Young At Heart Mommy

Managing Motherhood Through Love & Laughter

Candy Conversation Heart Shadow Box Frame #ValentineCraft #ValentinesDay

Since starting my Valentine craft and recipe escapades I have been meaning to make something out of the traditional candy conversation hearts. After all, they are the classic way to send messages of endearment with their short but sweet sayings. When Valentine’s Day is near it is hard to walk into any store and not see these displayed all around you. They are typically used to give to our loved ones or special valentine but conversation hearts can be used for so many different things! You can use them as a cupcake topping, crush them up into a milkshake, and incorporate them into various Valentine crafts. I have been into seasonal home decorating projects lately and decided to create another fun heart shaped canvas to spread the love. You can see the Valentine Button Heart Canvas I was working on earlier in the month too.
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Cupid’s Candy Corn Rice Krispy Treats #ValentinesDay

Have you ever came across someone that didn’t like the ooey gooey buttery deliciousness of a Rice Krispie Treat? Neither have I! I grew up eating them & have always considered these to be a traditional treat that can be made from scratch in a matter of minutes. Not to mention, they are inhaled quicker than they actually take to make. They never do last very long when a batch is homemade & my free hand goes a little crazy with the marshmallows. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day I made a slight change to these treats by adding in candy corn. They turned out amazing. One slight ingredient change can make such a huge difference in the final product.
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Valentine Button Heart Canvas #ValentinesDay #ValentineCraft

Pinterest has many wonderful ideas for holiday crafts, including Valentine’s Day! While browsing through pins last week I stumbled upon a project from Southern Lovely. She made a Button Burlap Heart Canvas and I fell in love with the final product. I thought the idea was genius and decided to take it upon myself to create one for my own home. I changed the colors a bit and added a little something extra with the buttons I had left over. Have you fallen in love yet? You can make your own Valentine Button Heart Canvas too!
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Sweet + Salty Valentine Munch #ValentinesDay

Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. In addition to Christmas, it truly is my favorite holiday of the year. Not only is it a day to share love with those around us, but it is also the day that my little girl entered the world! Since February 14, 2009 I have been celebrating Toodie’s birthday and going ALL out on this wonderful day. This includes baking, crafting, and party planning.
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A “Beary” Special Valentine’s Visit To Build A Bear Workshop!

The month of love is finally upon us and that means it is time to continue a “beary” fun tradition. Each year in February my daughter and I take a trip to Build A Bear, only the coolest place to customize your very own teddy! Since Valentine’s Day is also Toodie’s birthday, we always create a new friend together to add to her growing collection. This year we had the unique opportunity to visit Build A Bear for a very special in store experience. For the month of “Bear-uary” Build A Bear has a selection of Valentine’s Day friends to build, dress, and bring home. These include the Love Hello Kitty, Hugs-A-Plenty Puppy, Sock Monkey, and many more. You can personalize your little friend in festive accessories, clothing, and even a love song! In February, Build A Bear is offering a set of free Valentine‘s cards with the purchase of $20 or more so your child can spread the love to friends.

When the day came to make a visit to our nearby Build A Bear Workshop, we were very excited to see the seasonal selection. You can’t help but feel welcomed when you first walk in. The store inside our local mall has always been a hot spot and popular place for children and adults. It‘s a wonderful place to create memories and gifts with love for those you care about. As an adult, I have even made bears for a few important people in my life! With the wide variety of clothing and accessories, it is truly the gift that keeps on giving. 

Upon entering the store we were presented with a display of Valentine’s Day friends stuffed with love, hugs, and friendship. One puppy even had a cute pair of sparkly red roller skates on! The entrance also had a wall covered in a vast array of stuffed animals for the choosing. There were so many to pick from and each visit I notice there are new additions to the wall. I love that Build A Bear always keeps up with the trends and follows what children are into at the time. Their recent Disney Princess line is to die for. Not only do they have the costumes, but you can also buy wigs to make your bear look like your favorite princess. Such a cute idea!  
Before getting started we couldn‘t help browsing around the store to see all of the different accessories available. There were clothes geared towards boys and girl, allowing each to customize their plush animal to their liking. Shoes, sunglasses, hair clips, hats, purses, AND cars? Yep, they have it all! Your bear can have it’s own bed, suitcase, sleeping bag, and closet. Even a motorcycle is available for those that seek adventure. These furry friends seem to have more clothes than I do! Most importantly, everything was affordable and reasonable. You can dress a bear in a complete outfit for around $20. 

Before we arrived to the store, Toodie was set on picking out the Hugs-A-Plenty Puppy because right now dogs are her THING! My daughter assisted the very helpful Build A Bear employee in filling her puppy. Placing her foot on the pedal, small bursts of fluffy stuffing began to bring her to life.Once stuffed with softness, her puppy was in need of a heart! Following the trusty “Heart Ceremony” she was instructed to do each small step with love and care. Given a miniature cloth heart, she placed it in the palms of her hands and rubbed them together to get it warm. This was just the beginning of a list of tasks that were very important in creating a friend for life. In addition to the fabric heart, she also added a realistic heart beat button and a Bubble Gum scented disk inside. Each time Toodie would cuddle her puppy, there was an aroma of sweet bubble gum coming from his tummy. After all of these things were placed inside with care, the puppy was sewn up and ready for her bath.

Heart Ceremony

Rub your heart in your hands so your animal has a warm heart.

Rub it on your head so your animal is smart like you.

Rub it on your cheeks so it has a big, pretty smile.

Rub it on your nose, so the animal knows who you are.

Rub it on your hair so it never has a bad hair day.

Rub it on your tummy so it’s never going to go hungry.

Rub the heart on your knees so your animal is always going to need you.

Rub it on your back so it will always have your back and protect you.

Rub the heart on your side so your animal will always stay by your side.

Rub it on your toes to the animal is toe-tally awesome like you are.

Shake your heart up high in the air to give it high hopes.

Bring your heart down low, so it never lets you down.

Jump up and down to get the heart pumping.

Give your heart a kiss, close your eyes and make a wish.

Decked out in the cutest outfit, named with love, and cleaned from a good scrubbin’– “Valentine Puppy” is sure to be the cutest pooch on the block.

After looking at all of the Valentine’s Day outfits and accessories, this puppy came out dressed to impress! She is wearing the Heart Print Dress, Pink Heart Sunglasses, Red Bow Glitter Flats, Red Glitter Heart Bows, and a Happy Valentine’s Day Sash. Inside she has a Heart Beat effect button and a tummy smelling of delicious bubble gum thanks to the SCENTiments™ disk! I still am amazed at how strong the scents are. I was skeptical at first but WOW, days later I can smell her puppy immediately when I enter her room.

Toodie was excited to welcome home the newest member of her teddy bear family. “Valentine Puppy” will fit right in to the bunch. She will also be making an exclusive appearance in her birthday photos this year!


A special thanks to the friendly staff at Build A Bear Workshop for making this memorable experience possible.
You can visit the Build A Bear website to browse the entire Valentine’s Day line along with the new Princess and Harajuka Panda collections. Also, get social by following along on Twitter and Facebook for updates, promotions, and much more. Give the gift of love, hugs, and friendship this Valentine’s Day! 
Disclosure: This post has been sponosored by Build A Bear Workshop! All opinions are my own.

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