v.d. t.p. f.y.i.s

In the last few weeks, perhaps because I find so many brilliant crafts for children on Pinterest which leads me to  blogs I have not seen and crafty mamas working with toddlers, I have been keeping our toilet paper cardboard rolls for crafts. It's not that this hasn't occurred to me before, but I just couldn't think of anything cool to make with them. I found these very cool yetis made with toilet paper rolls.

After I did the birds on a wire, I was thinking that toilet paper rolls might be cool candle holders. So Beezus and I kind of brainstormed. Beezus rushed headlong into hers, but I wanted to plan it a little more.  More on Beezus' craft in a bit. The candle holder was a fun one.

As you can see below, I cut a heart out of the roll and kept a strip to hold up the heart. Then I cut another heart out of the center of the original heart. Using kite paper and newspaper, I mod podged newspaper print on the cardboard. Using kite paper, I glued the transparency onto the inside of the heart. That is my pre-newspapered heart there on the messy desk.

After everything dried, I then cut the back in a snip.

I have many yarzheit candles for Lucy, so I used one of those.

I then put the heart around the candle and lit it. Hard to see the candle here.

And all lit up in the dark, it has a lovely effect.

This was the first one, but I am pretty sure we are going to make more in different shapes, like Waldorf stars, or maybe even birds. I would think this craft could be made without a toilet paper roll.

Beezus on the other hand drew the heart and cut it out. And without looking back at me...

started putting heart stickers all over it. She had no desire to make a candleholder herself. So, she invented her own craft, which I thought was quite clever.

Then we cut the back of it.

Punched holes in each side...

Braided three pipe cleaners in two strips, tightened them into the holes.

And created a little Valentine princess crown.