valentine – Dabbled

How to Make Roses Roundup (from all kinds of things, including Bacon!)

Dot — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:33:07 +0000

Want to be clever and romantic for Vday? How to make all kinds of roses–out of all kinds of things– just in time for Valentine’s Day! Following are tutorials for crafty rose making, as well as some edible versions (Like these roses, from BACON?)

Crafty Goodness:

For those who like to play with their food…

Fabulous Heart Middle Valentines Cupcakes

Dot — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:36:57 +0000

Check these out from @madalinaa at Duhlicious!

Get the how-to: http://duhlicious.com/2012/02/i-heart-you-cupcakes

“Easier than storebought” valentines day kids cards

Dot — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:53:28 +0000

I saw this post, from the awesome Asha @Parenthacks, about how it is not slacking to buy storebought cards for kids class valentines. And while I totally agree, I had to share this, which was our card from last year. I submit that this is even EASIER than store bought cards, because nothing is more hellish in our family than getting my kid to sign valentines cards over and over again, but he does love to draw. The idea is expanded below, but basically you get your kid to draw 1 card (or a few versions if desired) with a picture and appropriate text, and sign it. Then you just scan it, shrink it, and print it multiple times on card stock! Voila, all the cards are ‘hand signed’! The version below also includes candy, but you can of course do anything you like, and candy is not required.

From 2012:

So Sunday evening, after a marathon session of watching Series 2 of Doctor Who with the Boy (who between that and Harry Potter is becoming quite the Anglophile), we had the sudden realization that Tuesday was Valentines Day… oops! I guess we need a bunch of cards for the classmates!

Yesterday after school we sat down to come up with Vday cards, and the Boy (first grade) has been obsessed with the idea of Valentine’s Monsters. Well, he’s a boy, so monsters just come with the territory. He had a blast designing his own cards, and with a little help from mom & Photoshop, here are the results!

How to make your own easy and personal homemade monster cards:

Have the kid design his own monster on a full sheet of paper. We used pencil for the lines and colored with light colored markers. Have the monster hold his hand out, so that you can add your own real-life lollipop. (The Boy insisted on 3 different designs)
Write a pithy saying. The boy decided on “Have a Yummy Valentine’s Day” for one, and “I’m watching you, Valentine” for the one with all the eyes. OK, a little stalker-y, but he’s 6. This isn’t supposed to be Hallmark! He wrote out the saying, and signed the cards.
Scan the drawing and the words. If you have photoshop or something similar, you can make the scanned drawing look a little cleaner by adjusting the Levels. (Slide the left most slider slightly to the right, and the rightmost slider to the left, to remove shadows from the scan and darken the lines.)
Use a photo editing program to shrink down both pieces so you can fit approximately 8 cards on a page. We used the same words with 2 of the monsters, to save time, since his writing isn’t exactly speedy.
Print on cardstock, and cut apart.
Use an exacto knife to cut two slits near the hand, and slide the lollipop through.

These are personal, and having the signature already on them saves time for slow writing and easily bored first graders. He just addressed them on the back to his classmates prior to threading through the sucker. They are also great for sending to the grandparents, minus the candy!

[project originally published 2/2012]

How to make a Paper Rose Wreath

Dot — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:07:12 +0000

Artist, and Dabbled favorite, Diana Evans has a great tutorial on making cute paper roses and a paper rose wreath.
Perfect for Valentines Day, no? I think individual flowers would be nice on 3-D Valentine’s Day cards, too.

Go check it out! Her hand drawn tutorial is adorable too…

A Stacked Felt Pin for your favorite girl…

Dot — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:51:40 +0000

Here is a fun little idea I came up with last year, a cute valentines (or anytime) gift for a little girl. A stacked felt heart or flower pin.

This was inspired by the fact that kids grow out of clothes so fast, and while I was going to make a shirt or dress with a heart applique, instead I decided to make this pin (and a few others) so they could be used for a longer time. This looks adorable pinned on a dress or jacket, and would even work pinned to a hair elastic for a cute hair accessory.

You just need:

felt – old felted sweaters work well for this, or even store bought felt. (Thicker felt will be less ‘floppy’, so use that for the bottom piece, if you can.
A pretty button
embroidery thread/needle
safety pin

Older kids can make these themselves, too!

Here are the instructions and a step by step photo tutorial!

These are fun and easy, and offer a ton of possibilities.. Check out these that Joanne at Ready, Set, Craft made last year

And here’s another version I made, a flower:

Valentines Day Marshmallows (and more)!

Dot — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:03:35 +0000

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! How about making some simple, but yummy and impressive homemade marshmallows!

Niki at Foodwhirl.com writes:

One of my favorite things to make during the holidays are marshmallows. This year, I was busy taking care of a newborn and didn’t have time to indulge my candy-making yen.

I thought it would be fun to do a Valentine’s day version. These fluffy candy hearts are a great alternative to those store-bought message candies we’ve all grown so accustomed to.

Read the whole thing and get the recipe

Thanks, Niki!
Love this idea…

Lots more v-day ideas at the new foodwhirl site, too (plus Mardi Gras, and Chinese New Year!) check ’em out!

A Cupcake Flower Arrangement for Valentine’s Day

Dot — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:31:48 +0000

Here’s lovely valentines idea from the past from Heather Sitarzewski, which deserves to have an encore! Just change out the flag on this valentine flower arrangement cupcake and you’ll have a perfect little gift for mom, a friend, or someone special… You just need flowers, a fluted baking dish, and a few other supplies.

Need a quick cheery gift? Give someone a no-bake cupcake! The construction is so simple, you can whip one up for a birthday, or other special occasion in no time. (Download the flag pdf which includes flags for Happy Birthday, Thinking of You, Congrats and Get Well Soon.) Read all the instructions HERE!

This would also be a fabulous wedding shower gift…It’s getting close to wedding season!

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PS – If you like to cook, be sure to check out the brand new Foodwhirl.com!!

Valentine Sweet Treats Flickr Roundup

Dot — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:02:54 +0000

For your inspiration and enjoyment, here’s some lovely valentine treat ideas, collected from around Flickr! Links are below the big picture–click through for more info on the creators and/or links to how to’s.

1. valentine westie cookie – red, 2. Engagement Cupcakes, 3. pink hot chocolate, 4. Valentine Fortune Cookies, 5. Hearts and Flowers for V-Day, 6. valentines day cupcakes, 7. Valentine Cake Balls, 8. Valentine Cake, 9. Valentine’s Day Cake

Wanna share yours? Add them to the Dabbled Flickr group!

Valentines: Free Shipping on Prints!

Dot — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:40:10 +0000

Wanna buy a print for your Valentine? Been wanting some Dot artwork? Conveniently enough, Imagekind is offering free shipping on prints right now through Feb 8! Code VDAY10 (details below*)

I have a few images up there, and if you have another you’ve seen that you’d like as a print, just email me and I’ll see about uploading it for you.

Here are a few cute ones for Valentines Day!

Promo rules: Type promo code VDAY10 in the promotion box at checkout. Promotion expires February 8, 2010 at 11:59pm PST and cannot be combined with any other promotion code. Limit one order per person. Promotion code must be used at time of checkout to apply. Your order must be placed during the promotional period to qualify for this special pricing offer. Free shipping promo applies to US ground shipping only. Not valid on greeting cards. Order must be over $30 to qualify for special promotion.

http://Dorsner.imagekind.com/

Oh, and Foodwhirl is coming along nicely… !

Buy handmade for valentines day…

Dot — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:46:12 +0000

Here are a few more gift ideas for Valentine’s Day, from indie sellers around the web! Hope these give you some ideas and inspirations. Feel free to add links to other good sites or items, in the comments!

Links to seller sites are below the image: