…is:

world peace

a billion dollars

a trip around the world

perfect hair at all times

my own space shuttle

But I’ll settle for a hot bubble bath. Oh, and maybe some time to read a good book.

To celebrate this day of love I thought I would share one of my favorite songs that talks about the Greatest Love.

I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves…

Instead of offering you some of my own tutorials I thought I’d share some of the Valentine’s Day crafty goodness out there. There’s a ton of clever Valentine’s Day craft ideas and fun to be had!

I am in love with these minimalist fabric and paper cards here.

Cute fabric postcard that is mailable here and here!

Awesome fabric postcards I love here.

Alternatives to traditional cards:

• tags
• felted tic tac toe game
• see-through valentine candy favors
• paper heart hanging candy containers
• Valentine crown
• Tussie Mussie
• Garland, garland and more garland goodness
• Felt cookies
• Wreath
• Felt Suckers
• Crayon hearts

With the holidays fast approaching and a sluggish economy, you may be looking for create gift ideas that are easy on your pocketbook. Blank books are great gifts for children, even those who don’t usually enjoy books or even read yet. With a little imagination you can take a blank book and make it a one-of-a-kind gift the child in your life will treasure.

• Make it into an alphabet book they can fill with words and pictures for each letter.
• Cut and paste random pictures and phrases as journal prompts.
• Add pictures of things the child loves.
• Draw in random frames for them to add their own custom art work.
• Add pictures. The child can make up a story to go with the pictures.
• Make a picture book that has no words. Let the pre-reader make up a new story each time.
• Make a drawing book that has only half of each picture. The little artist can fill in the other half.
• Add random affirmations or compliments. As they fill up the book they will come across your kind words.
• Include some “Poetry Recipes,” simple poetry ideas (like haiku or cinquains) they can practice in their book.
• Sprinkle “story starters” throughout the book for budding authors.
• Include pictures of family and friends.
• Call it something special, like a Dream Catcher or Idea Machine. Not everyone likes to journal but everyone likes to capture their ideas at one time or another.
• Add inspirational quotes or stories to feed their passion in a subject.
• Add library pockets with tags, envelopes, fold some pages and add other scrapbook paper goodies they can manipulate.
• Add words at random they can add to their writing vocabulary.
• Ask them questions about themselves on a few pages and let them talk about themselves.
• Draw some random shapes and let them doodle them into their own creations.
• Make your own dot-to-dots or coloring pages by tracing family’s or pets’ faces.
• Give it to them to start a back and forth journal with a parent. Sometimes children will write things that can be hard to say out loud and it can be a great communication tool.

Make sure to include colored pencils and an eraser so they can create to their heart’s desire. My next book arts post will give you some ideas on making books from scratch for children.

Do you have any idea how much God loves you? He is crazy about you. You are always on His mind. He wrote you a valentine–His Word. God is for you. He is in love with you as His child. Drink it in

For this Valentine’s Day I thought I would offer you a little printable reminder of God’s love. Do you know all the things God’s love does for you? This list comes two on a page so you can print out a few and put them all over: the fridge, the mirror, your Bible. You may even want to mail one to a friend.

What God’s Love Does for Me

Happy Valentine’s Day!

For my mom’s Mother’s Day gift this year I went the handmade route. I made her a cute little hanging plaque with a poem I wrote just for her. Unfortunately I forgot to scan it before I gave it (sorry!). In case you don’t know, a cinquain is a 5 line poem that goes like this:

one word (noun)
two adjectives about the noun
three verbs about the noun
a four-word phrase about the noun
another word for the noun

Mine went like this:

To all my online and IRL friends

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very very happy New year! I pray your home will be filled with love and laughter and the Spirit of Christmas. May your new year be filled with God’s abundant blessings and the joy of serving the living God.

If you know me at all, you know I love the Christmas season. There’s nothing like it. I love the music, the gift of Christ, the decorations, the food, the family traditions, all of it. It’s great stuff.

Since we have school all year long we can take time to stop and smell the roses evergreen. We usually follow a loose plan for the month of December which includes the following, in no particular order:

• Advent inductive study 
• decorating the house
• cooking
• crafts/art
• games
• shopping
• making gifts for family and friends
• going to parties
• participating in our church’s children’s Christmas production
• Decorating our Jesse Tree

The list is big but I set aside one day each week of December for an activity. For example, Mondays are craft day, Tuesdays are for special games, Fridays are for baking, etc. This gives us a good variety and the kids know what they can look forward to. It also helps us to pace ourselves so we don’t get overly busy.

Also we have started reading Lynne Cheney’s book about Washington on Christmas Eve as a new tradition. It’s good to teach our children to be mindful of the sacrifices made for our liberty.

The pace is relaxed and we do a sort of unschooling thing because we are always learning, just not is a formal way. I also have tons of printables, Christmas-themed books and more for those bored moments and read-alouds. We can snuggle and talk about the true meaning of Christmas as we enjoy the tree, Christmas music and some hot cocoa. Hurry up December!

I love the Christmas season and always enjoy trying new things to inspire our spiritual focus of the holiday. Click on the titles for more info.

Advent Inductive Bible Study

This f*r*e*e printable study takes you through the Christmas season with daily Bible readings and activities. The coloring and marking of the text is something my kids really enjoy. Thanks to Eleanor Zweigle for writing it and thanks to Miiko for hosting it on her Web site this year.

Artful Advent e-book

 Michelle Geffken has written a lovely book for the advent season that I had the privilege to review last spring. It is art-focused (so you know I love it already!) but it’s not your typical homeschool resource. She has given you tons of ideas and concepts but leaves the planning to you. This frees you up to do all sorts of things your family will enjoy without the crafty stuff you may not want to do. The excitement of the Christmas story unfolds through projects your family does together, even when your days are filled to the brim with other Christmas activities. If you have time to look at a picture or tear off a postage stamp, you can do the activities in this book! She even broke it down into ages groups so the whole family can enjoy art on their level. And the book is also full of clickable links to make things even easier during this busy time.

The ideas are simple and use things you already have around the house (including the internet), so you won’t have to make time (and invest more cash) to enjoy art lessons during Advent. It’s not just for Catholics either. The Christmas Story is for every Christian.

Order now and you get 4 free gifts!

Advent Bible Study

This is another study, but for teens and adults. I like the way it is laid out. It is weekly with a theme and lots of Bible study activities.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”   Isaiah 11:1

We are starting one new tradition each Christmas at our house. We love advent calendars and we love devotionals for the month of December, so I discovered a way to do both of these in a fun and meaningful way.Those of you in mainline denominations may know about the Jesse tree. I did not. At least not until I happened across one on one of my cyber-trips.

It traces the lineage of Jesus each day leading up to Christmas, through the likes of Abraham, Rahab, King David and Mary. You recount the amazing stories of the people, recognizing God’s Providence and marveling at His intricate ways. The Jesse Tree is a theme that goes back to the middle ages, and maybe before. There were many tapestries and altar pieces in churches devoted to Jesus’ lineage.

The way we celebrate this today is to make a tree. We make ornaments that fit the story of the day and place them on the tree. This year at our house we will use the ficus tree in the dining room. Next year I plan to have a great little tree for the table–or maybe the wall. We will make ornaments over the next year that will be more permanent. This year they will be more “kid crafty” and we will work on them as we discuss the story each day.

Some links to learn more:

• http://www.crivoice.org/jesse.html
• http://www.christiancrafters.com/jesse_tree.html 
• http://www.jesse-tree.com/
• http://www.amazon.com/Advent-Jesse-Tree-Devotions-Christmas/dp/0687009081

If your family celebrates this tradition, I hope you will leave a note and a link to a picture of your tree.