Valentine’s Day - 10/15

More Valentine’s Day Treats

Here are just some more fun treats you can whip up quickly for those special loved ones. Above are the chocolate chip icecream sandwiches I made up for our Family Home Evening on Monday night this week. (For those of you who have not heard of Family Home Evening, it is a weekly routine for members of my church to set aside Monday nights (or a night that works for your family) to have a spiritual lesson and an activity/game/outing as a family.

I have recently cut myself off from all desserts for a race I have started training for…YIKES! So I had a few carrots while my family enjoyed those beauties :(!

Then, for the superbowl, I made some chocolate pretzels using Hershey’s heart shaped chocolates and pretzels. I unwrapped each chocolate and placed them on a pretzel. Placed them in the oven that was heated to 350 degrees. I watched them very closely till they started to get melty and then immediately removed them from the oven. Then I pressed Valentine M&M’s to top them off and add a bit of color. I did manage to sneak a couple of these!

February 11, 2010 · Filed under: Treats, Valentine's Day Tagged with

Heart Felt Pillow

26 Comments

I have been floored at how many of you have made your own amazing versions of the heart felt wreaths! It has been fun to visit all of the links you have shared with me! Thank You!

I had some felt that I needed to find a purpose for from my Studio 5 appearance. So I decided to make a pillow using the same technique with the folded circles. (Sorry about the bad picture, it is the best I could do…we need some sunshine around these parts).

It took about the same amount of time as the wreath. I did not need as many circles and instead of using a 3 inch circle, I used one that was 2.25 inches.

My pillow insert measured 12 x 16 inches. So I cut 2 peices of fabric for the pillow cover measuring 14 x 18 inches.

I then took one peice of fabric and drew a heart that would be the outline for shaping my heart. Then I simply sewed each circle onto the pillow. One. At. A. Time! I know what you are all thinking! That I am crazy. But it was really relaxing and it was a good excuse for me to sit down and watch movies. I don’t sit down and veg much so it was kind of nice. Plus…the weather here has been cold and dreary.

Then, when you finish, place the right sides of your fabric together and sew a 5/8 inch seam around the edge and leave an opening on one whole side. Turn inside out, insert pillow and then hand sew along the edge. (Or you can make the back into 2 overlapping peices so that the cover can be removed).

I really like how it has turned out. My kids, however, thought it was a waste of a pillow. Apparently the felt ruffles are not comfortable to lay on! Sweet music to my ears. The pillow might actually stay on the couch!!

February 9, 2010 · Filed under: Felt, Home Decor, Sewing, Valentine's Day Tagged with

Heart Suckers and Heart Candies

30 Comments

Do you guys remember the heart suckers I blogged about last year? Well, I spiced them up a bit this year.

Simply take two (per sucker) small candy canes and place them on a greased cookie sheet in a heart shape. Slide a sucker stick in between them like you see in the picture.

Place them in a heated 350 degree oven and watch them closely. After 3-5 minutes, they will be melty and bubbly. Quickly remove them from the oven and pinch the ends of the candy canes together at the top and bottom of each sucker. Be very careful as the candy will be HOT!

Then set the tray aside to cool. Gently remove them from tray, after they have cooled completely. Place them on parchment or wax paper. Melt some white chocolate or almond bark in the microwave. Pour a small amount into the center of the suckers and smooth with your clean finger. I added a few colorful sprinkles as well. Let them cool again before packaging or better yet…Eating!

I actually liked these so much, I am planning on using these to give to my kids for their Valentine’s Day Treat.

**edit–I have had a few of you who have had a difficult time with your candy canes melting too quickly and becoming too brittle. The KEY is to watch them…don’t go away…as soon as they start to blister and get “sweaty” you will want to pull them out. Or…You can just make these without putting them in the oven if you are still having difficulty. Just put the candy canes together in a heart shape and add the sticks and then pour melted chocolate over the middle. It should harden and hold together pretty well this way too.

I also whipped up some of these Valentine’s Heart-shape candy with the left over melted chocolate. I poured the melted chocolate into some heart ice cube trays (silicone) that I found in Target’s dollar section a couple of years ago.