So I made a batch and managed to steal a few minutes here and there to decorate them.

Sometimes I let things sound so time intensive in my mind that I  never get around to doing it.  Sugar cookies usually fall in this category.  This time I tried flavoring the royal icing with some pina colada flavoring oil.  It added a fun scent and subtle taste to the cookies which I like because royal icing isn’t the yummiest frosting on earth.

I’ve decided to make small batches more often so I’ll get it through my head that it’s really quite simple.

The technique above was my #1 goal.  I wanted to try it.  I’d seen a picture in a catalog and wanted to learn how.  Mine aren’t exactly like the picture, but they were so much fun to make.  After filling in the centers with royal icing, I put a little circle of contrasting icing in the center, then quickly pulled a knife down through the center of the dot to form the heart  (a lot like I did with this baking project).

I really like how this tiny cookie turned out as well.  It reminds me of my baby.

I have hosted many baking parties for my girls, and every time I think about how much fun it looks while I supervise the organized chaos.  I had so much fun decorating this batch on my own (ok, my oldest daughter helped too).  It was a great creative experience and I learned something new.

Now they’re waiting patiently to be devoured for our FHE treat tonight.  Except for one, which we used on Friday for a mini-celebration….

See that little nibble on the edge?  I’ll share the reason soon.

Meanwhile, Happy Valentines Day!  I hope you’re having a fun one.

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Using this technique (again!) I made a rolled paper heart.  You can see the other things I’ve made with these flowers here, here and here.

Unlike the wreath, this project took just a little while to complete.  I still really like the look and feel of this technique.

Once it was done, I taped the back of the heart to a piece of pink cardstock paper that I’d cut to 8×10 inches.  I removed the glass from a large silver frame and put the heart in.

Right now it’s functioning as a simple piece of art above our bed.

It’s a nice twist on Valentine decor.  Neutral in color, understated, not too feminine, but still fun.  I like the three dimensional quality it has while not being too obvious.  And unique.  I’m big on unique.

I love projects like this.
Hope you’re having a great day!

HH

Last fall I bought some sugar roses to use for my daughter’s baptism.  BUT we forgot about them, so now they’re finding new purpose as Valentine’s Day decor.

I cut a large heart out of foam board and hot glued the sugar roses to it.

Every year I think about how fun it would be to make something like this with real flowers, but for some reason I’ve never done it.  This is a fun substitute.  Made from materials I had on hand, it cost me nothing.

I glued ribbon around the outside edges of the heart to hide the foam base.

I love that it’s unexpected but very simple.   And white.  I still love white.

It also looks pretty against red.  A bit more traditional.

The weekend is underway at our house, with several things to celebrate.  Should be fun!

Jennifer

We made a second batch of our favorite brownies, but this time we divided the batter into six inch cake pans.

I traced six inch circles onto parchment paper, cut them out, and lined the bottoms of the pans for easy release.  I also lightly sprayed the sides with non-stick baking spray.

Divide the batter between the three pans, then mix up these ingredients:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg yolk
2 Tb. sugar
2 Tb. flour

Mix until smooth.

We used this recipe to make this version in the fall.  I love how such a simple thing can be adapted to many occasions.  My girls decided they wanted to add pink food coloring this time.

Scoop the filling into a disposable decorating bag, cut off the tip, twist the ends, and set your daughters loose (or have some creative fun yourself).

They came up with these designs:

Bake them at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  I’ve found that they sometimes need a little extra time because they’re so thick and the cream cheese on top makes the centers take longer to cook.  Watch the center carefully so you don’t end up with gooey, under-cooked brownies.

They’re so cute when they’re done, and we liked how the pink worked.

Once they’ve cooled, remove from the pan and peel the parchment paper off the bottom.  Place on a paper doily, then add a cardboard cake round to support the bottom.

We wrapped them in cellophane to share with friends.  This would also be a fun dessert to have at a romantic dinner for two.

I bought a little bunch of these roses at the dollar store recently.  I thought their slightly vintage feel would look fun on packages.  I wrapped the stem around the cellophane and added a simple tag.  Ready to go!

Next time I think I would order a set of these pans to bake brownies in.  So cute!

Hopeful Homemaker

Whip up a batch of brownies (try this best ever brownie recipe for great results) and simply cut them using a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Simply place them on a pretty paper napkin and serve.  Your family or guests will love them.

Want to make them even more fun?  Package them.

I bought some super cute pink and white striped cookie bags and simply punched my favorite scalloped circle to make a tag.  A bit of hand lettering and a simple heart stamp finish it off.

I bought the bags here, and was impressed with how quickly they shipped them.  If I had a small fortune to spend on packaging, I think I’d buy some in every color.  They are just too cute.

Next I cut a piece of parchment paper to wrap around the brownie to prevent oil marks from forming on the striped bag.  Simply insert the brownie into the bag…

fold the top and punch holes in both the tag and bag.  Add a ribbon and you’re done!

It’s so much fun to wrap up a little treat as an unexpected gift.

If I had planned ahead and ordered different bags, I would be all over these two downloadable designs for Valentine treats.  This one is especially for brownies, and this you could use for any kind of treat.  It never occurred to me that I could run these little bags through an ink jet printer.   She has a shop where she sells the bags in sets of 25 for $5.  I hope she updates the brownie bag next year, because I’d love to use it.   Check them out!

Up next, Valentine Brownies Part II.

Hope you’re having a great day!
Jennifer

I glued the ribbon around the edge of the footprints to help create the image of a heart.  Nothing fancy, but a special little first valentine for my baby on her first Valentine’s day.

Zero cost, and only a few minutes out of my day.  A precious little reminder of how sweet and small she is.

Years ago I found these miniature mailboxes.  They’re metal, so they’re sturdy, and I love the color.  They were on clearance, so I bought the rest of them and every Valentines Day I get them out.  Each family member has their own mailbox.   It’s photos like this that make me think “Sheesh!  There really are a lot of us!”  That seems like a really LONG line of mailboxes!

We line them up in a spot where everyone can reach them (my dining room window sill) and all of a sudden my house gets unusually quiet with children scurrying around making valentines for each other.   Instead of the traditional method of putting the flag up for outgoing mail, they put the flag up when mail has been delivered.

Looks like we’ll have a love-filled week.  Hope yours is as well!

Adorable!  It’s personalized, and best of all, I don’t have to sit there while they write their names over and over and over again!

This project was so simple.  I took a picture of my daughters holding one fist out, making sure that the focus was on their faces and not on their hands.  Then I simply added text and had the pictures printed.

After printing the photos, simply punch a hole at the top and bottom of the outstretched fist and insert a dum-dum into the holes.  Done!

So I ask all of you moms out there with children in elementary school:  Is this not the cutest, easiest, fastest valentine ever?  My poor kids… they may never get to take a different one to school from now on!  Hurry, make some!  You’ve got plenty of time.

Hopeful Homemaker

This project was fun to do, and I may have found a new favorite ribbon in the process.

The ribbons I used are all manufactured by May Arts.  Here’s how I did it.

I began by cutting a piece of unbleached cotton to the size of my pillow for the pillow top.  The pillow I made is 16 inches high by 24 inches long.  I liked this cotton because of it’s natural color, and because the fibers create a sense of texture that sort of offset the ribbon.  It looks a lot like linen, but was much less expensive.

Next I laid the ribbon out on the fabric until I’d arranged it in a design I was happy with.  I was going for some fun stripes.  Then I pinned the ribbons in place.

I like this shot of the ribbons with ruffles on them.  This particular ribbon was SO fun to work with.  It’s 1.5 inches wide, and the center is a faux suede.  It’s really beautiful, and I loved using it.  It could be my new favorite.

Setting my sewing machine on it’s slowest speed, I carefully sewed each ribbon into place, changing threads as necessary to have them coordinate with the ribbon.  These ribbons were fairly wide, so I sewed down both edges of them.

Soon they were all sewn on, and it’s looking cute!

Next I went for a second layer of ribbon on top of the suede stripes.  I opted for the red velvet ric rac down the center of the white stripes.

Although I’d never tried it before, I cut a length of the white leaves ribbon and decided to see if I could successfully sew it on, too.

A bit tricky, but it worked!  I love it!

Now the pillow looked like this:

I felt like it needed something to help break up the stripes just a bit, so I toyed with several different shapes and decided at last to sketch a little bird (since I’m really loving bird images and a Valentine pillow could certainly have a little love bird on it, right?!).  I grabbed my favorite Valentines quilting fabric and went to work.

I added a single length of white velvet ric rac for the bird to sit on, but decided that I needed something more.  Then my eyes happened to fall on the length of suede leaves ribbon that I’d received in the mail, and I wondered if I could use some of it.  Isn’t it pretty?

I cut three individual leaves off and arranged them on the pillow.  Then I sewed across the tops of them, leaving the rest of the leaf free so that it adds some dimension.  ***Easter/Spring pillow idea bells start ringing in my brain at this time!  I also realized how versatile this suede leaves ribbon would be in so many altered art projects.  It’s neat stuff!

I traced my bird pattern on some interfacing and ironed it to the back of my fabric.  After cutting it out, I was ready to peel the backing off and iron the bird to my pillow.

After ironing it in place, I carefully stitched around the edge of the bird for stability.

I like the end result.

It was time for the backing.  I chose to piece my back with a zipper near the bottom of it because I prefer to use my pillow inserts year round with different looks.   Lay the pieces with right sides together and carefully line them up.

Pin around the edges and sew it together!  If you choose to stuff your pillow, be sure to leave a hole to do it, and if you use a zipper, be sure you open it a little so you have a way to turn the pillow right side out.

After sewing around the edges, I trimmed the excess ribbon and also trimmed a bit at the corners.  Turn it right side out, and ta da!

I quickly grabbed my feather and down insert and stuffed it inside.  Finished!

It looks great on the guest bed in my studio.

I’m liking my little pillow.  This was a super fun project!  The possibilities for embellishment with ribbon are endless.  I enjoyed tinkering around with these.  Thanks May Arts!