valentines 2010
eve's partially finished finger puppets
the making began on our snow day wednesday and finished up a few minutes after bedtime thursday night. not the fastest valentines but easy and funny.
eve and ruth drew the hearts, i got busy cutting those hearts out and attaching them to the finger tubes, while the girls got busy turning the hearts into faces. ruth's process was simple; separate puppets into two piles (one for boys, one for girls), draw eyelashes on the girls and draw regular eyes on the boys. adding a little lipstick here and there, she was done with her 20 faces in no time. eve, however, went custom.. the boy who likes sharks got a shark-faced heart, the boy who makes everyone laugh by pretending to be a pig got a pig face. the girl who loves being fancy got a crown.. and on and on until all 25 of hers were complete. we threw on a little of eve's pretty tape to fancy them up (from christmas- office supplies were her main gift), and they were done.
to make sure all the friends knew exactly what they were getting (motherly nightmarish images of eve and ruth staring on, horrified, as their friends tore the puppets to bits looking for candy), rough silhouettes of each girl's hand were printed on cardstock, the outline of the first finger cut with an x-acto knife, and puppets slid over mr. pointer. unmistakeable heart finger puppet spreading valentine cheer.
addressed by little hands and sent off to school, these were, by all reports from little friends, received very well. good news.. it feels a little bit like we're pushing our luck with these candy-less valentines.. but happily pre-k-ers and kindergarteners can appreciate a lot even if they aren't packed with sugar. like the bookmark that eve got from a friend "you know, mom, it's really cool. it's the kind of thing from back in the olden days, like the 80's or 90's. like back from when before you were 50.." (i'm 30).
hope everyone had a lovely valentine's day! and for those celebrating president's day tomorrow, do yourself a favor and make this log cabin cake in honor of honest abe. i push the cake every year, but i'm pretty sure you won't regret it.. we never do.
Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 08:33PM
Reader Comments (44)
That is such a fun and cute idea...I love doing things that are unique and out of the ordinary, and these finger puppets are definitely unique. You always have the best ideas. Thanks so much for sharing. This is for sure getting filed away for a future idea when I have my own kids. It is good to see you back blogging again..I have missed your posts!
xoxo-Meg
fiddlesticksandfunnygirls.blogspot.com
Oh, these are lovely!
Adorable!
What a fabulous idea! Love the home made, candy-less holiday gift. I will bet that every mother whose child received one of the girls' finger puppets was silently thanking you for not contributing to the sugar-fest.
You mentioned bookmarks and I thought you might like this:
http://eatingthedaisies.blogspot.com/2010/02/photobooth-bookmarks.html
Another easy, fun, sugarless gift.
Thanks!
Great job Eve and Ruth - I'm sure that your lovingly handmade Valentines are being played with right now!
Katie! These are so cute! I love that there was no sugar involved!
Kate,
that's hilarious.
I'm so glad they didn't freak out about their being no candy attached to them. If I was that age, I honestly don't know -what- I would have done; complex sugars was the goal and I had some kind of wicked devotion to consuming it, boy, lemmie tell you.
These were so great. I can't wait for the other "vintage" things you'll do. Old Timer.
love, roe.
The olden days comment had me laughing out loud!
I didn't realize that I grew up in the olden days, but you learn something new every day :)
These are the best children's valentine's I have ever seen. I'm especially feeling the custom designs- pigs, sharks, crowns.... so thoughtful!!
So Cute!! What a great idea as always...
so sweet. I especially liked that you thought of other children ripping them to shreds and carefully took steps to prevent that. Sort of sums up what I think my role will be when my children are out in the school world (not there quite yet).
I also love that Eve loves office supplies! I get a little giddy whenever I get in that section of a store. There's always a new product that I MUST try out.
tienes unos niños hermosos....y tus trabajos son realmente bellisimos....te felicito!
I love this idea. We would have to start several weeks before Valentine's Day to get done since we don't have snow days in Houston. But, what a wonderful project and a great alternative to candy. Thanks.
What a lovely idea. I especially like the pig and the one with teeth.
I had the same problem with my daughters valetine's presents - how do I make sure her friends know what it is and what to do with it ( they are all about 2-3 years old)? And funnily enough ended up with a similar card
http://trulakids.blogspot.com/2010/01/wristband-postcard.html
that is a sweet and very do-able idea even for those of us that are on the less-crafty side of life! Thanks.
whatta cutie-pa-tootie! such a fun idea!
ack, these are seriously so great, who misses the candy when you get a personalized finger puppet? GREAT idea
and who would have thought the 80's and 90's are now "the olden days" yikes, don't we feel old...
"Back from when before you were 50."
:-)
Fell off the couch laughing at that one. Too, too cute.
wow-- these are so clever and adorable. you are so gifted...
That is such a cute idea. And I loooove the sugar free idea.
And what a laugh...back in the 80's & 90's, nothing like kids to make you feel real old.
best valentine cards I've ever seen, brilliant!
Oh, I love these. And way to go with the no candy. We did candy, but one of the friends had food allergies and couldn't even take one. At least these are safe for all. Love them.
Anna
katie, i found your blog one day while blog hoping. i hope it's ok i peek in on your blog life, even though you don't know me. i'm trying to get the guts to start taking up the art of sewing. i want to make dresses for my chloe like you do for your girls but i don't know where to get the fabric and i don't know where to start!? i think you have wonderful taste and a great eye for detail. thank you for sharing all your good ideas and i hope to sew like you some day!! feel free to check out my blog and leave comments if you'd like :)
charee
p.s. i thought that you could link to my blog from my comment but i noticed you can't so here it is utahbrownies.blogspot.com
charee
What a nice idea!
What a lovely idea!!!