Thumb-Bunny Loves You

This is the Valentine's Day card I made for David (and actually sent out to a few friends too!). It was inspired by a card I saw, I think it was at Target. Maybe Wal-mart.  I'm not sure, but I recreated the idea with my very own thumb print.  Easy peasy!

Hope you're all having a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Red and Gold Valentine's Day Brunch

Can you tell I'm obsessed with gold? This is my golden year, so, what can I say?!  This weekend my boyfriend and I celebrated Valentine's Day.  We work opposite shifts during the week, so celebrating tomorrow isn't an option. I hope you find some inspiration from my early Valentine's Day Brunch!

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My first inspiration for this table was found on Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line where Jenny decorated her bedroom with balloons for each year her and her husband were married. I decorated our table with 5 balloons, for the 5 years David and I have been together.

 Look familiar? I was so smitten with my Gold Glitter Champagne Bottle that I decided to create it again but in red!

 Breakfast is David's favorite meal of the day.  I let him sleep in and I made us a heart shaped brunch with some of his favorite foods.

 I was originally inspired by The Paper Mama where Chelsey created these bacon hearts (though hers turned out nicer than mine!)

I also cut sausage into hearts, toast, and an egg bake!

What's a brunch without a selection of beverages right?

I froze passion fruit juice in heart molds to make a frozen mimosa with our strawberry champagne!

I also froze vanilla creamer for our coffee!

For dessert, I made a few things.  First I made heart shaped cinnamon rolls! I was inspired by Poppies at Play who made heart cinnamon rolls from scratch! I, on the other hand, took store bought rolls, unrolled them, and then rerolled them into hearts!

I made Custom Fortune Cookies for us too.  I know, fortune cookies at brunch?! I have no real correlation here other than they were fun! And hey, decorated with red and gold!

What is a special occasion without cupcakes?! I made these red and gold cupcakes to finish off our huge meal! You may also notice that sparkly bonbon....I had a few samples left from Bedazzle My Bonbons and they were a perfect compliment to our sparkly table!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Custom Valentine's Day Fortune Cookies

Yep, a weekend post! I actually got a few Valentine's Day projects done before the holiday, so I'm sharing ahead of time.  A little last minute inspiration for you!

 They are easy to make yourself! All you need are store bought fortune cookies, chocolate and sprinkles of your color choice, and your fortunes printed or written on strips of paper.

Directions:

Prepare your custom fortunes on strips of paper, and have them close by.  You'll need to work quickly.

Unwrap a fortune cookie.

Dampen a paper towel.  You want it very moist, but not dripping wet.

Wrap your cookie in the paper towel.  

Microwave on high for 20 seconds.

Unwrap from the paper towel, gently peel the cookie open.  Pull out the existing fortune, put in your custom fortune and squeeze the cookie shut again.

You must work quickly, as the cookie cools, it hardens and will break. A word of caution these babies are HOT.  Honestly, I couldn't figure out how to not burn my fingertips.  I worked quickly and dealt with the discomfort.  Ah, the price you pay for crafting!

You can leave the cookies plain, or you can decorate them.  I chose to decorate mine with red Wilton candy melts and heart sprinkles.  

A note about dipping the cookies: Don't actually dip them in the melted chocolate!

If you dip the cookies in the chocolate, the chocolate could flow inside the cookie and ruin your carefully placed fortune.  

I held the cookie over the bowl of melted chocolate and then used a spoon to pour the chocolate on top of the cookie.  Place on wax paper, decorate with sprinkles and allow to harden. Viola! You have a custom, chocolate dipped fortune cookie!

This is a great trick for any occasion! Birthdays, anniversaries, perhaps even a marriage proposal!

Here's wishing you good fortune with or without a cookie!

Love Letter Nails

This week I gave myself a Pinterest inspired manicure! Thanks to this PIN I tried Newspaper Nails!

It was super easy to do too. First, polish your nails with a light base color and let dry. Completely.

Cut up a few squares of newspaper. Dip your nail in rubbing alcohol and then press a newspaper strip to it. Making sure the alcohol soaks through the paper. Hold for 15-20 seconds and then peel the paper off. Make sure to top with a clear coat.

I decided this manicure needed a little Valentine's Day spin though. Staying true to my ring finger only obsession, I added a tiny heart.

Now it looks like a Valentine's Day love letter!

Top 11 of 2011

As the year closes, lets revisit some of the highlights from 2011!

1. The completion of my Party Challenge.

I completed 1 party every month until I turned 30. This came to completion at the end of January 2011.

2. Grapefruit Cake

This became my favorite cake of the year! I made this so many times, and its just as delicious every time!

3. Our Valentine's Day Table and Red Rosette Cake

4. Happy Birday Cookies

5. Champagne Wishes and Strawberry Dreams Cupcakes

6.  A Royal Affair

7. Designer Inspired Frosted Glass Mirrors

8. How to Clean Graffiti

9. Burberry Inspired Puppy Party

10. Wonderfall Wine Tasting

11. The Reindeer Run

2011 has been a great year! Thank you so much for following along on my blogging journey!
May you have a blessed new year! Happy 2012!

Our Valentine's Table

As it turns out, my boyfriend David is a very lucky man. For Valentine's Day he got to eat a delicious home cooked meal by the the best looking chef in town at the most romantic table in the city!

This is the romantic set up I had planned for us! Lovely isn't it?

This is my favorite photo. My favorite feature is my heart wall display. I painstakingly cut 140 hearts out of paint chip samples!

I picked up these adorable heart plates at Target for $2 a piece!
Valentine's Day isn't complete without a variety of sweets. These are my Red Wine Chocolate Truffles in a variety of styles.
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On my 2011 baking goals list was to create this rose cake that I originally saw in white over at The Tomkat Studio. I am absolutely swooning at the end result of this! If I'm going to toot my own horn, I'm toot toot tooting it about this cake! I am so proud of how it turned out! I am normally not very good at buttercream. I primarily work with fondant, so this was an accomplishment for me.

Our menu consisted of a delicious lemon chicken, steamed asparagus, and David's favorite pan fried potatoes (which I cut into hearts!). I served it with a bottle of Seyval from a nearby winery, St Croix Vineyards, that we visited last summer. It was a spectacular evening!

Valentine's Cookies

Happy Valentine's Day!
This is a small collection of cookies I made for David and I to share during our V-day dinner.
Later this week I'll post pics of our dinner. Until then, cookies!




Hope you have a wonderful, love and bliss filled Valentine's Day!

Cupid Kit

For all of you procrastinators and out there, this Valentine's Day idea is for you!
The Cupid Kit!
Find yourself a simple box. This one is a Macy's box left over from the holidays.

Fill with simple romantic goodies...

Supplies:
1. Bottle of Wine (or your beverage of choice...don't forget a corkscrew!)
2. Two tea light candles (don't forget the lighter or matches)
3. Two glasses (These are Dollar Spot finds, and plastic so no worrying about breakage!)
4. Two candy bars to share (I can't wait to try mine, one is Dark Chocolate with Chili Spices and the other is Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt!)
5. Silk rose petals (another Dollar Spot find!)
6. A blanket

I found this great clip art for candy bar wrappers on Martha Stewart. I also altered it slightly to make a matching wine bottle label.

Spread a blanket on the floor, sprinkle with petals, light the candles, have some wine and enjoy your chocolate selections. If you're lucky enough to live in a state that is warm in February, follow these tips...outside, under the stars!
Happy Valentine's Day!