My first Valentine's day as a parent of a preschooler caused a mom-umental insecurity issues. We arrived at Six's school and I immediately spied the fanciest, most elaborate Valentine's creations I'd witnessed. Several bordered on looking like wedding favors. I slipped a pack his pack of store-bought, old-school cards into his cubby. Six didn't care; Valentine's Day was just another reason for candy. But this experience reminded me that as he got older, the giving of cool Valentines would matter to him. Which means I'd need to have my game on.
Valentine's Day is as high on the list as Halloween and Christmas for my son's kindergarten class. And so, "that day" arrived about two week ago when he began talking about creating a special mailbox for the class Valentine's Day party. He's also has made his mama about 10 cards already (say it with me, "Awww!")
The new banner that crazedparent is sporting shows the first part in the making of Six's Valentine's Day treats for his school buddies. When he was in preschool, one of the girls made crayon hearts -- and Six still has that little wax symbol of amor (it's been two years, an eternity in crayon years).
Over the weekend we started Project Valentine's Day Crayons. It took about 30 minutes to make a dozen crayons. This was a two-session affair for Six. Take heed: use two molds.
Here's how it works:
-Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
-Have your kids break crayons into tiny pieces. The glitter crayons are fun to include because the add a little sparkle to the end result. Note to Mom or Dad: you'll need to help with the wrapper removal. Special Note to Mom: I split three nails in the process.
-Drop the broken crayons into a heart-shaped mold (we found ours at Michael's Arts and Crafts, but I've seen them at Target too.) Don't worry about overfilling either. So long as the crayons are spilling over the top of each mold, you're golden.
-Put the mold into the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until all the crayons have melted. After you remove them from the oven, let them set for about 15 minutes and then pop them into the freezer for about 10 minutes.
-Remove them from the freezer, pop them out of the tray and keep them in a ziploc until you're ready with the rest of your "packaging." Or you can do what we did and have a fun little photo shoot.
We're working on the packaging later this week, using a crafty idea from Parents magazine for homemade tags that will secure tiny cellophane bags. I have this strange feeling that the "we" will turn into "me" while Six is off watching Cal hoops with his pops.
