Love seeing you do things with your children, Laura. How you encourage them, teach them and include them is beautiful. In these simple everyday joys, you’re making memories that will last a lifetime. ❤
What a great use of the dried flowers! Great craft idea!! Finished product looks amazing! Benjamin is the cutest as he high-fives the whole world 😃 High-five back to you!!
Love❤❤❤the Valentine Day tree. So special. Love the dried flowers and how smart you kept them…Always nice to have a plan. So easy and so clever. 🎉 Beautiful in celebration of ❤love.
So lovely! At the end you said V for Viola, and I got so excited, as that was my mom's name...and she was as lovely as your Valentine ornaments and tree!
I was thinking the same thing! Tissue paper could be used too with bunnies or carrots on it. Tear and place on the ornaments. So many possibilities with such cute results.
Favorite part! Benjamin saying “shall we?” So dang cute! Lol Douglas almost stole the show but the tree was absolutely adorable ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Laura, you are a loving, caring mother. The way you let the kiddos help with your projects. Amazing. And I was shocked that Douglas didn't break something while sneaking in through the window? BTW love the Valentine tree. Gorgeous.
Thank you for this -just beautiful - I love that you include your children - they are so bright and spunky - you know the saying - "an ounce of pluck is worth a ton of luck"! Douglas is quickly becoming a star - he really loves you guys and wants to be in every video - so cute! Garden on!!!
This project turned out so well! Imagination wheels start turning for many variations on this idea. For all occasions and using many craft resources. Paint, glitter, different cookie cutter shapes, stickers, charms. Sky’s the limit! 🩷🩷🩷
Thanks for sharing! Years ago, we made dough ornaments at Christmas time. The hearts are beautiful and special because you and Benjamin made them together!
The most precious video ever! (Hey Apple, we need a pansy/viola emoji)!!! I love seeing the kids involved in your projects but Douglas almost stole the show. 🫣
What a “lovely” tree! ❤ However, I am now going to have to go back and watch again to see Douglas climbing through the window that everyone is commenting about, as I totally missed it on the first go round!
I love watching you interact with your kids. They each seem to have totally different personalities. It is so great that they take an interest in the gardens. I can see Garden Answer becoming a multigeneration video site.
How beautiful!!! I LOVE this so much, and how precious that Benjamin and Samantha Grace were helping. It is just precious! Would also be pretty for a bridal shower or wedding gift table. Would also look pretty with fairy lights woven into it. Thank you for sharing this idea with us Laura. 😃👍🏻
My favorite is the clematis in the corner and it was Benjamin’s! I started a Christmas tradition where instead of giving gifts we exchange ornaments that reflect ourselves. I want to do this on glass ornaments next Christmas.
I Love the heart tree! ❤ The heart ornaments are lovely. What a wonderful little craft project! I just might make one. PS Thank you for teaching your little ones…Knead with a K! I’ve been a teacher’s aide for 22 years and seeing you explain and teach things to your children, I appreciate that. ❤
"Garden them up!" Definitely will be borrowing this phrase. For the flowers that are too thick , I'd suggest pulling the pedals apart and arranging them in flatter designs... 😊Happy Gardening.
Laura, this was the perfect project for my kids and I to do today! My father passed away a couple weeks ago and I was trying to figure out a way to use the dried flowers from the bouquets we received. This will be such a beautiful way to preserve those for my family and gifts for extended family. Thank you for sharing.
Laura you are so creative! I love that you'll have the ornaments that Benjamin made as he grows. When my kids were little we always decorated Easter eggs from hard boiled eggs like most people. I would have the kids write their name and the year on the eggs they decorated. Each year I saved some of the hard boiled eggs and over time the inside of the egg evaporates until finally you end up with completely hollow, decorated Easter eggs from all the years past. It's fun now that my oldest has kid and she can show them the Easter eggs she decorated at their age. Thank you for sharing this project!
“Let’s decorate some more shall we”?!!! I just love how Benjamin is so smart and adorably cute. He likes to help. Laura, you and your hubby are raising up an exceptional future husband! Love you guys so very much. I’ve been watching your content every single day since I found you back in 2020 during COVID and I’m so blessed for it. ❤
I love Benjamin's attitude. He is so positive and game to try anything. He's so well-mannered and naturally polite and well-spoken. I love that you let him taste the salt dough. Laura, your family is a delight. I love the decorations, and I'm tempted to do some right now, as I have all of the supplies. I think that they would be beautiful individually hung in a window, or with double holes, hung on a swag. Update: I did mix up 1/2 a batch. I couldn't believe how "fluffy" the dough was. I've made dough in the past tha felt very hard. It did take much longer in the oven. Like 2-3 times as long, but that's okay. I dug out the flowers and the Mod Podge and today I get to decorate. I have some friends coming over next Saturday, so it will be a fun little gifty to give them!
🌺Darling, simply darling! 🌺Thank you, Laura, for brightening my day! I've loved ALL your dried flower ornaments and framed projects over the years. 🌿This would be a fun craft activity with the grandkiddos or a February Garden Club meeting. Another display option would be to glue a magnet on the back and place them on the fridge - how sweet with family photos and/or children's artwork!
Laura, when I was small my Mother and I made salt dough ornaments for Christmas in the shape of snowmen, we used cloves or peppercorns for eyes, cinnamon sticks for arms, or snips of grapevine wreath, and tied a scarf with a piece of muslin or gingham , they were my favorite on the tree till I was in my 20s! These are so sweet ! I can’t wait to make ❤
It was so fun watching Douglas sneak in. The has been wanting inside for so long and the finally achieved is goal. I wish you would have filmed when he let you know he was inside.
Those ornaments are so sweet! I used to work at a garden center and when I'd deadhead flowers (to keep the plants pretty), I'd sometimes save the deadheaded flowers to take home later and press and then use in projects, especially petunias and pansies. So keep that in mind: deadheading is a good time to collect flowers for drying and pressing!
I love these so much!♡ What a simple recipe to make the salt dough. I also love that it is so "Kid friendly " as well. At the flower shop where I work, we offer workshops every month. This would be a great project idea to offer! Thank you for sharing this beautiful idea!
Those are so adorable! I love how you get the kids involved and how crafty you are. Great idea on the alphabet ones with the flowers that start with the letter. You are smart and inspiring.
Loved your Valentine project. It looks so pretty. Benjamin does such a good job decorating. I was so engrossed in your project that I never even noticed Douglas sneaking into the Hartley until I watched your video again. When did you notice Douglas inside? He sure is a beautiful cat and seems to love being around his humans. Samantha is so adventurous and finds ways to entertain herself jumping on the woodpile--so cute!
I hadn't thought about rolling dough in between 2 pieces of silpat. Greetings from Windermere, Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸 Happy Gardening Everyone 👩🌾👍 ❤Peggy❤
Oh my gosh, Benjamin, you are a very sweet boy! You remind me of my son who is now almost 44 years old. He loved making things and helping with projects. The Valentines ornaments look amazing and they look great on the branches. I want to make an Easter one! Thanks for sharing! 💯 ❣️ Happy Valentine's Day!
ooh!! I need to go back and re-watch some of the old flower press videos. Now that I have 3 seasons of wreathing under my belt, I'm really digging dried flower crafts
Awe! I traced my son’s hand with that kind of dough, eight years ago and made it into a Santa Claus. Still hanging on our Christmas tree. One of my favorite ornaments! We’ll have to try heart ones. So sweet! ❤
I always enjoy watching and learning from your videos on gardening, but when you do crafting videos my heart soars as well. I love creating and crafting. Thanks for another wonderful video and lesson. Your Benjamin and Samantha are so sweet💕. Thank you for sharing your life with us. Blessings to you💖💖
I love this! It would have been such fun to make with my kids are grandkids. Now I might just do it for myself and my husband. He might enjoy it too. Thank you for the great ideas!! Benjamin is so sweet!! ❤
I love salt dough ornaments! Have some I made in 1982 that still look great today. If you spray them with crystal clear polyurethane it helps protect them from moisture and they won’t yellow over time. Mod podge can turn yellow after a while.
Hi Laura! This was another fun video. Loved seeing Benjamin doing his own ornaments. They turned out so pretty. I'd missed Douglas coming in the window, so when I saw it in the comments I had to go back and watch it. Too cute, and sneaky! Thank you so much for sharing!
What a wonderful project. It just warmed my heart to see mother and son working on this together. I agree it looks beautiful on the table in the Hartley.
Absolutely adorable!!!!!! They are all so unique. Thank you for sharing the recipe. You are so cute with your kids-so patient and loving. You’re a breath of fresh air! I can’t think of anyone on RU-vid I’d rather watch. So glad I found you years ago as I’ve learned so much from you and Aaron.
