Preschool Non-Candy Valentines: Twistable Crayons + Free Printable

At my house, we have approximately 17 tons of candy leftover from all of the various holidays. With Valentine’s Day class parties looming, I knew I wanted to do a non-candy treat for the preschooler’s class party. But other than candy, the only other options seem to be plastic tchotchkes, and who needs any more tiny plastic toys?

I opted to do a more practical Valentine’s treat: twistable crayons.

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When checking out the discount store for something else a few weeks ago, I spotted these packs of twistable crayons on the clearance rack for less than $1. For my older guy, these crayons were like currency in Kindergarten. Biggie was also known to trade crayons with his best buddies. They did so much coloring, these Twistables were a fun change. For preschoolers, many of whom can barely hold regular crayons without breaking or dropping them, these packs of twistable crayons seem like such a fun alternative to candy and toys.

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Since the personalized candy bag tag is so hot on the DIY circuit, I knew I wanted to do something along that vein. But, again, these packs of crayons were such a find because creating the Valentine card/tag would be so easy. 

 

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First, I measured the inner label in the crayon pack. I considered making a label that would cover both sides, but knew that would be redundant. I opted to create a tag just for the front. The front label measured about 2.5 x 4, which is just about the same size as a classic valentine’s day card. 

 

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Next, I headed to Picmonkey to create a “pun”ny card to slide over the front label. Since the crayons are all about color, I went with “You brighten my day, Valentine!” And as a play on the twistable crayon, I created a tag that says: “You’re a twist above the rest, Valentine!”

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Since Littles doesn’t write anything other than circles yet, I had big brother help me personalize the crayon packs with some name tags. We punched out red card stock and wrote the kids’ names in silver Sharpie and slipped it into the back. We closed the pack and sealed it with a decorative V-day-themed washi tape. Names are blurred out to protect the innocent <3

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Since my guy’s preschool class is rather small, as in less than 10 kids, buying one of those Valentines class packs with 25 cards would be a waste. So, I’m very happy with the way these crayon packs turned out. Instead of candy or tiny toys, we have crayons that my preschooler’s classmates will (hopefully) use again and again!

Hurray for practical goodies!

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And since Valentine’s Day is all about sharing the love, I thought I’d share the tags with you. I grouped the 12 tags together for you to download and print for your personal use. The tags are about 2.5 x 4 in. and would be perfect for a pack of crayons, markers or anything colorful!  p.s. I eyeballed measurements, so the layouts and sizes are wonky. Of course it is…

Enjoy this freebie! If you use this, I’d love to see how your projects turned out. Make sure to Pin or share on IG and tag me! I’m jenrab on all social media outlets.

Dream as Big as the Sea: Free Whale Nursery Printable

When life gets a little foggy, I can’t help but to get creative. So, I designed this fun whale nursery printable.

My creative juices were flowing especially heavy as I was set to attend a friend’s baby shower this morning. Even though I’d already bought a basket full of baby goodies from her registry, (from Tommee Tippee, no less!) I felt that her basket was missing a personal touch. I noticed that my friend’s nursery had a nautical theme, with vintage whales as a prominent motif. Given her husband’s love of fishing and their mutual appreciation for the band Phish, their choice for a theme for their baby boy’s nursery was so sweet. 

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Coincidentally, just a few years ago, I remember pinning quite a few whale-themed ideas for my littler guy’s nursery and changing space. My ideas never quite came into fruition, but nevertheless, I love the idea of whales in a nursery. So much can be done for accent colors: grays, greens and all those beautiful shades of blue.

As I brainstormed ideas for my friend’s gift, I wanted to make a personalized print featuring whales and a relevant quote. Because my friend’s husband is an avid reader, I wanted to include a literary quote of some sort. I tried to think of a Herman Melville quote from Moby Dick, but everything seemed too heavy for a baby’s nursery. So, I chose a simple, yet bold statement applicable to any and everyone: Dream as Big as the Sea. Simple and straightforward.

 

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I zeroed in on the flow of the text and contrast of the whales.  The waves are subtle, yet significant as the statement itself. I printed this out on some shimmery paper that I had leftover from another project and framed it in a Pottery Barn frame that I was saving for something perfect.  

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I loved the way this print turned out—so much so, I wanted to share it with you. I appreciate free printables and how accessible they’ve become because of the Googles and Pinterest, this is my way of paying it forward. So, if you’re able to use this free whale nursery printable or gift it to someone, let me know! Share in the comments below or “pin” it for others to enjoy too!

Download the PDF for the free whale nursery printable below. Enjoy!

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Color Outside the Box with Lights, Camera, Color

Crayola had all kinds of fun goodies at the Holiday Showcase, but one simple and clever innovation in particular shows just why this company is associated with generations of creativity. With a new web application called Lights, Camera, Color, Crayola is once again thinking outside of the box—literally.

After uploading photos, the Lights, Camera, Color application gives kids a chance to print, color and customize their creations. Whether they’re photos from family gatherings, vacations, fun outings, field trips, birthday parties—you name it—kids can create their very own coloring pages.

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