6 More Weeks of Winter

With winter storms ever present, global warming seems to be getting less and less likely. It certainly is cold here in the Rocky Mountains, but at least we're not being pummelled by neverending snowstorms.

All this cold weather provides ample opportunity to stay inside, make some hot cocoa and watch a great movie. What is your favorite comfort food? Do you have something your kids beg you to make on special occasions? Share it with The Kissing Frog and you can get free stuff! Visit our Win It! page for more details.

We hope you're staying warm this week. Don't be shy; send us a message, post a comment or chat with us. Don't forget about our Valentine Contest! Get your entries in before next Sunday the 13th for your chance to win.

Kusudama Flowers

Kusudama Flowers
 I've always loved the art of origami. My step daughter and I decided to make some paper flowers for her mom last Mother's Day so she could keep them forever instead of having them die. It would also be something pretty to show off instead of a card that would eventually end up in a drawer.
After googling high and low, we found this site. Emilee and I worked on the Kusudama Flowers. We made a bouquet for her mom and a Kusudama Ball for her grandma.

These are so fun to make! Our fingers were pretty sore after making 36 flowers, but the end result was definitely worth it. We used a pop can as the vase and prettied it up with some transparent paper.

Heart String Craft

Heart String

Transform cardboard tubes into love tokens, then display them as a mantel garland or door decoration.

Materials

Cardboard tube
Paintbrush and red paint
Pushpin
Needle
Embroidery thred
Beads (with holes large enough for the needle to pass through

Instructions

1. Cut the tube in half and brush the halves inside and out with red paint. Let them dry.

2. Flatten the halves, then cut them into one-inch segments. Shape each segment into a heart by pushing one creased side toward the center. Pierce holes in the top and bottom of each heart with a pushpin.

3. Thread the needle and knot the end. Slide on a bead until it stops at the knotted end, then loop back and push the needle through the bead again, going from bottom to top.

4. Thread on a heart, then add a bead just above it, using the same looping technique to secure it in place. Repeat to create a string of hearts and beads.