train themed Valentine bookmarks

In years past, I've made a lot of different Valentine bookmarks with them. Last year we did a fruit themed series and the previous year we made some animal themed ones. This year, Simon and I made some train themed ones, after his favorite show, of course!

It can be tricky to find or make Valentines that aren't made of pink and purple hearts and covered with lace  glitter. I tried to incorporate Simon's interests to make these bookmarks. If you watch the Thomas show at all, I hope that you can recognize all of these trains! The ones in the above picture are Charlie, Thomas, James and Percy. The trains below are Gordon, Duncan and Henry.

These are so simple to make. Start by cutting a piece of white paper into 6x2" pieces. Decide what trains you'd like to make and have your child stamp their finger in the paint and then onto the paper. Once all of the colored dots have dried, have your child stamp their pointer finger into some grey paint and then onto the center of the colored dot. Once that paint is dry use a thin black marker to decorate the train's face. Don't forget to add the funnel, buffer (use a red marker) and some wheels. I added a bit of washi tape to the bookmarks because I love it. And have to start using my hoard collection of tape. If you have any questions about the bookmarks leave it in the comments and I will get back to you!

Happy crafting :)

Linked up with: Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters, Skip to my Lou

washi tape pencils

I love stationary. (Understatement!) What better time to celebrate my love for stationary than back to school season when all stationary is on sale!! I have a collection of washi tape now and love finding fun ways to use it.

I thought that these pencil designs would be perfect for a back to school party invite. (I will be hosting a little back to school party for Claire and her friends this year.)

  

Now I'll probably just send out an invite on facebook for the party, but still wanted to use the washi tape pencils for something at the party. They would be perfect for place settings. Just make the pencil on a smaller scale. You could also use them for labels for food items at the party. 

They're so easy to make. Look through your stash of tape and see what colours you have. Any variation of yellow tape works. Solid pink seemed to work best for the eraser bit. I used a bronzy tape for the pencil lead, but  I'm sure any dark colour would work well for that. 

What ideas do you have to make back to school fun and special for your kids? Or what did your parents do for you?

Linking up with: Six Sister's Stuff &  Skip to my Lou & Weekly Kids Co-op & Flamingo Toes & Tatertots and Jello