This is a great gift idea for friends or relatives who live far away. We plan to make two this year to send back East to both sets of grandparents.

Materials:
Small store-bought picture frame. (Dollar stores and drugstores sell ones very inexpensively.)
Conversation hearts, little heart-shaped candies available at drugstores.
Glue gun
Photo
Modge Podge (optional)

Lay conversation hearts on frame to decide which way you want them arranged. Glue onto frame. Let glue dry. You can cover with a Modge Podge glaze if you like. Place picture in frame and present or send to your loved ones.

Materials:
Pipe cleaners in variety of colors cut in 6″and 2″ lengths
1″ and 1 1/2″ pom poms and tiny ones for noses
Wiggly eyes
Cardboard or paper plate for backing
Sequins, beads or small buttons
Glue
Magnetic tape(available at craft stores)

Glue pom poms to cardboard and trace around them. Cut out tracing to form a backing. Scrunch up pipe cleaners like an accordion, to forms legs and glue onto the cardboard backing at the bottom of the bug. Take two 2″ pipe cleaners, bend slightly at the top to form antennae and glue to the cardboard backing at the top of the bug. Glue on wiggly eyes and nose and decorate. Affix a magnetic strip to the back.

Materials
Big beads with large holes.
20 gauge wire, about a yard (available at bead stores and some craft stores)
Needle-nosed pliers
Wire cutters or scissors
Heart- shaped cookie cutter (optional)

Fold the wire in half and make a heart shape at the top. You can bend it around a heart shaped cookie cutter if you have one. Twist wire a few times with pliers. Thread on beads to form a 2 -2 1/2 inch length. Save your biggest bead for the bottom. Cut off one of the wires even with the beads. Leave the other one long. Thread on the last bead. Curl the wire with the pliers to keep the beads from sliding off. Dip in bubble solution and blow some Valentine bubbles.

Materials
Two pieces of paper of equal size(construction paper  in valentine colors are nice).
Glue
Pen or pencil
Decorations for front of card. Stickers, confetti, lace, buttons, sequins, etc.
Markers, paints or crayons

Take the two pieces of paper and fold both in half widthwise. Set one aside. Place one piece with the folded edge on your left. Fold the top corner to make a large triangle. Fold back the triangle. Draw the top part of half a heart from the folded edge to the triangle fold. Cut the top part of the valentine, stopping at the triangle fold mark.

Open the card and pull the valentine toward you. Press the fold lines so that the valentine points forward and color the heart. Apply glue to the outside of the card and to the paper you put aside. Do not apply glue in the area of the pop-up heart. Decorate the front of your card.

I got this idea  from FamilyFun magazine and we made it as a project in my daughter’s third grade class. Hers did not turn out as uniformly as the ones in the magazine, but she had a lot of fun and took pride in her results. Click on leaf-imprinted coasters to learn how to make your own.

This is super easy, and  fun homemade fudge that your kids will love to make and eat.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2 T butter
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups mini marshmallows (a must)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium heavy sauce pan. Bring to full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, chips, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for one minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan, remove foil and cut into pieces.

My craft class just made these really cool, festive holiday wreaths. I bought wire rims at a craft store and foraged through my garden and the woods for fresh greenery and herbs like rosemary, lavender, bay leaves and lemon verbena. The kids wrapped the greenery in bunches and attached them to the rims. Then they added ribbons, acorns, pine cones, dried oranges slices and  cinnamon sticks which they attached with a hot glue gun. These children ranged in ages from 11 to 14 and I was amazed at their creativity.

I just made these with some kids in my craft class and it was a big hit.

Ingredients and materials needed:

• Baking soda
• Citric Acid (available on-line)
• Corn starch
• Soap molds (available at craft stores)
• Soap scents (available at craft store)
• Soap dyes or food coloring (available at craft stores)
• Spray spritzer bottle
• Water
• 2 glass bowls, one large, one small
• Metal spoon

Mix 1 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of citric acid and 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a large bowl. Knead with your hands to get out all the lumps. Remove about 1/4 cup from the large bowl and place into the small bowl. In the small bowl, add about 10 drops of scent and 5 drops of color. Mix thoroughly with the metal spoon. Then add to large bowl and mix again. While you keep kneading with your hands have someone spritz the mixture with some water from the spray bottle. Do a little at a time until the mixture is damp enough to mold into your hands like a snowball. Don’t over mist because you don’t want the mixture to fizz up. Working quickly, pack the mixture into molds and let set until they are dry. About 30-60 minutes. Molds do not need to be pretreated. Once they are dry, turn the molds over and gently tap to remove. Let sit for another 30 minutes or so until they are completely dry.
For best results choose molds that aren’t too intricate or large. Any excess that doesn’t fit in the molds can still be used as fizzy bath powder. Recipe can be doubled.

I had my first holiday gift class this past Sunday and it was a huge success. I had a great group of imaginative and creative kids who spent four hours conjuring, concocting and  constructing and you wouldn’t believe what they came up with. Here are some photos of some things they “just imaginated.”

These photos were sent to me from a reader in Egypt who wanted to share with me craft projects he made using recycled computer parts. Clever, aren’t they? If you have any other ideas please send them along and I will post them.