365 Patterns: Lots of Love

I decided to go with a theme for this week's patterns, so get ready for lots of love!

I like the hand drawn feel of these hearts; sometimes Illustrator projects can feel too neat and clean.  Wouldn't this pattern make for great wrapping paper?

I wanted to make the green hearts to seem random, even though it's the same block of hearts repeated.    The trick is simply to start with a large enough block of pink and green hearts.

This, to me, looks like a classic Valentine's Day pattern, good for stationary, wrapping paper, or whatever.  Lots of use...but not terribly exciting.  And I just realized some of those hearts are doing funny spiky things...I'll have to look at the original file and figure out what's up...

Ah, interlocking hearts.  That's a little more fun.

For this pattern, I experimented with different brushes in Illustrator, something I don't do nearly enough.

This is my favorite of this week's patterns, and it was probably the easiest, too.  There are so many things I'd use this.  My favorite idea, though, is for a duvet cover.  Wouldn't you just feel happy every time you walked into you room?

(Sorry to be anti-climatic with this variation of the first pattern.  The numbering got off; it was supposed to be the first pattern, not the last.)  I like this heart pattern.  Not much more to say.

Did you like having a theme?  Is there any pattern/image you'd like to see me create?  I'd love to hear what you have to say!

You've Got Valentine's Mail

Need a last-minute Valentine's Day gift for your sweetheart?  How about some mail?

I made these for my hubby for Christmas, but they make great Valentine's Day, birthday, anniversary, Father's Day, or just anytime presents!

All you need is twelve envelopes, some paper, a pen/marker, and imagination!  For each envelope (and month of the year), you come up with a date idea.  Write it down, and slip it in the envelope.  Label each envelope with the appropriate month, and any preparations you may need to take care of before Date Night.  That way, the date plans can be kept a surprise until the it's time!

For example, for our February Date, we'll be making fresh pasta and watching a romantic movie.  That means we need a babysitter for dinnertime.  

Other instructions could be, "Saturday Date" for an afternoon hiking trip, or "Buy Tickets and get babysitter" if you're going to a baseball game.  

The best part about this Valentine's Mail, besides that you'll be spending lots of time with your sweetie, is that you can customize the dates to be exactly right for you and your significant other.

If you'd like some simple date ideas, click over to see my Year of {Cheap, Fun, Simple} Date Nights. These are mostly at-home (no babysitter needed!) date ideas.

What are some great date ideas you've tried?  I'd love to hear them!

Valentine's Day Felt Bags

Happy February!  Time to get ready for Valentine's Day.  :)  

Thanks to my mom for showing me how to make these cute and easy bags.  And for helping me to actually be motivated to make something during my month of not wanting to do anything.

Mom showed me how to make these Valentine's Day Goody Bags she's going to give to the ladies in her book club.  (Lucky!  The bags are going to be filled with all kinds of Valentine's Day goodness.  They go all out for this book club.)

(I don't know how much felt you need--you'll have to estimate.  Sorry.)

First, cut out your felt as shown above.  So you know, the 24" x 2 1/2" strip will be about 1 1/4" long--I figure it's easier to have it a little long and then trim off the extra.  

We will start with the handles.  They're so easy.  Just fold the 1 1/2" x 12" felt strips in half as shown, and sew really close to the edge of the felt (1/8" or so).  That's it--since felt doesn't fray, we don't even have to turn them inside-out.  Sweet.  Do that for both handles.

Now get the front of your bag (one of the  7 1/2" x 8 1/2" pieces) and place one end of your first handle where you want it on your bag.  Pin in place.

Fold the bag front over and match the other side of the handle.  Pin it, too.

Like so.

Now take the back of your bag (the other  7 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece, of course) and pin the other handle on it, using the front as a guide.

Sew two lines to secure the handles onto the bag.  You'll want to go back and forth a few times for strength.

If you are going to add a decoration to the front of the bag, now's the time.  My mom used her embroidery machine to stitch a heart onto each bag, but you could also use appliqué, fabric paint, hand embroidery...

Next, we attach the side of the bag (the 24" x 2 1/2" piece) onto the front.  Match the edges, wrong sides together (so seams will be on the outside) and sew really close to the edge.  (Remember to backstitch at the beginning and end to lock in your stitches.)  Use the picture above to see how to do the corners.  {You could sew this right sides together, so the seams were on the inside, but then the corners would be rounded.  So it's just personal preference.}

See?  Some leftover felt.  But I'd rather have too much than too little.

 And here it is with the side attached and trimmed to size.

 Attach the back now.  (Okay, so we attached the back first, then the front.  The order doesn't matter.)  Notice how the finished corner looks.

 And now the bag is done!  It's a really fast project, and with different colors of felt, it could be adapted to any holiday or event.

Happy crafting!  And happy Month of Love!  I'm excited about all the Valentine's projects I'll be finding in blogland.  (Hopefully I can contribute a few fun ones; I have some ideas...)

"Love Beareth All Things" Free Printable

Browsing the blogs I follow, I found this Free Valentine's Printable at Humble Homemaking.  I was so inspired that I stopped what I was doing to make one of my own.

This will look great in a black frame!

We always could use a reminder of what love is really about, even after Valentine's Day.  I hope you enjoy this printable, and be sure to check out the Humble Homemaker's original version!

(Just right click on the picture and save to your computer.)

Updated: Valentine's Date Dessert--Cherry Brownie Towers

I am so excited for Valentine's Day.  (This holiday wasn't so exciting before I was married, but now I love trying to think of something romantic and fun for me and my husband.)  Now that our kitchen is (practically) finished, I just had to come up with something delicious to make.  Joseph loves brownies, so...

I haven't actually made the Cherry Brownie Towers yet--it needs to be a surprise for Joseph!--so I'll have to update this post after Valentine's Day to include pictures.  Alright, I made it today.  (We decided to celebrate today, rather than actually on Valentine's Day, because we'd have more time today.)

You will need:
1 package (about 18 oz) brownie mix and the ingredients to make it
1 can cherry pie filling
Frosting (whatever flavor you want, or even whipped cream/Cool Whip)
Heart shaped cookie cutter

Mix up and bake the brownies according to the directions on the package.  You don't want the brownies to be too thick, so bake them in a 9x13 pan.  You'll see later why.

After the brownies are cooled, cut them into hearts with the cookie cutter.

On your serving plate, layer brownie heart, pie filling, brownie, filling, brownie.  Repeat for your other towers.  (I got two towers of different diameters out of my pan of brownies.  And lots of leftover brownie bits between and around the hearts.)

(Doesn't it look delicious already?  Mmmmm...)

(Oh, no!  The little one fell apart!  But I put it back together.  The bigger hearts seem to be more stable...)

Frost the top and outside of the towers.  You could crumble up the leftover brownie and press onto the sides (or just munch on them while you're working on the rest of the dessert...)

And you're done!

(Yum!)

Shortly after I took these pictures, the big heart broke in half and one side fell off!  Any ideas why?  The little one stayed together...

Even though it didn't stay together properly, it was DELICIOUS!  Oh, so good!  I will definitely be making this again, but probably not in towers.  It'll just be brownies topped with cherry pie filling and whipped cream.




P.S.--This recipe is based on one I found in the cookbook Favorite Brand Name:  Cake Mix.  But obviously their version used cake instead of brownies.

Free Valentine's Day Card Templates!

I got an e-mail from MCP Actions announcing that their Facebook fans could download some free Valentine's Day card templates from them.  Here is a link to the download.  The templates work in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

When you download the templates, you get the entire unflattened file--this means you can edit and change anything about it!  You can use the adorable cards as they are (plus your child's name and picture), you can change the colors to perfectly coordinate with your picture, or you can use the template just for inspiration to create your own design!

I hope you have fun with it.  Here's my effort.  (I'll probably make lots more!)  The cards are wallet size, by the way.