Saturday morning I splurged on a scroll saw and we spent the entire weekend making our own wooden toys. Elon, in particular, showed immediate talent for the work and cut out piece after piece almost flawlessly. He didn't even break any blades!

I drew the patterns, he cut them out and we all took turns sanding. I experimented with both wood burning (hated it!) and a water color wash on a few pieces, but will need to play around with some other paint ideas this week. It's definitely an addicting new hobby!

As previously mentioned, the kids requested a Valentine's Day party this week, so we will be having one tomorrow. Admittedly I procrastinated quite a bit when it came to planning the party, but even still, I think everything has come together nicely. We'll begin the day by reading about Saint Valentine and learning about the history of Valentine's Day; we'll also read Cupid and Psyche by Charlotte Craft.

After reading, we'll be doing a few Valentine's Day crafts...the kids are most excited about this one, from Martha Stewart:

They've been wanting to make crayons for awhile, so this seemed like a good excuse (another set of instructions can be found here). We bought a great scalloped heart-shaped muffin pan especially for the project. :-)

Here are some other cute ideas, many found via The Crafty Crow (it's a bit too "last minute" for some of these projects, but I'll definitely be saving them for next year!):

• Crayon Hearts
• Keepsake Flower Petal Valentines
• Heart-Shaped Soap
• Bonbon-Filled Hearts
• Heart Stamps from Potatoes
• Dum Dum Posies
• Love Bird
• Valentine Love Boats
• Matchbox Valentines
• A Sailor's Valentine
• Woven Hearts
• Salt Dough Conversation Hearts
• Shrink Plastic Valentines (and here)
• Cupid Cutouts
• Heart Sequins Bookmark
• Tissue Paper Flowers (and here)
• Sweet & Simple Valentine's Treat Bags
• Candy Necklaces
• Heart Pencil Topper
• Valentine Tic Tac Toe
• Valentine Candy Maze
• Paper Heart Wreath
• Handprint Valentines
• Fingerpaint Garland
• Reverse Applique Bean Bags
• Collage Art Valentines
• Sewn Paper Valentines
• Crocheted Valentines
• Valentine Heart Pins
• See-Through Valentines
• Clothespin Valentines
• Hearts and Blocks Valentines
• Valentine Heart Painting
• Heart Flag Garland
• Valentine Clothesline
• Heart Bookmark
• Printable Valentine Treat Bags
• Paper Heart Bouquet (and here)
• Felt Heart Cookies
• Newspaper Roses
• Stuffed Fabric Hearts
• Felt Heart Pockets
• Fabric Valentine Garland
• Stuffed Paper Hearts
• Simple Chenille Heart Garland
• Chocolate Bath Melts
• Hidden Message Felt Hearts
• Decoupaged Valentine's Buckets

Valentine's Treats

And what would a Valentine's party be without treats?! I'll be making these little Conversation Heart Cakes from Martha Stewart, as well as some cookies (there's been a demand for cupcakes, too).

Some other ideas include:

• I Heart Ice Cream Cake
• Peppermint Spiral Cookies (via My Paper Crane)
• Valentine's Oreos
• L.O.V.E. Candy Canes
• Peppermint Hearts
• Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes
• Heart-Shaped Creature Cookies
• Valentine's Playdough Cookies
• Chocolate-Dipped Pretzel Hearts
• X's and O's Cupcakes
• Brownie Heart Cupcakes
• Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Hearts
• Rich Chocolate Heart Cakes
• Valentine Heart Pops
• Brownie Hearts
• Creamy Fudge Hearts

Printable Valentines

• Free and Frugal Printable Valentines: A great list from ohdeedoh!
• A Number of Things
• Love Is All You Need Cards, from Bunny Cakes
• Lollipop Butterflies
• Cowboy Lasso Cards and Dinosaur Cards, from Cottage Industrialist
• Owl Be Your Friend Forever Cards
• A Little Acorn Valentine
• Lovebirds Silhouette
• Vintage Valentines