Valentine’s Day Heart Stamp

You gotta love any craft that makes you dig through the recycling bin. (Ooo, look at my dry skin. Ouch, get that woman some moisturizer!) How adorable is this Valentine’s Day Heart Stamp made with a toilet paper tube?! I’d seen this simple craft making the rounds (Rustic Remnants, Teach Preschool, Daily Candy) so when I came down with a nasty case of mastitis this week, I knew that bending a toilet paper tube and giving Jack some paint was about all the energy I could muster.

Valentine’s Day Fun

I gotta tell you that this project was a major exercise in letting Jack explore the creative process on his own terms. It was a good reminder about this concept a few weeks ago when I came across the Learning to Let Go article on Hands On: As We Grow. I know that, when crafting with a young child, it truly is about the process, not the product but who chooses green, gray and black paint for a VALENTINE’S DAY project?! I told him he could pick any colors and those are the colors he chose. Deal with it, Vanessa. Funny thing is that I love how his turned out. Maybe he’s on to something, pink and red are so last year. 😀

Jack’s favorite part…squeezing the paint out!

Jack’s lovely green/black/gray hearts. I couldn’t have done them better!

So, whether it was because of inspired parenting or being completely drained because of Mastitis (more likely), I was able to let go of what I thought this Valentine’s Day Heart Stamp project should look like. Green and black? Awesome, go for it. You want to mix all the colors? That would be fun. What would happen if we squeezed the tubes out of shape? Cool, let’s find out. In the end it was a win/win. Jack gain some creative freedom and confidence and I got to lay out comatose on the floor while he was entertained. Thank goodness for the weekend!