Crazy about the Crafty Crow

Lately we here at the circus have fallen in love with the Crafty Crow.  (Okay, not so much Daddy.  And honestly, Madeline's still fairly ambivalent about crafts.  But Mama and Kathleen really do love this site.)  If you've not visited before, the Crafty Crow daily publishes crafts (complete with tutorials) for children, pulled from all over the internet.  Our friend Paula told us about the site some time ago, and since then we've used it regularly.  Since Kathleen loves -- as in, begs to do -- crafts, we've found the site to be very handy.  The projects range from the super-simple to the fairly complex and are much more inventive than the scissors, glue, glitter projects I'd come up with on my own.

The Crafty Crow is great anytime of year, but we've had even more fun than usual getting ready for Valentine's Day.  Kathleen's favorite craft -- by far -- has been sponge painting Valentine cards like these.  

Sponge-painting love for Valentine's Day.

We made a batch, and then another batch, and then another.  (Of course, we've still not mailed them, so you might be getting sponge-painted heart cards for Easter...)  Perhaps we'll get some big rolls of paper and switch up the sponges to make wrapping paper.  Otherwise, we'll have a card backlog for years to come!

I wasn't quite brave enough to let Madeline in on the painting, so she amused herself with some crayons while Kathleen painted.  And actually, Daddy studied at home that afternoon, so our kitchen table was full of activity.

Madeline contemplates her art.

Daddy contemplates some political science.  

You can tell it's tricky because he's chewing on his finger while he reads.

We had hoped to make these to give to our friends for Valentine's Day, but the commissary didn't cooperate -- no pretzel rings.  (I've contemplated looking elsewhere for them, but figure I shouldn't be running around town to find ingredients for treats I really shouldn't be eating.  Still, though -- and perhaps it's the pregnancy -- but I've thought about it more than once.  Salty and chocolate-y and practically no effort?  Yum.)  Kathleen has been intrigued by these (she saw the sparkly sugar on the laptop from across the room) and I've been tempted by these...  We picked up some fresh strawberries for Valentine's Day dessert, but I find my mind wandering back to sugary, buttery treats.  We'll have to see whether good sense or sugar cravings win out.  (For the record, my money's on the three-minute cakes!)

The circus wishes you the sweetest of Valentine's Days!