diy clay conversation hearts (with arrows)

conversation hearts.

i wonder how they ever got started, 

as i remember them when i was little girl 

a looooooong time ago.

guess i could always google the history of 

conversation hearts or even go buy me a 

box but i don't like the taste of 'em.

so what's a non-conversation-heart-eater like me

supposed to do when i still like the 

cuteness of conversation hearts?

i make them with clay 

except i include an arrow in it. 

like this:

to make these, first up you'll need air dry clay and 

a valentine mold, both of which you 

can find at michael's.

just smoosh the clay in the mold and compact 

it as tight as you can then smooth 

out the back with your hand.

flip the mold over to be sure the 

front of the heart looks smooth.

this clay is really awesome because it doesn't stick 

to your hand and with just a little coaxing, 

is actually easy to remove from the mold and 

still be a little pliable to work with 

before it completely dries.

no worries about the letters being a little indistinct, 

as we can fix that after it dries.

anyway, since it isn't completely dry yet, 

we can do this:

now you need your arrow.

that way you can get a heart with a 

straight arrow like so:

now grab your paint and go to town with all the colors.

i stuck the hearts on a stick while i painted them.

this way it's easier to turn the hearts while 

painting and not get your fingers in the way.

then stick the stick in a styrofoam block or 

a lollipop holder like i have to dry.

when the paint dries,

go over the raised letters with a red sharpie.

and then enjoy all the little colorful 

arrow conversation hearts.

don't forget to add your twine or ribbon or whatever.

i hung these on a fake tree plant in my dining room.

so there you have it.

you can hang these on a string as a garland, 

or as a gift tag, a trinket for your sweetie pal, 

leave the holes outta them and glue to cardstock 

and make a pic, turn them into kid jewelry, 

put them in a bowl for display,

make a card outta them, 

wrap them around flatware in napkins,

glue them on a gift package, 

stick them in a jar, 

or or or...

all of the above.

or just look at these and add them to 

pinterest to make who knows when. lol

emoji text message valentine pretzel rods

😊! 😁!

i'm texting you today 😆

just like any other texts you get. 

but today i am doing it with pretzels 😍

look it's 

emoji text message valentine pretzel rods!😄😁😊😀❤💕💗

man that's a long title 😲

it started out with this 🙄

it's easy to miss those emoji m&m's unless 

you are a crazed holiday head like me 😱

and spend an hour 😨⏰ investigating everything related 

to any holiday ever which is how i found those emojis 😂

the sprinkles are from years ago 😭😢

so if you can't find them, 

just use any valentine hearts and 

pipe on the x's and o's 😉

but before i get to that,

here's how to make them 😁

then pipe away but do a much better job 

than me please unless you want 

wonky lettered texts which is what i made here 😜 😛

😍 XO #valentine

😉❤💗 happy❤day XO

😍❤😍 U R sweet XO

😍 happy XO day 💗

ok so i won't bore you with close-ups 😴😪 

so here they are all together 😆

with all the texts you get,

betcha wouldn't mind getting all these huh? 😉😆😂

diy decorated gold coasters

what is is about sparkly things that 

are so appealing?

and let alone gold sparkly things?

well i dunno,

but i do know it catches my eye  

so i went and made these

gold coasters to add some sparkly stuff in my life,

which is aka more stuff i really don't need.

dang these coasters are the prettiest things ever 

and they even come in red and pink too, 

thanks to ole target that likes to drain my wallet.

not to mention hobby lobby too that 

does the same thing and is where i bought 

these stickers awhile back.

this couldn't get any easier.

holy moly that's it.

here's a gold gander at 'em up close.

well, surround yourself with all kinds of people really, 

as that's the way to grow IMHO,

but heck, 

the sticker matches and looks pretty ;)

oh yes that is very true.

i am doing more and more of this and 

getting less and less crankier. lol

and of course i am doing it in my crafty room,

my especially happy place.

hope you get to make these so you can have a drink, 

place it on the coaster,

and spend more time at your happy place :)

diy happy birthday light box

you know when your brain needs a break 

when you reach into it and 

-------------

nothing is in there.

such was the case with me for a bit,

when i was trying too hard to come up 

with something to blog about 

but my brain said 

"noooooo! i need a rest!"

of course it doesn't help when you overuse it

 like i did over the holidays with prep 

and all,

 not to mention family matters.

but now i am back and i am moving on to...

birthdays!

well, actually my son's to be exact, 

which is coming next month.

so i saw some goodies at the store and 

it lit my brain afire again!

and i made a happy birthday light box :)

you just need 3 supplies:

they look like fruit gummies to me :)

so i had to have them along with this:

first step:

and finally get some kinda glue.

add some batteries to the pack and:

ok let's see how it looks when you turn it on:

WOWZA! 

that's purrrtee.

how about at night?

WOOHOO!

well if that's not a party in a box i don't know what is.

i do think it needs some more bling though

(which is completely optional of course).

and there you have your happy birthday light box :)

now the next fun part is filling it up,

which you have endless possibilities for your birthday sweetie.

ok so maybe the ice cream would melt or

the coconut drink would spill,

but heck,

there are still lots of choices to suit

 that special birthday person ;)