Valentine Treats

So here are a couple recipes I tried for a party and on actual Valentine's Day. And I'm feeling lazy so mostly I'll just link you to the recipe I followed.

First, for a party Dave and I were invited to, we were asked to bring an appetizer. Well I jumped on Pinterest to find a Valentine's appetizer and found these: Mozzarella Cheese Filled Hearts. Click HERE for the recipe.

I'm not going to show you my step by step process because I just followed the recipe I found. Some tips though: 1) roll the dough thinner because mine ended up tasting too bready because they were too thick (on the link to the recipe it suggests using pizza dough in a can so maybe that's why mine were too bready because I just used the biscuits), 2) use stronger flavored cheese because the mozzarella disappeared in the bread or maybe again that's because mine were too thick, and 3) follow how the recipe cuts up their cheese, in heart shapes. That way the cheese is in every bite. I just cut cubes so the cheese didn't fill out the whole heart. And I just used Marinara sauce in a jar (which helped them taste better since they were so bready) instead of the Pesto recipe.

On Valentine's Day morning, I got up with my husband (I usually get to sleep in longer) and made a pancake breakfast. I made regular pancake mix and split the mix into two bowls. One I dyed pink and the other purple. Then I made regular round pancakes.

Then I cut out a heart in the middle of each pancake using a cookie cutter.

Then I switched the hearts, so the pink heart goes in the purple pancake and the purple heart goes in the pink pancake. And voila.

I got the idea from Pinterest (where else?) and their pancakes were more vibrant (I think if you cook on a lower temperature for longer they don't get the brown color, but ain't nobody got time for that). Click HERE for my inspiration.

And for dinner I made Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris. They were just 'meh.' Nothing too amazing but still fun. Here's the simple recipe: blend 12 oz. Sprite, 10 frozen strawberries, and 1/2-1 cup ice cubes. Pour into fancy cups (I got them in the $1 section at Target). Garnish with whipped cream (I also added sprinkles).

I also tried a new pizza recipe. It's called Easy Pull Apart Pizza Bread. Click HERE for the recipe. And some tips: 1) lessen the olive oil. When I flipped the bread out, oil was literally dripping from the pan. 2) I had to cook mine longer by like 15 or 20 minutes because the middle wasn't cooked all the way through yet. So plan on that. Because we had to cook it longer, the outside was crispy so we couldn't really pull it apart so we just sliced it. And we used Marinara sauce to dip it in. It was yummy.  And it was easy.  I had my 3 year old slice the biscuits into quarters (she used a plastic knife and loved helping).

An X-O-rdinary Craft

Okay so here is my last Valentine's Day craft I made for this year.

I made an "XOXO" sign. Here are the supplies you need: Valentine's paper, two X and two O wood letters, Mod Podge, paint brush, cardboard box , and an x acto knife.

Grab four sheets of your cute Valentine's paper and flip it over, design side down.

Mod Podge one side of your wood letter. Flip the letter over and stick it to the back side of your paper.

 

 

Now you're ready to cut.  I used a broken down cardboard box as my work station so I wouldn't cut through my table.  Use your x acto knife to cut away the extra paper, revealing your letter.

Last, I put a coat of Mod Podge over the paper to give some shine and also to seal the paper better. You're done. That's it. Super easy and super cute! 

I "Heart" Goodies

I love all the little holidays and Valentine's Day is no exception, as you can see from the last couple of posts. And now that this is the week of the actual holiday, it's time for the goodies. And this year, a homemade card.

So first the card. You will need: fake mustaches, photo paper, card-stock, Valentine's paper, paper cutter, and two-sided tape. I bought the mustaches, card-stock, and paper from Michael's.

One day, I made all of the family put on said mustaches, so we could get an awesome picture. Before printing, I added some heart embellishments to the corners for just a little extra something, something. Then I printed the pictures out onto photo paper.  

I trimmed the pictures with my paper cutter and then used a full 8 1/2" x 11" piece of card-stock to make the whole thing more sturdy. I used double-sided tape and taped two pictures (that's how many would fit on one sheet) to the card-stock.

On my computer, I made up some notes saying, "I "mustache" you a question. Will you be our Valentine?" Then I printed and cut them out. I taped the notes to a pretty piece of Valentine's paper and then cut them out leaving a small border of the cute Valentine's paper visible. Then I taped the note next to the picture on the card-stock. Last, I trimmed the card-stock so there was a small border around the whole thing, and you've got yourself a cute homemade Valentine's Day card.

Next, are the goodies, aka M&M Cookie Bars. These are some of my favorite treats to make because they're yummy and super easy. I'm just going to give you a link to the recipe I found because that's what I follow, plus I didn't take step by step pictures for you. The only thing I have to do differently is the baking time. It always takes about 5 mins. longer with my oven.  (And sometimes I add another 1/8 of a cup of flour if it's looking too gooey before putting it in the pan.)

Click HERE for the recipe.

So now that the card and treats are done, it's presentation time. This might actually be the most fun part for me. I love making things look cute. Supplies needed are: Valentine's plates, cellophane wrap, hole punch, ribbon, and scissors. I bought the plates and cellophane wrap from Michael's.

Place your goodies on a cute plate. Roll out the cellophane to desired length. Cut it off the roll. Pull the corners of the cellophane together and tie it closed with ribbon.

Hole punch a hole in your homemade card and thread the ribbon from your goodies, through the hole and tie in a knot. Using scissors, curl the ribbon and you're ready to deliver your Valentine's Day treats.

Picture Timeline

I finally finished a wall in my bedroom. A few years ago, I bought a vinyl phrase, "For Time and All Eternity," but never put it up because we were renting apartments and I didn't want to put it up, just to take it down after a year or so and not be able to use it again. So now that we have our own house, it finally made it onto a wall. 

Now for the picture timeline. I placed it centered below the vinyl phrase.  Here are the supplies you need: pictures, paper cutter, mini clothespins, paint, brushes, fishing line, clear pushpins, measuring tape, level, pencil, and scissors.

First, I picked out and printed some pictures that represent Dave and I's life from the time we met until now. Then I trimmed them using a paper cutter.

Next, I painted some mini clothespins the colors of my bedroom: black, yellow, white, and gray.

Then, I cut off a huge section of fishing line. I then clipped my photos to the fishing line with the clothespins.

Then I used a measuring tape, level, and pencil to figure out exactly where to place the pushpins (one below and to the left of the vinyl, one on the opposite side of the first pin, and one in between those two). Once I figured that out, I tied one end of the fishing line to a pushpin and put the pin in the wall on the first mark.  Then I put the other two pins in the wall. I draped the middle of the fishing line over the middle pin and then loosely tied the end to the other side pin with extra fishing line hanging off. That way I could figure out how low or high I wanted the dips to be before completely tying it off.  Just cut the extra fishing line off.

Last, I repeated the final steps again for a second row of photos and you're done.

I think if I did it over I would print the pictures all in black and white and use bigger clothespins.  But I still like how it turned out.  Oh and use an even number of pictures on each row.  I had 13 and it made it hard finding the middle because there was a picture in the way.

Also, someday, there will be a desk below the pictures for my sewing station.