Valentine Hearts & Roses

So, in case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m a bit of a holiday nerd.  At Christmas I decorate 5 themed Christmas trees.  2 of the trees are paired together and are adorned with pastry and candy ornaments. Mid-January I take down all trees but these ones.  I remove any Christmas themed ornaments and then add in my heart ornaments to make it a Valentine’s hearts and sweets tree. Below is a craft for decorating heart ornaments with dresden trims.

Velvet Heart Ornaments

What You Need:

Velvet heart ornaments

Dresden trims, ribbons, die cut scrap papers, stickers, etc.
Glue

Glue trim on the edge of the ornament.

Glue a decoration into the center of the ornament.

Hang and enjoy!

Have you ever heard the expression “wearing your heart on your sleeve”? In the early 1900’s people would celebrate holidays by dressing up in crepe paper costumes and accessories. At Valentine’s Day parties women would write their names on a heart shaped piece of paper and put it into a pile. Men would draw names and wear it on their sleeves to claim the love of the chosen woman.

Valentine’s Treat Bags

What You Need:

Small paper bags

Doilies, Valentine’s theme scrap paper cut in squares
*Glue
Stapler
Stickers, dresdens, die cut scrap papers
Candy

Fill the paper bags with candy.  Fold the top of the bag.

Fold the doily or paper in half and place over the top of the folded bag.  Staple the two together, right in the middle to close the treat bag.

 

 Adhere the sticker or decoration in the middle to cover up the staple.

Hand out to all of your sweethearts!

 Valentine's Day

Every February 14^th we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Children make Valentines and put them into each other’s artfully decorated valentine mail boxes and eat pink and red cupcakes and candies.  Lovers celebrate with a romantic dinner and lavish gifts like expensive roses, fragrant perfumes, enormous heart shaped boxes of chocolates, and jewelry coated in diamonds and dripped in gold. 

Valentine’s Day has many symbols attached to this romantic holiday.  One of the most popular is a little winged baby with an arch and arrow who helps people fall madly in love.  This cherub, named Cupid is the son of Venus, the goddess of love.  Cupid’s arrows are meant to make someone fall in love with the first person that they lay eyes on.  Many cards and decorations depict cupid shooting young sweethearts with his arrows.

Broken is this heart of mine

And so to you I send it.

Because my dearest Valentine

Your love alone can mend it.

Roses are red; violets are blue, what does a rose really mean to you?  There are over 100 species of roses ranging in many colors, primarily hues of red, pink, white, and yellow. White roses symbolize true love, purity and innocence.  Red roses are for love and desire.  Don’t get yellow roses for your sweet heart!  They represent friendship. Pink roses are very neutral and symbolize friendship, happiness, and love.

According to ancient Greek mythology Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love created the white rose.  As she ascended from the sea, white roses sprung up from the sea foam. After her lover Adonis was wounded by a wild boar her tears mixed with his blood dyed the roses red. In ancient Persia, it was believed that roses were originally white.  Allah named the rose “the queen of the flowers”. One night Allah transformed into a nightingale swooped down to smell the beautiful fragrance of the rose.  Allah was stabbed in the heart by the thorns and his blood dyed the roses red. Some Christians believe that roses originated in the beautiful Garden of Eden. These roses were believed to have no thorns on their stems until the fall of man when Adam and Eve each took a bite from an apple.

 I hope that you have a Merry Valentine's Day!

Do You Fondue?

Fondue originated in Switzerland in the late 1800’s.  In the 1930’s fondue, in the form of a cheese and wine, was endorsed by the Swiss Cheese Union to promote their cheese. The union even sent fondue sets to its troops during World War II. The name fondue comes from the French word fondre which means to melt. Typically recipes would call for white wine, flour, gruyere and Emmentaler cheeses.   It later gained tremendous popularity in the 1960’s and 70’s and was also in other recipes including chocolate and as a way of cooking meat and seafood in a broth or oil. According to my inquisitive mother, she was eating fondue before the trend even started.  She happened upon it at classy a dinner party.  Once the trend began, it was very common at many swanky 70’s parties.

What you need is a fondue pot or chaffing dish with a sterno or other source of heat under it like alcohol or butane.  Then put all the ingredients together and slowly melt it together.  Traditionally a long fondue fork stabs the item to be dipped. Then it gets doused into the melty fondue concoction and twirled until coated.  It is considered bad etiquette to double dip, so make it a good one. It’s a faux pax to let your fondue fork touch your mouth so you may want to eat it off of your plate with a traditional fork.

Chocolate Fondue

½ C Heavy Whipping Cream
12 Oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1T Brandy

Strawberries, firm brownies, pound cake, angel food cake, meringues, bananas, mango, marshmallows, etc.

Warm the cream and then stir in the chocolate.  Keep stirring until it is completely melted and then add the brandy at the end.  Make sure that the chocolate doesn’t burn by adjusting the heating levels with your burner lid.

Swiss Cheese Fondue

1T Flour         

1 C White Wine
Pinch of Garlic Powder
1 C Shredded Swiss Cheese
Cubed French bread, carrots, mushrooms, apples, broccoli, meatballs,

Heat the flour, wine, and garlic powder in the fondue pot.  Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. 

Dip and enjoy!

Apple Cider Cheddar Fondue

1 C Apple Cider

1t Lemon Juice
1T Cornstarch
2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Dash of Nutmeg
Cubed French bread, carrots, zucchini sticks, red peppers, roasted potatoes, mushrooms, and apples

Heat the cider, lemon juice, and cornstarch.  Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Add a dash of nutmeg.

Dip and enjoy!

Valentine's Day Wreath

 

I’ve asked you once, I’ll ask you twice,

I’ll ask you seven times seven;

For if you’ll be my Valentine,

This earth will be my Heaven

                                                               

Valentine’s Wreath

What you need:

Round or Heart Wreath- made of wood, cardboard, foam, etc.

Heart doilies
Valentine cards, clip art, stickers, cut outs, dresdens, die cut scrap papers, scrap paper, etc.
Glitter
Glue
Ribbon for hanging
Paint

 

 

Paint the wreath and then attach the ribbon.  You will want to glue it in place.

Get creative! Glitter the valentine cut outs.

 

 

Arrange and glue the doilies.

 

 

Before gluing, arrange the pieces on the wreath so that you can place them just right.  Make sure to have a balance of color and shapes throughout the entire wreath.  Glue and let it dry.