Green Eggs & Ham Valentine Morning

Today, Grandpa Mike (a retired Detroit Fire Chief) read Green Eggs and Ham to our grandson's pre-school class. Grandpa Mike dressed for the occasion which I thought was pretty cool. It's awesome to have such a wonderful relationship with my son-in-law's family. My daughter and son-in-law have been together since 8th grade and are now happily married with three kids. Fischer (pictured in the green shirt) is the youngest.

The book reading was a joint family effort. NeeNee packaged "SAM I AM" bubble bath for my little buddy to give to his Valentine friends. Fischer eagerly applied the ingredient labels to the finished product. Many of the labels were applied cock-eyed, but no one noticed. This was a memory in the making.

The bubble bath product was colored green and scented in GoPlanetEarth's green apple fragrance.

Below are links for the printable labels. There are plenty of companies on the Net that offer bottles and bubble bath. You can also purchase pre-scented bubble bath at your local supermarket. Check-out your local Dollar Store for inexpensive plastic bottles. You will be surprised at what you can find in the $$ stores.

The labels I created fit one-ounce Boston round bottles. Ingredient labels are in MS Publisher allowing for changes based on product ingredients. Take note that the FDA requires an ingredient label on bath products. If you would like the editable MS Publisher template for the ingredient label, email with a Subject Line: Sam I Am Ingredient Label. Ingredient labels are designed for 30-up Avery Address Labels

The bottle labels are in PDF format so NO changes can be made. We sell 8 1/2 x 11 inch high gloss paper for printing the bottle labels. It has 4 slits on the peel-off  sie of the paper making it VERY easy to remove the printed labels from the sheet. You can design and print custom labels and cut to size. Ideal for small projects such as this one. Below is a picture showing the backside of this high-gloss paper.

How to Make: Minecraft Lego Valentine Tote Box

This is actually a follow-up post to the Valentine Tote Box I made from my six-year old granddaughter. Every parent and grandparent knows, what you do for one, you have to do for the other. If not, be ready to hear the words (with arms crossed), "NOT FAIR!"

Both my grandsons, ages nine and four, are obsessed with the Minecraft game on their iPods. Carrying a Valentine tote decorated in hearts and pink and red ribbons wasn't gonna cut the cheese. I decided on this Minecraft tote. It has a Valentine touch, but isn't too girlie looking.

You can glean plenty of decorating ideas using a Google search. I came up with plenty of inspiring ideas, but settled on this theme due to time constraints. I have two of these boxes to make and, like most of you, have limited hours to get everything done. This took me about 1 hour from start to finish.

My nine-year old has the Minecraft Lego set. He wanted a picture of the completed Lego set to put on the back of his tote.When positioning the picture on the box, it looked too cluttered.

No Picture = He'll get over it.

The back side of the tote box is pictured below. Heck, if you have the time, you could print and cut Minecraft characters onto the back section.
As for NeeNee (that would be me), it's not happening, but it would still be pretty cool.

Back side of Valentine Tote Box

Make a Valentine Tote Box

I couldn't stop myself from sharing this Valentine tote box I made for my six-year granddaughter. She is already excited about the handmade Valentine cards she will be giving to classmates. But, this savvy (one-of-a-kind, "no one else will have anything this cool") box to tote home Valentine cards and candy put an even BIGGER smile on her face.

There are always plenty of recycled postal boxes sitting around the warehouse. I am all about finding ways to re-purpose things. This tote is constructed from a 12.5 x 3 x 15.25 postal box covered in brown Kraft paper from our shipping department.

I cut along one long edge of the box and folded and taped the box to hide the mailing label and postal logos.

The box was then covered with paper using the same technique you would use to wrap a gift. Double sided tape is best since it gives a nice clean finish.

Cut an opening in the box for classmates to drop in cards and candy treats. Use a Phillips screwdriver to make two evenly spaced holes in the top of the box for the ribbon handle.

Cut a length of ribbon the size you want for the handle. Knot one end of the ribbon and thread through one of the holes (thread the ribbon by placing you hand into the opening). Thread the other end of the ribbon into the second hole. Knot and tie the end of the ribbon. It doesn't hurt to place a square of duct tape over the ribbon ends (inside the box) to make sure the handle is secure.

 

 

 

There are many other ways to wrap the box with the paper. My second and third attempts (for the other two grand kids), I found other ways to wrap the box. I can't say they were easier, but the final outcome looked more professional.

Considering this is a disposable item, I wouldn't spend an excessive time on the wrapping end. What kids will notice most is the ribbon and decorative pieces that you add. So don't obsess about how you wrap the box.

Once the opening is made and the handle attached, you are left to your own decorative ideas. I tend to have plenty of ribbon and leftover craft items from projects I do with the grand kids. If you don't have ribbon, print out decorative papers (Google for some great idea) or use scrapbook papers.

Scrap booking punches offer a huge variety of shapes, as does foam shapes.

Back side of the Valentine Tote Box

You can also spray paint the box instead of wrapping with Kraft or wrapping paper. It's Winter here in Michigan, and only an idiot would spray paint anything outside in below freezing temps. Personally, the Kraft paper was a less expensive option for me. Like I mentioned before, this is a disposable item. Keep it simple!

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Sweet Treat Soaps

These sweet little cookie soaps look good enough to eat (and easy to make). You will need white melt and pour soap base for the cookie and drizzled area. The chocolate is clear soap colored with chocolate brown. Mold Market's cookie mold was used.

This short video clip shows how to use the soap injector tool to drizzle on the raspberry colored soap. If using multiple colors the injector tool will need to be cleaned before using the next color.

Keep a bowl filled with hot water at your workstation. Empty the syringe tube of any leftover soap. Then place the tip of the injector into the hot water and pull back on the syringe. Press down on the plunger to release the hot water. Continue this process until the the injector tool is free of soap.

It's handy to have several injector tools on hand when using several colors of soap. When you're done with one color, empty the injector of any soap and just drop in the bowl of hot water to soak and grab a clean injector. It's a time saver.

You can clean all the injectors once your project is complete.






Soap Injector Tool

You can purchase the soap injector from GoPlanetEarth. It is sold as a single unit or in packs of 10 or 50 count.

Handmade Valentine's Day Cards

 

Every year the grand kids look to me (NeeNee) to come up with their Valentine cards for school. They all want theirs to be different from their siblings. Imagine that! Nine-year old Carson, is going with glow sticks on a string. This means no candy, but the kids will certainly enjoy the glow sticks much longer than candy.

First grader, Olivia, is giving organic, gluten-free watermelon suckers.

 

 

 My littlest buddy is gifting his pre-school friends with a magnifying glass. He's a candy freak so we might have to include a Pixi Stix candy straw with his cards.

 



 

However you celebrate Valentine's Day, make it special & fun for the little peeps in your life. Make Valentine soaps, cupcakes or cookies. Decorate with hearts and crepe paper. Make heart shaped pancakes for breakfast with red colored syrup and red sprinkles.

 

And, of course, share plenty of hugs and kisses to those you love. Afterall, that's what Valentine's Day is all about.

 

 





Sealed with a Kiss Valentine Envelope Soap

I love, love this new Valentine soap. It soooo easy to make and makes a statement. The lipstick kiss was an afterthought and I'm glad I did it.

Mold Market's Basic Square mold was used for the envelope and the edges trimmed with our wavy cutter. Trimming the edges added more interest to the shape.

The envelope flap was poured in the same square mold, but just a thin layer of soap. Remove and cut into triangle shapes and trim to fit the square.

The heart from the mini-cutter set was used for the heart seal. You can use any shape you want. If you happen to have a envelope sealing stamp lying around in a desk draw, it could prove to be an awesome embellishment.

Wax Heart Stamp

Melt and color a small portion of clear soap, color red and pour a round blob of soap onto wax paper. Let it set-up until slightly hardened and then use the wax heart seal to make an impression. Peel off the wax paper and apply (glue) to the envelope soap with clear clear melted soap.

Heads up on a few things when making this soap:

1. Tip the mold when applying the glitter. We coated the envelope flap with clear soap and then brushed on the glitter using one of our mica brushes.
2. Set the glitter application (once dry) with a light spray of hairspray to keep the glitter from falling onto the envelope area.
3. Use clear melted soap to adhere the envelope flaps the the heart seal.
4. We used smear-proof lip color to kiss our soaps and then lightly sprayed with hair spray to seal the color.

Product Used:

Liquid gel colors are always our first choice. A very small amount of Neon Bright Pink was used in white soap base for the envelope.

Hot pink glitter mixed with white glitter was used to glaze the envelope flap. The small red heart is colored with Tomato Red liquid gel and stamped out with the mini heart cutter.

Sure hope this gives inspiration to your Valentine soaping projects!

Oh my YUM!!! Cupcakes

Look at these! Finally, cupcakes that aren't made from soap. Thanks to my assistant, Kristy. Every year she brings in Valentine cupcakes to share with staff members. Chocolate and strawberry goodness put a smile on every one's face yesterday. Those 300 calories plus were well deserved.

Valentine Pops

Pin It

As promised, here are examples of the butterfly and flower Charms Blow Pops I'm making for my grand daughter's kindergarten classmates. The printable cut-outs are linked below. You'll want to use cardstock paper. I went with red and pink colors.
Flower Cut-Outs

Butterfly Cut-Outs

You will need a box cutter to make the slits to insert the sucker stick in the butterfly. The cut-outs clearly defined the cutting lines. Tape a Smartie candy roll over the stick. The butterfly antenna is made with a pipe cleaner. I cut the pipe cleaners in half and twisted around a chopstick.

A hand-held hole punch is needed for the flower cut outs. Slide the pop into the center hole. I added two Lifesaver candies (I punched a hole in the plastic wrapper; through the center of the Lifesaver). Slide these onto the sucker stick. Use a piece of tape at the base of the Lifesavers to keep them from sliding off the stick.

Add curling ribbon under the flower cut-out (below the Lifesavers). The "FROM" tag can be  positioned above or beneath the flower; it's your call.

Assembling the cut-outs is easy, cutting them out is time consuming. However, when I saw the look on my grand daughter's face, it was worth the time and effort. I have another Valentine project that I did for my 8 year old grandson on my BlimpyGirl.com web site. He preferred an candy airplane over the butterflies and flowers.

Handmade Valentine Cards & More

I'm gearing up for Valentine's Day. This year the grand kids are making their own Valentine cards for school. Miss Olivia is doing butterflies and flowers with Tootsie Pop suckers (with gum inside) attached to each card.

The boys voted for candy airplanes. The kids are excited about the whole DIY yourself concept (makes me smile :))))). I'll post links for the templates next week. I first want to assemble examples of the final outcome before adding links. I'm still waiting on candy to arrive (yes!!! I ordered the candy online because I was too busy to shop Walmart!)

I will also be sharing ways to use these ideas to package and embellish Valentine soaps. Gonna be a busy, zany soaping weekend. I'm also squeezing in a live production of the "Wizard of Oz" with the grand kids. I'm a confirmed nut case, I know. But I'm enjoying life in all its madness.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Divided Love Valentine Heart Soaps

I've been going stir crazy since I've been home with the flu. Last night I was on the mend and decided to pull out some soaping supplies from home and see what I could whip up on the fly. The end result were these Divided Love Heart Soaps. I know they aren't the traditional Valentine colors, but my color palette was rather limited when working from home. I used what colors I had available. I'll load up on more supplies today and will give it another whirl.

I'll be sharing how these were done in a later post. For now, I just need to firm up the technique and experiment with some of the creative ideas I slept on overnight. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It's snowing again here in Michigan. Surprise, surprise.

Valentine Melt & Pours Soap Projects

Valentine Cup Cake Soaps

Here's a recap of some of the Valentines soaps we have done in the past. You will find information on how to make these soaps under our Tutorial RESOURCE section of the GoPlantEarth web site.

Cupid's Heart Soap

Drizzled Heart Soaps


Embed Heart Soap

No Soap this Weekend, Just Water

I strung this clothesline in my family room for the grandkids. They arrive tomorrow morning for a surprise weekend at an indoor water park. The clothesline includes new shoes, swimsuits, and outfits for each grandkid. It's their Valentine gifts from NeeNee and Poppy.


My daughter and her husband left today for a weekend getaway in the UP (upper penisula) of Michigan to snowmobile and do a wilderness trip. We were assigned the duty of watching the grandkids while they have, what they call, a romantic get-away. Staying in a cabin with a potbelly stove for heat, no electicity in the middle nowhere, with only a snowmobile, doesn't spell ROMANCE! As for me, I'll be poolside at the indoor waterpark. Heated pool, room service, and lots of lovin' from the grandkids.

Before signing off for the weekend, I want to wish you a happy Valentine's Day! Life is good when you have love in your life. May you share sweet kisses and hugs with a special someone.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Last Minute Valentine Cupcake Soaps

Looking for some last minute Valentine soap ideas? These cupcake soaps were made in no time flat using the base of the Mold Market Cupcake Mold. We added our own twist for the topper.

The above cupcake base was poured in clear soap base and Flower Child Rock Me Raspberry colorant was added. Our scent choice was Hugs & Kisses (very yummy!) It was topped off with a tuff of whipped soap frosting and a pink colored deep heart. A pinch of white sparkle glitter added a bit of cupcake glitz.

Above: An eggshell colored base (1 drop DWP eggshell color added to white soap base). Next we added a white-colored round cut-out, a chocolate heart, a tuff of whipped soap frosting, and a deep heart colored red. A pinch of red glitter was sprinkled over the finished soap.

Who doesn't like chocolate and cream? We made this cupcake soap using our Milk & Cookies scent.

Layered hearts, and more layered hearts. Use the Mold Market cupcake base to stack different sized hearts. We added glitter to the some of the hearts (we added to the melted soap). A few candied hearts on top add a "sweet" touch.

All of these soaps fit our cupcake boxes. I'll be posting a tutorial soon.