Running from the Law: DIY Valentine's Day Heart Pennant and a Blogger Card Swap

Monday, February 17, 2014

DIY Valentine's Day Heart Pennant and a Blogger Card Swap

Happy Monday!  Did you all have a lovely Valentine's Day weekend?  My husband ditched me all weekend to go fishing with the guys and Mac and I spent the next four days battling the stomach flu and puking on each other.  So romantic, huh.  Valentine's Day just ain't what it used to be.  :)  Ha ha.  Ok, it was kinda awful, but we still managed to have some fun.  We went to my parent's farm Friday night and let them take care of us all weekend, so at least there was help cleaning up all the vomit.  They were saints and spent an inordinate amount of time doing our laundry (repeatedly), making us toast and dealing with our whining.  Mac got to chase opossums through the yard and terrorize their dogs.  Our dogs got to run around and play, with only one of them getting puked on (poor Mally).  And I managed to get through half of 1 of the 17 unread magazines I brought (wishful thinking).  

Anyway, one of the big highlights of Valentine's this year was getting to make our own Valentine's cards and participate in a little blogger Valentine card swap.  Organized by the fabulous Erinn of Strawberry Swing and Other Things (who is totally rocking this whole mom of two thing and is my new inspiration) organized a swap with 12 bloggers participating, all with little ones around the same age.  The idea is that the kids would make a Valentine for each of the children and the moms would give a small (under $10) gift to another mom/blogger.  That way all the kids would have lots of mail (because aren't all toddlers (and moms) obsessed with getting mail?) and the moms would each get a little something special.  Win-win.  

Mac and I were excited to get started on our Valentine's cards.  I wanted to make some kind of little pennant banner with hearts.  He wanted to paint.  So we joined forces and came up with the idea to do a three flag pennant banner with hearts, one of which would be hand-painted by Macadoodledoo, himself. 
Obviously he had a great deal of fun with the paint.  He loves purple, so I had a hard time getting him to use any other color, but he did pretty well.  There was only one incident of him trying to eat the paint, which I managed to stop before it got too bad.  
I don't know about you, but I think he's got real talent.  Later that night, Ryan and I went to a wedding reception at the St. Louis Art Museum and I think Mac's paintings were better than quite a few of the ones we saw on exhibit there.  Just saying.
Next I let his paintings dry and then cut them into hearts.  It nearly killed me to destroy such beautiful masterpieces, but it was for a good cause.
 Next, we cut out some additional hearts from random scrapbook paper in various colors and patterns.  
 Then we glued one heart on 1/2 of a piece of Kraft paper and punched holes in the top for the string.
Add the string...
And then finish off with a few pieces of ribbon in between the flags. 
Voila!  A DIY three-flag heart pennant banner to hang in your home.  
We signed our names to the back and into the mail they went!  
Within a couple days, our mailbox was filled with Valentine goodies from all over the country!
 What a spoiled kid, getting Valentine's from places like Texas and California and Michigan and Virginia!  
 We managed to take a short break for our sickness to open all our Valentine's cards and play with the goodies inside.
 Such a fun assortment of cards!  
Are these not some of the most adorable Valentine's Day cards you've ever seen?
And of course, I got an awesome little surprise from my Valentine - Vanessa at Sunflower State of Mind.  I am madly in love with this amazing raspberry and gold infinity scarf and cannot wait to wear it out!  Thank you so much, Vanessa - you have excellent taste!
My secret Valentine was Emily over at Dear Owen.  You'll have to hop over to her blog to see the box of goodies I sent her (and wish her congrats on their newest bundle of joy, Claire).  

Feel free to check out the rest of the Valentine Day blog swap posts here: 

Natasha at Schue Love
Emily at Dear Owen
Veronika at Veronika's Blushing
Erin at Hello Erin
Colleen at Meet the Sullivans
Natasha at Hello Happiness

Of course, Erinn has something up her sleeve for St. Patrick's Day, which I'm excited to share with you.  Hint hint - start rounding up your favorite St. Patty's Day recipes and join a link-up to share your recipe with another blogger (maybe someone new or an old favorite).  I hope you'll join us!  Details to come!  

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23 comments:

  1. Poor you two! And your husband just happened to escape it for a trip?! I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think you definitely deserve a trip in the future. Just saying'. :) Glad your parents were able to help!

    And those Valentines and that swap are ADORABLE. I love your pennant idea, and his addition to the mix! We made some this year too because I've never really done a craft with him and thought it was high time. I cut out hearts and he painted them (that was the hard part... his attention span for painting it minuscule) and then I put glue on and he shook glitter. He is obsessed with the salt shaker and never gets to use it, so I knew he'd be all over that part. Then we signed the back, put stickers on the envelopes, and sent them off to all our friends far away! Doesn't it feel great to be spreading love on Valentine's Day with your little one?! It made me so happy to think about. :)

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  2. That sounds awful, you poor things!!! Super cute valentine pennant, Mr. Mac is sure an Artist:)

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  3. That pennant is adorable! So simple and sweet!

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  4. I'm so sorry you both were sick. Thank goodness for parents! I love the garland! We made something similar for our windows using coffee filters and contact paper (http://playgroundprepster.blogspot.com/2014/01/sunshine-heart-garland.html?m=1
    I definitely making yours for the mantle next year. The swap is such a cute idea! What adorable valentines. I hope you both feel better soon!

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  5. SO much fun!!! Yours was my favorite....and will be kept for next year!

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  6. Pretty sure our heart garland will be out all year long! It's just SO CUTE! And such an awesome idea!! I'm sorry sickness plagued you guys all weekend. But I hope everyone is feeling better! Can't wait for the next holiday ;)

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  7. I saw these on all of the other posts for the swap, and I LOVE them! They are so cute and such a great idea!!!

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  8. Oh no, what a crummy weekend! My In Laws had the stomach bug last weekend, must be all over the country, seems like EVERYONE is getting it. We LOVED your pennant and it was the perfect garland for showing off our valentines (ps, I hope ours made it to you!) What a great scarf, Vanessa sure has great taste. Can't wait for our next link up!

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  9. I'm so sorry you guys have been sick. The stomach flu is no joke :( Fingers crossed you're in the clear. We all LOVE the garland Mac made. When we opened it up Owen was exited to hang it on the wall. He thought it was so cool! It's actually still there! What a pretty scarf -- great for Spring!

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  10. So sorry you were sick, but sounds like you had a great weekend and I love the Valentine's Day swap idea, so cute!

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  11. Oh gosh what a weekend...I really hope you're feeling better now! This flu has been hitting everyone, everywhere...it's a wicked one. I'm dreading the day it hits us.

    Those banners are adorable - such a fun idea! You are an incredibly creative Mom. Mac and baby girl are so lucky to have you!

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  12. I'm SO sorry the two of you were sick but YAY for such sweetness! What a lovely idea. Feel better and have a great week, Sara! XO

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  13. We LOVE the banner....so so cute!! and that scarf is adorable!!

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  14. Sorry you guys were so sick! :( But at least you had your parents to help out. I don't care how old you are & when you're sick, nothing is better than your own Mama! :)

    Love, love, love the banner! Excited to see what's coming in March!

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  15. So sorry y'all had the stomach bug?!?! And pregnant, that is just plain awful. So glad your parents were able to help a bit. I don't think Mac could be any cuter painting his little Valentine's! We loved loved our heart banner. Such a great idea! And thank you so so much for my thoughtful gift. You must know the way to my heart... cupcakes and coffee=my favorite! Also, something O and I can do together so even more perfect. Thanks again, Lady! Hope you are feeling great now. XO

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  16. I agree with Julie, I'm holding on to this banner and using it next year...it's perfect!!! Thanks Mac! :) And I'm so glad you like the scarf...it will look great on you!

    Feel better soon, friend! XO

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  17. Oh my gosh! LOVE LOVE LOVE that garland! I will have to keep that in mind for my little man to make next year!

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  18. oooh, tandem barfing...fun! It is nice that you had some help though.

    K, yours is my fave of the blogger Vday card exchange! shh don't tell... =)

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  19. Obsessed with the scarf!! And tell Mally she is welcome at our place anytime--I'm sure Ella Mae would love a buddy to escape the bulldog shenanigans of Butch and Moneypenny

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  20. what a cute, cute, cute idea! And I'm with you on being sick...Elyse & I have been sharing a lovely cold for the past week. Ughh.

    And I love that homemade banner...I did a big fat ZERO Valentine's Day crafts with Elyse this year. Big-time Momma fail! ha!

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  21. Sorry to hear another round of the sick visited you guys. No fun!

    I love the Valentine's swap - such a fun idea! Looks like everyone had a good time.

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