Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing Everyone A:

La Caille Winner

Announcing the {2} winners of the La Caille Giveaway

Beth and Heart Baby Home

I just loved heart Baby Homes Answer, so here it is:

"I grew up near La Caille....and I've never even driven through the trees to see it. (doh - how'd that happen)...my brother used to work there....hehe

ok...Valentine's plans....is that this month? Here's the PLAN:

My honey is going to scoop me up and fly us in a private jet to some island near the Bahamas where it's crazy warm. We're going to play on the beach and spend a month soaking up sun and writing a novel together.

We might try to swing by Italy on the way home."

I'll be emailing you shortly. Thanks everyone for participating.

Peppermint Dessert ~ Mid Week Munchies

I am guest posting over at BLOOM today with the perfect Valentine desset. Peppermint dessert has been a recipe in my family since my Mom was little. For recipe and instructions head on over and make it for your sweetheart this year.

Last Day to enter my Valentine Giveaway! Two lucky winners will recieve $25.00 gift cards to La Caille in SLC, Utah. Ohhh, la la.

Valentine for My Sweetheart

I decided to go with  a personalized Valentine this year. My husband and I are celebrating our 10th year of marriage and I wanted something really memorable this Valentine's Day. I know a great local blogger, Melissa, who does exquisite calligraphy and I asked her a couple weeks ago to help me out. I love what she ended up putting together for me. She does commission work and is very reasonable priced. If your ever in need of calligraphy send her an email she is great to work with.

Millcreek is the area we lived (SLC) our first two years of marriage.

picture by Melissa

Don't forget to enter my Valentine Giveaway ends tomorrow! 

Valentine Bean Bag

Remember this Guest Post at No Biggie last Monday? While I was making my garland, my little 5 year old wanted a bean bag. He was so cute. The minute he looked at the hearts he exclaimed: "Lets make a bean bag!" I would show you the original, but it was sacrificed during a game of catch in the kitchen because it landed in a puddle of syrup from breakfast. Alas it went straight into the garbage. I never would have guessed a little bean bag would bring so many hours of fun.

Want to make your own Valentine Bean Bag?

Cut (2) heart shapes. Sew right sides together 1/4 inch around entire heart, minus a 1" opening.

Flip heart inside out. Iron. Fill with rice or small beads. Hand stitch heart closed. To withstand hours of tossing and catching, repeat hand stitching sveral times.

My boys have come up with several fun games to play with our valentine bean bags. After the first landed in syrup I have made several more!! With the cold weather, playing outside is not much of an option. Getting out my boys extra energy now has an outlet with our bean bag games.Here are a few ideas:

• Catch (obviously)  
• Hot Potato
• Juggling
• One Hand Catch
• Hide -n- Seek

Don't forget to enter My Valentine Giveaway for {2} $25 gift cards to La Caille in SLC!

Twill Heart Garland

Happy Monday! Today, I am guest posting this adorable Twill Heart Garland at No Biggie. If you've never been to No Biggie ~ you must. Kami is amazing at crafts, cooking and thrifting.

You'll never guess where I found with the twill fabric?!?  So, you must hop on over to No Biggie and find out.

Knock, Knock

Today I am guest posting at Make and Takes. Make and Takes is a amazing Kids ~ Family ~ Mom blog with super ideas and crafts. With Valentine's Day around the corner I am sharing a Valentine How-To. If you have a little joker in your life this Valentine will be perfect!! Head on over and see this how-to by me on Make and Takes.

Thanks, Marie

Makin' Whoppie

Now I am not talking about the Whoppie your all thinking about. I am talking about W-H-O-P-P-I-E! i.e. lets celebrate and having a good party. I thought up this fun game to play with your kids come Valentine's Day.

Whoopie Game:
All you need is:
Balloons x 7
Paper
Zany Ideas
7 valentine prizes

Channel your inner Whoppi and think of 7 crazy, zany, fun games. Here are 7 examples:
Try and eat a dollop of whip cream off your nose/chin, first one finished wins.
Put an ice cube down your shirt and make it come out your pant leg, first ice cube out wins.
See who can last the longest having their feet tickled.
Do the chicken dance with your feet tied together, dance it faster and faster until only one person is left standing.
Rub your tummy and pat your head for 15 seconds. Rub your tummy, pat your head and jump on one foot. Continue to add more tasks until only one player is left.
Play chubby bunny, most marshmallows in mouth wins.
Blind fold everyone and them search for the whoppie cushion, whoever "farts" the cushion first, wins.

Write each of these 7 games on paper and place in un-blown up balloon. Blow up balloon with the paper games inside. Write W-H-O-O-P-I-E on each balloon with a marker. With 7 players, (if more players; have kids pair up and play on teams) give each kid a balloon.

Object of game: 7 rounds: 7 balloons. Each round players will try and pop their balloon. As each balloon is popped the game (inside the balloon) will be read and all players will then play the game. After each game is played a winner will be announced and awarded a prize. Play each round until all the balloons are popped and each game is played. Even if a player does not have a balloon to pop they can participate and play the game. If two balloons are popped at the same time, play both games in the same round.

After all these fun games, your kids should be exhausted and will probably need a little sugar pick me up!! (Yeah right!) But non-the-less, Kitty has a delicious whoppie pie recipe you can make for dessert. They kids are gonna love it!!

Layer on the Love

One thing I have a difficult time throwing or donating away is clothes: warn out, doesn't fit, ruined, doesn't matter, I can't bare to part with it. I always want to re-purpose the fabric. I buy the shirt, skirt or pants, because I loved the fabric and that is why I lament over donating it somewhere else. I think; "That fabric would make the coolest something!" Typically what happens is it sits in my craft room in the corner where I have a huge pile of other clothes waiting to be re-purposed for who knows how long.

Recently we got a new downstairs sectional. It is big and brown and it needs some pillows to spice up the decor. I love new pillows! especially fun, funky, detailed pillows and nothing seems to brighten a room or bed like pillows. Unfortunately really great, fantastic pillows can get pricey. Since I don't have the pillow budget I want, I usually shop and hunt through discount stores like Ross and T.J. Maxx to find something better than your average run of the mill pillow. Last week I went to Ross and found 3 great pillows, plus the two pillows forms (I had at home) I knew I could use my re-purpose fabric. Yah!!

Enter: in my second idea for Valentine's Day: Valentine Maternity Pillow if you are anything like me, you have a (second) big pile of maternity clothes you only wear when your preggers. Alot of my pregnant clothes are either worn out, stained (because I spilled everything right down the front of me) or out of style. So I decided to re-purpose a sweater I worn while pregnant with both of my boys. I love this sweater. I wore it almost everyday, it keep me warn and snugly all through the spring and fall months of my pregnancies. But alas (I haven't been pregnant for 4 1/2 years) I lost the tie for around my waist and it has a lot of stains, a few stains. This sweater was perfect for my pillow idea!

Now I am not a pattern gal, I have owned up to this a few times, and I just wing it, but I am savvy enough in the sewing department that throwing it together usually works for me. If you are a pattern gal look here for pillow patterns or check out this YouTube video on how to make a pillow from old jeans!!

I love how this pillow turned out, especially because it reminds me of when I was pregnant and those are happy Valentine-y thoughts for sure. Any other ideas on how to re-purpose your old pregnant clothes? It seems kinda sad to just throw them all away. Even letting friends borrow the clothes is great, but re-purposing one favorite item seems like a great way to honor the long hard nine months you put into getting your little one here. I would love to read/hear your ideas.

Layer On some more Love over at Kitty's Blog, she is showing us how to layer your favorite sugar cookie into the sweetest valentine treat.

Lady in Red

Valentines just wouldn't be complete without a few lovely post from Kitty and I. We've got a few heart stopping ideas on how to make this Valentine's your best yet. She's got the goods for your tummy and I've got your gifts giving covered.

I love how the trend for fun hair accessories it at an all time cuteness level. It seems like everywhere I go: Mom's, teenagers and little girls have the best eye-catching hair what have you's: headbands, clips, bobbies anything and everything. I thought to myself " What goes with Red Velvet Cupcakes?" Red Velvet Roses, right?? Oh, yes!

Here is my simple, easy tutorial on how to make your own too cute Red Velvet Roses.

Step 1: Take 4 inches of red velvet fabric and fold in half, velvet side up.

Step 2: Gather fabric with a long straight stitch on your machine.

Step 3: Curl your fabric around til rose is your desired size. I did mine about 3-4 turns.

Step 4: Embroider a cute, simple Valentine message on your fabric, with DMC floss. Also with your floss, zig zag through the base of your fabric so it holds the rose's shape.

Step #5: Glue a few felt leaves to the bottom so it covers up the ragged loose ends of velvet.

Step #6: Glue to headband.

Another option: I glued a single rose to a button and then glued that to a clip, if you feel like going solo.

All this talk about velvet sure has gotten me hungry. Head on over to Kitty Blog for some velvet-licious cupcakes. They are divine!!

Winner!

Drum Roll Please......

Congratulations! Amber you were selected at random to be the winner of the Valentine Giveaway! I will been contacting you shortly.

A big thank you to everyone who entered, it was really fun to do my first giveaway, lets do it again for Easter!

Here is the proof. He thought it was a fun game!

Valentine Marshmallows

Since Valentines falls on a Saturday, there is no excuse to not make a great breakfast for your loved ones!!! I am making aebleskivers (recipe here) and of course hot chocolate. I don't know about you but my boys always want marshmallows, like the very idea of hot chocolate without marshmallows is inconceivable!

I made these yesterday with my three year old (super easy) he loved dipping them in the sprinkles. I also love that the marshmallows are the strawberry kind, which makes them pink! All you need is large marshmallows, candy sticks from Wilton, chocolate chips and sprinkles.

"Stick" your marshmallow into the candy stick. Melt your chocolate, I did about a half of bag of chocolate chips in the microwave for 45 seconds. Then, dip your marshmallow into the chocolate and then into the sprinkles. Place marshmallow sticks on tin foil or wax paper so the chocolate can set.

My boys are going to love having their hot chocolate tomorrow with these Valentine Marshmallows. Don't forget to check back tomorrow I am doing my first giveaway ever!

Valentine Shoes

I treated myself to an early Valentine Gift!!!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Before I was married, when I lived in Salt Lake I lived a stones throw from Cummins Studio Chocolates, and on more than one occasion I would drop in for their famous chocolate covered strawberries. The were always big, sweet and beautiful. We even had them at our wedding!!!

After a few years I wised up and started making my own. They may not be as beautiful, but they are easy on the bank account and you can eat twice as many!!

Dipping Strawberries is as easy as 1,2,3: FIRST: clean and dry all your berries SECOND: melt your chocolate - I use my favoarite chocolate chips and melt in the microwave THIRD: dip strawberries in chocolate.

steps 4, 5,6 are as follows: Place strawberries on tin foil or wax paper allow chocolate to set. Sprinkle berries with festive color. Eat and enjoy.

A Candy Box for Dad

Although my boys are young they do notice around Valentine's Day the smorgasbord of Valentine gifts and candy boxes. So this year, I thought lets make our own "candy box" and give it to Dad for Valentine's. This project was very easy, simple and all boy!

I took the boys to our local craft store and found a suitable box. My boys thought this one kinda looked like a briefcase!! We got out all our paints and brushes and they went to town. Covering the entire box with fun colors and designs. (Allow box to dry overnight, depending on how many coats of paint were applied.) Then we went to our local grocery store and loaded up on all of Dad's favorite candies and valentine treats.

In a quick afternoon we had painted and put together a great gift for Dad. The boys want to surprise him and leave it in his car tomorrow morning so he can take his candy box to work.

Sugar Cookies

cookie pictures provided by Fahrenheit 350

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Cream together powered sugar, butter, egg and vanilla. Add flour, tartar and soda mix thoroughly.

Wrap dough in cellophane and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. This will make it easy to roll and cut the dough.

Roll the dough out on a flour surface, about 1/4 inch thick. I like my sugar cookies thick! Use your favorite heart shaped cookie cutter, keep rolling and cutting until all the dough is gone. Cook at 375 degrees for 8 minutes - the cookies should just barely be browning on the sides. You will be sad if they over cook!

After the cookies have completely cooled: frost and decorate.

My little Sis, Kitty, decorated these cookies on her blog. thanks for the pics!