materials used to the display methods, the possibilities are endless. Plus, I think they can be used for way more than just the countdown to Christmas. You can countdown any special occasion…a birthday, Hanukkah, a wedding, or a baby’s due date.

This Frozen-inspired reindeer advent calendar (yes, I clearly have 2 toddlers at home) is obviously meant for Christmas, but don’t have to feel constrained to the traditional red and green. And I know, an advent calendar is usually 25 days, but this 7-day version is probably best for the pro-craft-inator who waited until the middle of December to make her advent calendar.

What you’ll need:

• Rattan reindeer
• Spray paint
• Small gift boxes
• Thin ribbon
• Tags
• Number stamps
• Ink pad
• Scissors
• Bells
• Twine

Make It!

1. Spray paint your reindeer in a well-ventilated area in the color of your choice. (Mine is from Pottery Barn but it’s no longer available! You can try these or these.) I used Montana Gold Acrylic in  Gleaming Pink. Let it dry.
2. Stamp the number of tags (these little flag labels are from Michaels) for your countdown. Set them aside.
3. Place a note, piece of candy, or small gift inside each box, then tape ribbon across each box to form an “+” on the top, threading a number tag through one ribbon. (Make sure to put the lower numbers on the larger boxes. Then you’ll end up with the 1, 2, etc on the top of the pile. I only had to make that mistake once.)
4. Slip a jingle bell on a long piece of twine, slide to the middle, and knot. Repeat 2 more times, and gather the 3 bells together and knot the 3 strands to make a bundle. Braid the twine on either side and tie behind the reindeers neck.
5. Stack the boxes on the reindeer’s back. (If you are worried about the boxes toppling over, you can thread a piece of fishing line through the ribbon on the bottom of the boxes and tie under the reindeer’s belly.)

Halloween only comes once a year, and deciding on just one costume can be really challenging for some kids. This October, craft two get-ups for the price of one with a few simple craft and wardrobe changes.

I am super-beyond thrilled with the ways these costumes turned out for Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. They are simple, really doable, and darn cute. Especially that little lion/sunflower…and not just because that’s my daughter, Sommer!

Visit Parent & Child page to get the instructions on how to make them!