14 Days of DIY Hearts - Newspaper & Pizza

This weekend, the three of us celebrated Valentine's Day.  I've never had to be away from my boys on this holiday, let alone any holiday before, so I was adamant that we spent the weekend acting as though February 14th had arrived a little early.  And just like any holiday, especially one whose objective revolves around the very act of love, how and when you choose to celebrate has little to do with the calendar day.  

Our morning started with snuggles in our bed before finding our way to the kitchen to finish off the last of our box of Trader Joe's Berry-Os.  Simple, quiet mornings on the weekends is reason enough for a celebration.  We gave Cruz a bath and jammed in the hallway to Beau's guitar before making our way back to the kitchen table to do some painting.  With my roll of trusty kraft paper, we made our canvas and tried our hand at watercolors for the first time.  And these pretty paints, let me tell you, are a masterpiece in themselves.  There are few things my camera loves more than a palette of messy paints.

I saw the cutest idea on Pinterest last week involving watercolors and newspaper, and decided to give it a whirl.  I started with the newspaper and cut out a bunch of different shaped hearts.  Then, with a variety of brushes, a jar or two of water, and Crayola's washable watercolor paints, I let Cruz go to town.  This was fun, effortless, and so easy to make look great, that I soon joined in on the fun and found I could have sat there for hours.
 

Cruz struggled a little with the process of watercolors ("No, honey, dip the brush in water first, then in your paint"), but he got the hang of it after awhile.  And when he managed to knock an entire jar of water on the table, it was easy to clean up and only added to the beautiful mess of it all.  
 

We were too full to eat our Scratch cupcakes after dinner Friday night, and they proved to be a perfect treat mid-painting.

I haven't done anything with our hearts yet, but think they would be adorable glued on a simple white or kraft paper card.  I'm all about the homemade Valentine's cards this year, and have had fun with a few other super simple cards using buttons, paper hearts, and googly eyes.
 

After some painting, some lunch, and a long afternoon nap for Cruz, we greeted our sleepy-eyed boy with his Valentine gift --- a Melissa and Doug re-stickable animal and habitat sticker pad, The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel game to add to his collection of games, and his very favorite, Cars 2, the sequel to his obsessively loved Cars movie.  He was stoked, and of course, did a little dance and pleaded with us to watch it immediately.  We worked hard to hold him off, as we needed his assistance with our main event of the night. 
 

For dinner, we did heart-shaped pizzas, a Valentine's tradition around our house.  I found a heart-shaped pizza pan at Target for $5 last week, and it worked surprisingly well with our homemade crust.  We went all out with toppings --- caramelized onions, prosciutto, pepperoni, and sauteed mushrooms, and let Cruz make his very own, very cheesy pizza, all by himself.  It had been awhile since we did homemade pizzas, and had fun making masterpieces to eat while the Lumineers serenaded our efforts.  
 

We ended the night with Cars 2, the three of us curled up on the couch, piled under blankets, with the volume turned all the way up to simulate our own movie theater in the comfort of our home.  Cruz was mesmerized at first, and looked similar to our Wreck-It Ralph real theater experience; however, about halfway through, he climbed off the couch and independently made his way upstairs, only to retrieve his trusted Cars 1 and kindly asking to watch, "Race Cars."  Apparently there is only one Cars in Cruz's book!

That's it!  A Saturday of heart-shaped newspapers, heart-shaped pizzas, and heart-shaped love to celebrate this little family I adore with all the pieces of mine.