Handmade Heart Shelf

Project 365 – #036

Today, we stopped by Home Depot to pick up their free wood project for kids.  This month, they had a heart shelf for Valentine’s Day.  While they normally have the kids and parents do the project at the store, you can get the project and take it home.  This is what we normally do as it allows us to do things on our own time and in our own way.

The free monthly project is just unfinished wood, so the child and parent can decide how they want to finish it.  I personally think it’s a great idea to encourage kids and parents to work together on a project.  It’s a great time of bonding and creativity.  Plus, the kids are learning valuable life skills as they work side-by-side with their parent(s).

Munchkin and I decided that we wanted to do something really fun with the project, so we picked up some inexpensive paint from JoAnn Fabrics while we were out.  She decided that she wanted to do the shelf in brown and blue.  We knew that we already had some scrapbook paper that would work for the project, so we didn’t have to purchase anything else.

Once we arrived home, we prepped the painting area as not to mess up the table.  Painting/crafting around here tends to be a messy process.  **grin**  We laid out our supplies: heart shelf kit, paint, paint brushes, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, hammer…

Munchkin set out to put 2 coats of brown paint on the heart and shelf.  She painted 2 coats of blue paint on the peg.  I traced the heart shape onto some heavy blue flocked scrapbook paper.  Once it was cut out, I used scalloped scissors to add a little more detail.  I placed the scrapbook paper heart onto the wooden heart to mark where the shelf insert went.  I then cut out that strip of paper from the heart.  I applied the scrapbook heart to the wooden heart using Mod Podge.  We inserted the shelf into the cut out in the wood.  After that was inserted, we took the strip of scrapbook paper that we had removed from the heart and used Mod Podge to attach it to the edge of the shelf.  A few nails later, the shelf was finished.

Munchkin was so excited when the shelf was finished.  I was thrilled that we were able to create something special for her room together from a free project from Home Depot.  We’re especially happy as this is the beginning of Munchkin’s room makeover.  For her birthday (April), we’re going to be redoing her room in her new favorite colors – blue and brown.  (Her current colors are pink and brown.)  We plan on doing it together and trying to reuse things we already have to complete the project.

After completing the shelf, we hung it in her room to create the first display in her new color scheme…  (Sorry for the off color of the picture, the lighting in Munchkin’s room isn’t that great.)

What types of project do you like to do with kids?  Have you ever taken advantage of the free projects at Lowes, Home Depot, or Michaels?  If your kids need a Valentine’s gift or project, Lowes will be having a heart music box in honor of Valentine’s Day for their free project next Saturday. JoAnn Fabrics is also having a make and take project this Saturday.

This post is linked to The Christian Home Blog Carnival.