St David’s day crafts: Love-spoons & Daffodils

A couple of fun St David’s day crafts inspired by Welsh love-spoons and daffodils (free printable included)

The 1st March is St David’s day and although we’re not at all Welsh*, I do love daffodils and welsh cakes!  I thought it would be fun to do some crafts inspired by St David’s day with the kids.

Design your own Welsh Love spoon

1 Welsh love-spoon inspired craft with free printable

I adore the traditional Welsh craft of carving wooden love-spoons – a romantic gift from a young man to his sweetheart.  I’ve adapted this idea into a design-your-own Welsh love-spoon free printable  (click on the picture above to download) which young children can decorate.  The symbols traditionally have different meanings (I’ve included an explanation of each on the printable – for example a diamond for prosperity and a lock for security).  Children could choose which symbols are relevant to the person that they want to give the spoon to and either stick them onto the template, or draw them freehand, then decorate and colour them.

Watercolour daffodils

2 Daffodil watercolour painting

My mum bought us some gorgeous daffodils and Pickle wanted to paint them during Chops’ nap time, so we set up the newspaper and got our liquid watercolours out (easy to clean up and great for colour-mixing).  He spent a long time looking at the daffodils before he started to put any paint on the paper and was quite thoughtful placing his brush strokes (usually we paint from imagination, so painting from observation was new to him and needed lots of concentration).

Watercolour painting

Pickle also painted the blue vase on the other side of the paper (I’m not sure why – perhaps because he saw that the paint colours ran into each other and he didn’t want the blue to do that?).  He was very proud of his finished pictures (as am I)!

Do you celebrate St David’s day by crafting?  Please do link up in comments if you have more St David’s day crafts to share.

*the only Welsh word I know is ‘poptiping’, which apparently means microwave!

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47 thoughts on “St David’s day crafts: Love-spoons & Daffodils

  • February 27, 2014 at 8:30 am
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    Oh what a clever boy! Those are the most beautiful water colour painted daffodils I have seen. So much concentration on that little face, it’s wonderful! X

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:16 pm
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      Thanks auntie Biz – he did take it very seriously! 🙂

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:18 pm
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      Thanks Angela – I think we’re going to have to frame this one 🙂

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  • February 27, 2014 at 2:31 pm
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    Gorgeous photo his picture looks really good! I have fond memories of my littlies early painting efforts!

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:20 pm
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      Thanks Kate – I find it totally fascinating! The other day he drew a portrait of his brother and I could actually see where the eyes, ears, mouth etc were – everything until then had been scribbles (or at least appeared so to me)…

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  • February 27, 2014 at 3:29 pm
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    Aww, the photo of him painting is just precious!

    I always mean to do something for St. David’s Day, but I invariably always leave it too late to think about it and before I know it, bam, it’s 1st March!!

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:24 pm
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      I know, right? It’s because February is such a short month – it catches you out! 😉

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  • February 27, 2014 at 4:48 pm
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    We are not in any Welsh either but we made Welsh cakes at the weekend for tea – they are just so easy and delicious. I have just bought some watercolours for the little one. I hope that his efforts are as successful as your little one’s. That daffodil picture is wonderful x

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:26 pm
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      Welsh cakes… DROOL! Must make some this weekend.
      I love liquid watercolours – so much easier to use than ‘kids’ paint and the results are so much more beautiful and satisfying.
      Let me know how your painting goes? x

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:29 pm
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      Yay – thanks Jen! It’s such an intricate craft which must take years to perfect – I find it really inspiring. Wonder if anyone still makes them for their suitor, or if they are just sold nowadays…

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  • February 27, 2014 at 6:23 pm
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    I love children’s crafts and seeing how they use their imagination to produce something. Lovely 🙂

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:30 pm
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      Thanks Hannah! It is wonderful to see their creativity flow and develop 😀

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  • February 27, 2014 at 8:02 pm
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    I love the idea of those spoons, so sweet! Your son’s daffodil drawing looks fab too! Even if you are not from a place I still think it is great to join in with the celebrations and teach your children about them.

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:33 pm
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      Thank you 🙂 And yes, I completely agree with you about learning how other countries and cultures celebrate being important (and fun)!

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  • February 27, 2014 at 8:31 pm
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    That is a gorgeous painting – never heard of Welsh love spoons either

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  • February 27, 2014 at 8:58 pm
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    That picture is beautiful, you should frame it. I don’t know any Welsh, sorry!

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:37 pm
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      Thanks Gretta – I think you’re right, we definitely should!

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  • February 27, 2014 at 9:18 pm
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    I’m from Wales, learnt Welsh at school, and I didn’t even know the word for microwave! (Maybe they weren’t even invented back then:-) Thanks for these ideas – may try painting tomorrow.

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    • February 27, 2014 at 9:44 pm
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      I suspect it may be one of the newer words in the Welsh language… 😉
      Enjoy painting!

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  • February 27, 2014 at 10:05 pm
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    firstly love your blog layout! secondly I had forgotten welsh spoons even existed. My dad used to live in wales for a few years and I remember buying one at a craft fair!

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    • March 1, 2014 at 9:04 pm
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      Thank you Lauren – I love yours (fonts especially)! 😀
      Did you give your love spoon to a special someone..?

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  • February 28, 2014 at 8:07 am
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    I love your sons painting, it’s really great. Watercolours are fab for kids and so much easier to wash out any spills!! I love daffs but mine are never flowering in time for the 1st so I have some growing in doors. My son use to wear a rugby shirt for school on St David’s Day as all Junior kids in Wales do!

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    • March 1, 2014 at 9:16 pm
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      Thank you! 😀 And I totally agree with you about watercolours.
      Aaw, that’s a nice idea to let them wear rugby shirts to school – I never heard that before…

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  • March 1, 2014 at 5:55 am
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    Love his painting and the spoons are a fantastic idea

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  • March 2, 2014 at 12:31 pm
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    Oh lovespoons remind me of my nan.She married a Welshman later in life and his flat was covered in them.

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    • March 4, 2014 at 2:51 pm
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      Wow, really? I hope they weren’t all from his admirers… Popular bloke! 😉

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  • March 4, 2014 at 12:45 am
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    The daffodil painting is beautiful, budding artist you have there! x

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  • February 24, 2015 at 11:48 pm
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    You may not be Welsh but I am, and I wholeheartedly love these crafts! Gorgeous daffodils, love them.

    #TuesdayTutorialsPinParty

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    • February 25, 2015 at 10:09 pm
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      Thanks lovely! Good to have official approval from the Valleys! 😉

      Reply
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