Toddler Times
Deconstructed Valentine: Toddler Style
I am not the craftiest of mothers. (Crafty for the purposes of this post means “likes to do things with felt and a glue gun” as opposed to “clever at achieving one’s goals through deceitful methods”.) This is ironic, because as a kid I never met a piece of decoupage, I didn’t like.
I guess computers got involved and soon I was spending all of my dried flower arranging time on Photoshop.
Sitting a toddler on your lap while you scale and crop a photo is probably not going to win you any motherhood points. So, this past Sunday, I decided to take a trip to the art store, buy some colored paper and a glue stick and make some Valentines with my two-year-old.
While she was taking her afternoon nap, I cut the paper into little pink and red hearts that she could glue onto a larger piece of red paper.
I know— it’s nothing fancy but it’s a start. And, she’s two! I think it’s a little early for woodworking and needlepoint.
When Mazzy woke up, she immediately spotted the piles of construction paper hearts on the table and got very excited. I told her we were going to make a Valentine for Daddy.
For the next half hour, Mazzy placed and glued those little hearts with love and careful consideration.
But just as I was about to get out a marker and write her loving sentiments to her dad, I realized Mazzy had only completed PHASE ONE OF VALENTINE CREATION.
What is PHASE TWO?
Tearing the whole thing apart, of course.
I’m not one who likes to get in the way of a creative mind at work. And I fully appreciate out of the box thinking. Plus, I would have to be certifiably insane to end an activity when Mazzy was still entertained.
So I watched Mazzy tear off every last heart. Only then was her project deemed complete and the “craft table” quickly evacuated.
Here is Mazzy’s Valentine.
Good thing I saved it with Photoshop.
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2 Comments
Alyssa @NearNormalcy commented on Feb 14 12 at 3:10 pm“Good thing I saved it with Photoshop.” HA! Love that.
I think she did an excellent job. And she was entertained, so really, who cares what else happens.
Samantha commented on Feb 14 12 at 4:13 pmAll my friends kids were doing crafts (also I blame pinterest), and sometimes when I pick up my son, he has some amazing artwork in tow. He is 1 1/2. I have never done crafts with him and I really wanted to. He loves foam stickers. Now I don’t know what these people do with him to create finished artwork, but between sticking, and unsticking and eating the foam stickers, no valentines were made. I did discover that he uses markers quite well and mostly got the marker on the paper.
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Mary L Weimer 
Beth Anne Ballance 
Ilana Wiles 
Natalie Holbrook 
Monica Bielanko 
Emily McClements 
Danielle Elwood 
Naomi Odes Aytur 
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