Make a Cute Christmas Birdhouse

Photo Credit: Heather Mann // Project by: Carissa Bonham

Right now Jo-Anns and Michaels both have small wood birdhouses available for $1. Using some felt and ribbon (you don't need much!) I personalized it to make a cute gingerbread-style birdhouse. Make several in a bunch of different colors for a fun take on the traditional Christmas village. Keep the colors sweet and candy-like and re-use your birdhouse display for Valentines day!


Project Cost: $2

• Wood birdhouse: $1
• Felt $0.90 (1 sheet each of 3 different colors/$0.30 each)
• Ribbon (borrowed from a friend)
• Hot glue (on hand)

How I did it:

Use the felt sheets to cut shapes the same size as the walls of the birdhouse. I used light pink for the front and back and dark pink for the sides. Be sure to cut out holes for the bird door and perch. Attach with glue.

Use wide chevron ribbon to cover the edges of the roof. Attach another piece of cut-to-size felt to the roof (I used brown). Repeat with the bottom edge.

Use a piece of skinny red and white ribbon to wrap the perch. Use more skinny ribbon to cover the edges where the felt colors meet.

That's it! Super easy and inexpensive enough to make a little birdy town affordable. Pick up a few wooden candle sticks while you're out to elevate some of the houses for added interest in a multi-house display.

Capture the Love with...Photo Valentines!

Have you decided what you (or your kids!) are giving out for Valentines Day yet? To be honest, I wasn't really into the whole V-day thing until I had a kiddo of my own and decided that there is no better time to capture that sweet little face and turn it into a fun card for our families and friends.

This was the card we gave out last year:

2011 Valentine's Day Photoshoot and Cards at Carissa's Creativity Space

If you're still deciding what you'd like to do and looking for ideas check out some of my favorite Valentines photo ideas from around the interwebs!

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I love these adorable photo pockets. They are so fun and can show off your little one's personality.

[Pop] Rock Star Valentines Pocket Cards from I am Momma Hear Me Roar

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Cute and Easy Photo V-day cards. I"m sure you could find a variety of fun heart shaped candies to tape in their hand

"I Give You My Heart" Photo Cards from Smashed Peas and Carrots

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I've also seen these done with lolliops without a label to mimic the look of a  large balloon.

Giant Balloon-Like Lollipop Cards from Remodelaholic

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Like the lollipop card idea but don't have a kid? Borrow a pet or robot!
Non-Kid Lollipop Cards from Saucy Pants

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Another great project from I am Momma, Hear Me Roar: Use more than one photo to make a great bag topper and fill it up with more than one candy.

Bag Topper Photo Valentine from I am Momma Hear Me Roar.

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Want something quick and easy with no candy, gluing or taping required? Check out these cards from Eighteen25. Follow the links in the post to download free .PNG files and personalize them with your own photos.

Custom Valentines Photo Cards from Eighteen25

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If I featured your project, please feel free to grab a button if you'd like:

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Can't Get Enough Valentine Ideas?

Join me and five other fabulous craft bloggers for a live chat on the Motherhood later today!

When: Tuesday, Feb 7th, 2012 at 1pm EST (that's 10am Pacific)

Where: The Motherhood (registration is free)

Featuring: Amanda from Crafts by Amanda will be doing a live video demo.

Live Chat Hosts:

Carissa from Carissa's Creativity Space (that's me!)

Heidi from Honeybear Lane

Lisa of Condo Blues

Breanna of Dollar Store Mom

Colleen from Mural Maker and More

I hope I'll see you there!

Wondering where the DIY Play Kitchen posts went? Don't worry! We're just taking a quick break to spread the v-day love. I'll be back with part 3 of the DIY Play Kitchen series later this week!

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Ladybug Valentines Cupcakes

I made these cute ladybug cupcakes for valentines day five years ago but never posted a how-to. They are super easy to make and would make a great project to work on with your kids.

What You Need

• Flat Topped Cupcakes (slightly underfill the wells and reduce temp by 10 degrees to get flat, not rounded tops)
• Pink or red frosting
• Black frosting
• White frosting (just a little bit)
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
• Offset Spatula
• Piping tips sized 1 and 3 if you want to get fancy (but use what you have)
• Piping bags with saran wrap OR 2 Ziplock bags
• Twizzler pull and peel candy

Prep
The total amount of frosting needed will vary based on how many cupcakes you're decorating but you'll want about 3 parts red frosting, 1 part black frosting and 1/2 part white frosting.

Set up your black and white frosting in piping bag(s). Even if you're a cake decorating pro, take a minute to check out this mind blowing tip for how to do all this with less mess and less clean up. If using piping tips, put the smaller tip on the white frosting. If you don't have piping bag, you can pack the frosting into the corner of a ziplock bag and snip just a teeny bit off the end to make a wee little hole.

Peel your twizzler to separate out individual strands. Cut the individual stands into 2 inch pieces. Cut 2 pieces for each cupcake you want to make.

Let's Get Decorating
Step 1: Use the offset spatula to spread a smooth layer or red or pink frosting on the tops of the cupcakes

Step 2: Use the black frosting to make a circle for the head at the front edge of each cupcake and then draw a line down the middle.

tip: to make a smooth circle, draw a circle with the piping tip and fill in in a spiral fashion. Dip the tip of your finger into powdered sugar and smooth out the frosting with your finger.

Step 3: Use the black frosting to draw different sized dots on each side of the line.

Step 4: Use the white frosting to draw smaller white dots for the eyes. Draw a line in a half-circle shape for a smile.

Step 5: Use the black frosting to make smaller dots on top of the white dots. I like to put the black dots in an upper corner of the whites as ladybugs looking up and away are cute. Ones looking straight forward are creepy.

Step 6: Stick 2 of the 2-inch pieces of twizzler into each cupcake for antenna. Tip the twizzler pieces with black frosting if desired.

Make a whole colony of ladybugs for fun and enjoyment of all.

Can't Get Enough of Valentine's Crafts?

Join me and four other fabulous craft bloggers for a live chat on the Motherhood this Tuesday!

When: Tuesday, Feb 7th, 2012 at 1pm EST (that's 10am Pacific)

Where: The Motherhood (registration is free)

Featuring: Amanda from Crafts by Amanda will be doing a live video demo.

Live Chat Hosts:

Carissa from Carissa's Creativity Space (that's me!)

Heidi from Honeybear Lane

Lisa of Condo Blues

Breanna of Dollar Store Mom

I hope I'll see you there!

(Can't wait til Tuesday to get your V-day fix? Check out my pinboard of great Valentines ideas in the meantime)

Wondering where the DIY Play Kitchen posts went? Don't worry! We're just taking a quick break to spread the v-day love. I'll be back with part 3 of the DIY Play Kitchen series next week!

As usual, I'm partying here:

* A Pinteresting Party at Tutus and Tea Parties * Valentine's Day Party at Momnivore's Dilemma * Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring * I'm Lovin It at TidyMom * Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello * Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest * Inspire Me Fridays at The Joyful Stamper * Pinsperational Thursday at Arty Girl Connection *