happy valentine's day

happy valentine's day!  

before i run off to do some more baking, let me share with you this year's work valentine's treats.  
i was especially excited to make something this year because i was so busy the past few months with a nasty deadline that i didn't have time for my normal christmas baking/craft craziness.

i wanted to pass out individually packaged treats this year, and remembered the white chocolate bark with berries and toasted rice from 2012.  the colors work perfectly for valentine's, and i could incorporate a cheesy pun as well.  i did run out of white chocolate though (meaning i ruined a huge batch), and had to make a batch with milk chocolate.

the heart strawberries on my tags were cut with my silhouette.  i had a great time assembling everything. it was the best part.

this is a special batch i made for bffbf.  i got these candy molds from ikea a while back, and decided it would be a good time to test it them out.    i filled the middles with toasted rice and freeze dried berries as well.  i didn't bother tempering the chocolate, so the bottoms look lumpy, but that's ok.  they still TASTE good. 

oh, if you've found yourself in need of a last minute valentine's card, you can print out the one i designed a couple years ago (wow, was it so long ago?) for free.

heart brownie roll-out cookies

as i was prepping the dough for smitten kitchen's brownie roll out cookies (you see, i was determined to make more heart shaped things for valentine's day), i reflected over my aforementioned affection for the holiday.

to be clear, thanksgiving and christmas are on top of my favorite holidays list, but i suppose you could say that valentine's day is third (or dead last considering i couldn't care less about all the other ones.  i think... mainly because none of them are 'pretty'.).

yes, it's true that i have been in a relationship for every valentine's day since 1999, but i really do mean it when i say that has nothing to do with it!  i have never had one of those swoon-worthy, over the top romantic valentine's day, and nor do i particularly want or expect them.  rather, i look to anniversaries for those moments, because those clearly have more meaning.

my fondness for this day primarily stems from childhood-- i have strong memories of decorating treat bags and eating cupcakes from PTO moms at valentine's parties at school.  every year, i went to the store with my mom and carefully picked out the cards i'd be distributing.  i remember many of them, my card selections ranged from strawberry shortcake, bears in sweaters holding a corresponding colored crayon, and cartoony dinosaurs.  this may be why, as an adult, i've tried to mimic these childish joys at the work place.  so, i printed out these free cards to pass out with these cookies. and because ilikethemSOmuch, i left a slew of them around the apartment for bffbf to find. 

these are the simplest roll out cookies i have ever made. generally speaking, i avoid cut-out cookies because typically i find the dough unwieldy even after refrigerating, and once baked, they tend to be hard and sandy, and i prefer soft and chewy.   instead, these have a semi-soft texture when you bite into them, and are quite tasty.  as you can see, i popped in some color by adding large heart sprinkles that i impulsively purchased during a recent grocery run.

i don't normally buy sprinkles. or eat them.  turns out they're disgusting.

disgusting but cute.

happy valentine's day!

paper heart garlands

i'm not particularly attached to the romantic connotations attached to valentine's day, but i am fond of the excess of pink + red, hearts, and chocolate.     

i made a couple paper heart garlands this weekend to festive-fy (not a word you say? it is now) my cube at work. the image above doesn't portray the colors that accurately, but you get the idea.  the other strand is in the front part of my cube.  

i cut out a bunch of hearts in various sizes (and some circles) with my silhouette and sewed them together using pink and white thread.  i really love meshing paper crafting and sewing.

i'm starting to notice that my current silhouette mat is already losing it's stickiness, and my blade is getting dull. they really don't last very long!

do you ever decorate your office space?

valentine's day cards revisited

valentine's will be upon us in about a week, so i thought i'd re-post a couple card ideas from last year, in case you were feeling crafty or desperate for a freebie.

follow my tutorial here to make these stitched felt heart flat notecards.

and check out my post here regarding the free printable card below, and download it here.

free printable valentine's day card

i made you a card that you can print out and give to someone else.
it's simple and to the point.  i hope you like it.

click here to download the pdf file.  for personal use only, please and thank you.

i suggest printing on a sheet of 8.5"x11" heavy weight white cardstock.  cut the card in half (i drew a short gray line beneath the card indicating where to cut), and fold in half, using a scoring blade if you have one.   when completed, the card will be 5.5"x4.25".

enjoy!

stitched felt heart valentine's cards (ways to rid yourself of 30 yards of felt #7)

a couple weeks into the new year, and as expected, valentine's day products are already littering the aisles in shops all over.  here is a simple but slightly whimsical flat card that can be easily whipped together. send one or send twenty!

to make these cards, cut a sheet of 8.5"x11" cardstock into four. i used my awesome brand spanking new paper cutter (a christmas gift, thank you, thank you, bff!).  

hand cut little hearts with your felt.  twelve little hearts, to be exact. three for each card.  i used red and pink from my stash.

thread your sewing machine with thread (a color that will pop off the page and go with your hearts-- i used pink), and stitch three hearts down the middle with the centers of the hearts about an inch into the card.  

you may find it helpful to use a ruler and lightly mark with a pencil the line down the paper where you intend to sew. cut the threads flush (or you could leave them hanging a little longer if you like) to the card, and you should find yourself with something like this:

how do you feel about valentine's day?  love it? hate it? look forward to it every year? wish it didn't exist?