{homemade valentines: crafting with a toddler}

Our little disaster area/dining room table

What would be a sweeter gift to receive for Valentine's Day than a card, handmade by a sweet little two year old? Nothing. {My thoughts exactly.}

Fueled by a desire to make out-of-state relatives smile, I vowed to help Ben make handmade Valentines for his grandparents, and great-grands. 

There is nothing like trying to convince your two year old that drawing is more fun than playing with his trains, helicopters and fire trucks.... But, persistence pays off... 

It was awesome to see him light up and be enthusiastic about the process of stamping heart shapes with a carved sweet potato; incredible to watch him with his ever-progressing ability to manipulate crayons, stamps, colored pencils and pens; and heartwarming to see the amount of concentration that he put into things, when given the direction, "let's draw a picture for ____ to say I Love You". He would often stop in the middle of coloring, repeat the person's name, and then return to coloring with renewed sense of purpose... dedicated to creating just the perfect card. There was also the thrill of working with stickers... 

Yes, there were a couple of meltdowns; yes, I even wanted to give up at times {we allotted several days to this project}; but I'm really glad we did it. 

I think that Ben will be bringing many smiles... and have many Valentines. 

Artwork by Ben, flourishes by Mommy. 

My favorite Valentine so far this year... 
I love this one... and this one, too!

I would love to dress my little man up in this... 
I think that these are a great alternative to the usual conversation hearts...