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2.11.2014

PENGUIN PIN VALENTINES


you know penguins mate for life, right? it's terribly romantic.

by the time the evening rolls around these days my brain is so fried from leaking all these words out that i just need something mindless to do with my hands while i decompress. the other day huck and i were talking about valentine's day and debating whether we should buy angry bird valentines or pirate ship valentines when i had a sudden vision. 

"hey hen, wanna make your friends some penguin valentines?" 

two flightless arctic birds, one stone. 

nailed it.


it was such a relaxing way to end the day (with a little netflixed sherlock added in to really take it home), and now that they're done i'm in a bit of mourning. 

you will need 
// felt: two sheets of black, one sheet of orange, one sheet of white, one sheet of pink 
// thread to match: in black, white, orange, and pink 
// pin backs 
// scissors 
// some time 
// and some sherlock


i wanted huck to be able to help, so i set him up with a blunt needle and the box of pin backs. i fully expected to go back in and redo some things once he'd gone to bed, but the kid surprised us both by deftly maneuvering that needle and successfully getting four pins stitched into place on four penguin backs before getting entirely bored with it and going up with his grandpa to watch play dough videos on youtube (which are SO weird by the way). i'm honestly not sure what to make of this kid. just today i watched with astonishment as he put down an entire chicken teriyaki using a fully functioning set of chopsticks. how does he do this stuff? #huckforpresident



to assemble the penguins, use a blanket stitch to sew together first the feet, then the tummy onto the front of the penguin, then the heart onto the chest, and then you put it all together like a penguin sandwich and stitch around his sides. stop with about an inch left on one side to puff in some puffers, then finish the job and toss him in an envelope.


one night while i worked i set huck up with a box of washable markers and a stack of card stock so he could draw cards for his friends. there was a small paint brush in there and huck asked to paint, so i filled a little bowl with water, and he pulled out these really beautiful little water color cards that i am sort of obsessed with. i don't know about this kid. am i going to have to call mensa here? (he also learned to write his name over the weekend. am i bragging now? okay i might be bragging now.)


we sent them off today with a little kiss and a wave. we're excited for his friends to have them and hopefully wear them around for a day or two. huck's been pretty homesick for all his buds.


sometime you should ask huck what a penguin says. he'll honk and waddle at you like a native.

happy valentine's day! honk honk!

26 comments:

  1. jealous of all the skills happening here!

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  3. Very cute! I would wear them.

    Actually, though, penguins only mate for a season, not for life. (I learned so much about penguins from March of the Penguins!)

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  4. those penguins are superb adorable!!! you got the talent here..

    xo josephine
    www.joselovincolors.com

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  5. these are adorable! I love how much work and love were put into these cute little penguins!

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  6. Cute! I think there needs to be an IG video made of Huck's penguin impression. :)

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  7. Iris is OBSESSED with playdoh videos on YouTube. What the heck?!

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  8. totally cute idea! i can't wait til atticus is at an age where he has patience for this sort of thing♥

    http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2014/02/parenting-ups-downs-and-inbetweens-vi.html

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  9. Penguins don't actually mate for life. 10 seconds of Googling would've told you that.

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    1. some penguins do, is what i found in about five seconds :).

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    2. You know what? I think people make nasty comments just so they can say they got a response from you. Don't see how a foul comment is needed on a post about kids valentines. Anyway, super cute! Love the penguins and I googled for my own curiosity and would have to agree with you on this one Natalie. Many species of penguins do in fact mate for life:-)

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    3. seriously. lots of humans don't mate for life either. Does that mean we just give up on the idea?!

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  10. Cute penguins :o) One of the many reasons I love reading your blog is that, like me, you deeply believe that your child is THE BEST thing in the whole entire world. Some people are so judgy about us folk who feel this way about our kids, but I say embrace it, we made some pretty stonkingly good kiddo's! X

    katie@ http://whatyoudoingkatie.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. These are by far the cutest Valentines I have ever seen! As a penguin lover myself, I approve! Super sweet that you guys sent these out and a great toddler project!

    xo
    Rachel

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  12. I already loved everything about this blog, but then you said you watched Sherlock and that just sealed the deal. And these valentines? So so so cute!

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  13. I already loved everything about this blog, but then you said you watched Sherlock and that just sealed the deal. And these valentines? So so so cute!

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  14. Okay, these are absolutely adorable! What a great idea :)
    xo TJ

    http://www.hislittlelady.com

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  15. this idea is so cute! even though I'm 24, i want to make them to give out to my friends. its totally lame but i'm stuck in bed with a broken back and my paint by number is almost finished.

    rachel

    thegystofthings.blog.com

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  16. Those are so cute! I love it. -Hanna Lei

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  17. Such a talented little man, he did much better than I ever could (but then I have a very short attention span/low frustration threshold when it comes to crafting...)

    The London Project

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  18. love those little guys. such a cute and creative idea. :)

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  20. I was just listening to Carla Bruni and thought you and Huck might enjoy this song-it's Carla Bruni singing "Le Pingouin" :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlwecXJGXIk

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  21. So cute!
    www.liquidsunshineak.com

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  22. Um... Penguin Cuppie from JJ Rabbit... PERFECT for Huck!

    http://www.amazon.com/JJ-Rabbit-Cuppie-Orange-Ounce/dp/B00EUNH4SO#productDetails

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