Art Dolls by Du Buh Du Designs

{ Rocket Valentines }

Candy Rocket Valentines

Valentine's Day, like most holidays, always seems to sneak up on us. I like the idea of making our own cards but we always seem to run out of time and end up getting the inexpensive store bought ones. This year, I decided not to go that route and, instead, design ones for my son to give out to his classmates. Pinterest has some great ideas for Valentines and the one that caught our attention were the Candy Rocket Valentines so I created a version (loosely) based on my son's favorite Saturn V rocket. These were designed to be used with the large or small rolls of Smarties candies. You can use the rockets as cards if you'd rather not give out candy. I've included PDF's at the end of this post if you wish to use them. These would make great party favors all year round ( I included flames that do not have the Valentines message for that reason).

Click on "Continue Reading" link below for a step by step guide on how to make them :)

{ El Dia de los Muertos~Arañas }

Spider (Araña) decorations hanging from the loft

Andres has been enjoying the past month of Kindergarten, however he often mentions that his least favorite /most frustrating part of class is when it comes time to cut and paste. So we've been practicing at home and, since El Dia de los Muertos is fast approaching, I thought this might be a fun project for him to try based on the spider in this video by Ritxi Ostáriz  (1:15). We used the look of the spider in the video as a starting point only.The next ones we make will have our own look to it. I'm already thinking of butterflies and other creatures or insects in addition to calaveras (skeletons).

Supplies we used:

bristol paper for the skull, construction paper, ultra fine glitter (eyes and nose), tacky glue

masking tape (to attach legs to the back), chenille stems (for spider legs and mustaches)

Rhinestone flowers and markers for decorative touches

 

 If you're looking for Day of the Dead crafts for kids, here are a few tutorials you might want to try:

* Calavera Catrina by Kathy Cano-Murillo, The Crafty Chica (Kathy's site has lots of tutorials)

*  Sugar Skulls by Mexican Sugar Skull

* Calaveras Masks by Scrumdilly-do

* Papel Picados "Making Magic Windows" by Unschool Me

* Various projects/ideas~by One Pretty Thing (lots of additional links to check out)

 I can hardly believe that October is almost halfway over. I'm a bit behind on my decorations but working away on the second batch .The first I tossed out as I wasn't happy with them..yes, I do that from time to time. Mark has already started building part of Andres' over the top costume; he's the one who ought to do tutorials on the things he builds. And we're looking forward to bringing home pink apples and pumpkins in the next few days..only then will it feel like Fall:)