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For those who may have found this after Valentine's Day, make an ordinary day special with some of the projects here. And if you forgot Valentine's Day, it may even help you get out of the dog house!
Saying It with Flowers: Upon looking at a chart showing the meaning of flowers, I found that ivy means fidelity and of course roses represent love. This inspired the following poem. Put together a bouquet of roses and ivy. Add some baby's breath and ribbon for a polished look. Add the following poem. Note: You could also insert silk roses into a potted ivy plant for the same effect.
Saying It
with Flowers |
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 Gift Wrapped Love: Wrap a block of wood or empty
box with fabric or gift wrapping paper. Decorate with a doily, ribbon, bows,
flowers, buttons, beads, etc.Click here to print poem. Trim edges by tearing along straight edge of a ruler. Fold a piece of nice pastel paper in half. Center and glue poem to front and write your personal message inside. Give to a special friend. |
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Gift Wrapped LoveAuthor Unknown
Printed from www.craftmallusa.com
This is a very special gift
That you can never see.
The reason it's so special is
It's just for you from me.
Whenever you are lonely
Or even feeling blue,
You only have to hold this gift
And know I think of you.
You never can unwrap it,
Please leave the ribbon tied.
Just hold the box close to your heart,
It's filled with LOVE inside.
Valentine "Crackers": Fill empty toilet paper tubes with wrapped candies, then wrap a piece of red tissue paper around it and tie the ends with 18" pieces of pink, white and red curly ribbon. Curl ribbon ends with scissors. Decorate crackers with valentine stickers. You could also use these in place of Valentine cards by writing To: and From: on each with a glitter pen.
Shimmering Butterfly: These plastic art chips from Color Your World are fantastic! Cut the butterfly pattern from the curved edge of a clean milk jug. This will make the wings gently turn up and give it dimension. Also design your own patterns with different shapes and sizes. Mix red art chips with tacky white glue. Fill in the wings area. Mix white plastic art chips with tacky white glue. Fill in the center body. When dry, glue metallic cording or narrow lace around the outside of butterfly. Glue antennae onto head. (For antennae, use a pearl stamen or the beads on filament that you see in bridal bouquets.) Glue a magnet or pinback to the back.
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Basic Pattern -- Design your own! |
Be sure to sign up for the exciting Color Your World Contest! You could win four bags of plastic art chips in your choice of colors. Each bag is 6 - 12 ounces. That's a lot of chips for all of your projects!!
Cupid Poop: Tennia put this little Cupid Poop poem into a nice card format. Give this poem with a plastic baggy of red hot cinnamon candies. Cover the baggy with red netting and tie closed with ribbon. Thanks, Tennia, for sharing it here. Be sure to visit Tennia at her site. Also please visit her AllCrafts Sharing Page.
Tennia also sent this clever whisk idea for Valentine's Day. Put red wrapped candies such as Hershey's kisses inside a wire whisk. Attach the note that Tennia designed. Isn't this a cute little novelty gift to give someone?!? Click here to print eight tags at once.
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I heard about angel dust but didn't know what it was. So I wrote this little poem to put with a tiny bag of confetti or glitter. I planned to design a little button angel pin to go with it and Tennia just happened to send the below picture. Perfect!!! Thanks Tennia. If anyone has any other ideas on Angel Dust, please let me know and I'll post it.
Angel Dust: Put a small amount of glitter or confetti in a small plastic bag. Gather a square of netting around it and tie off with ribbon. Decorate with flowers, pearls, buttons, etc. Add the poem and if desired, the angel pin.
Button Angel Pin: Paint a wooden heart red and top coat with glossy or matte finish. Glue a pre-painted bead head onto the heart. Add some curly hair. Decorate with a bow and novelty buttons. Glue a pin back to the back.
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Angel Dust Tuck away and save this little bag of angel
dust |
Don't forget to check out our sponsors, Coastal Button & Trim for all of your button needs!!! Please sign up for the Coastal Button & Trim Contest! You could win 1,000+/- buttons!!!! Hurry, this contest will end soon and they will then have another one for scrapbookers!!
Tennia just let me use three of her projects. So PLEASE view her pages at her site and her AllCrafts Sharing Page. She is a very talented lady and has many more ideas on her pages. You can also order from her site for many of your gift-giving needs!!
Kissie Ball: Wrap a Styrofoam ball in tin foil. Cut off excess. Mold foil to shape of ball and glue edges down with cool glue gun. Cut a 10" length of metallic cord or ribbon. Pin ends of cord into ball with straight pins and reinforce with cool glue for hanger. Put a tiny dab of cool glue onto the bottom of a red Hershey kiss and press onto the ball. Continue all away around. Add one of following poems. (The ball in picture is actually a small egg shape. A large round ball would be very pretty!) The paper rarely tore when pulling candy from our ball.
Sweets for
the Sweet
With each little kiss |
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Sweet Valentine
by shirleyt@craftmallusa.com
These sweets come
from me to you,
With hopes that you'll be
my valentine true.
St.
Patrick's Day Candy Wreath: Make similar to the candy wreath in the
12/98 newsletter, using green candies and gold candy coins instead of red candy.
Hide the gold coins under the green candy. Add the following poem.
A Lucky Wish
by shirleyt@craftmallusa.com
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St. Patrick's is a lucky day of
old Say the leprechauns so Irish. So find their hidden coins of gold, Then close your eyes and make a wish! |
St. Patrick's Day Tradition: Hide gold candy coins where children can find them on St. Patrick's Day morning. Give the poem to the children. They get to make a wish for each coin they find.
Butterfly Valentine Chewing Gum Cards: Kim of Creative Investments & More sent in this cute idea. Cut two hearts from pink paper and glue the tips between two sticks of red gum as shown in picture. Hint: When gluing the two sticks of gum together, slide the top piece back about 1/8" creating an angle on which to glue the head. Use a wrapped candy heart with a cute little face (or a wooden heart or paper heart) for face. Glue the face heart to the end of the sticks of gum as shown. Glue antennae to back of head. I used a short string of beads (or use a flower stamen or chenille stem). Bend the wings upward along the edge of gum. Add your valentine message to the wings. These would make wonderful party favors and also could be used in place of traditional Valentine cards.
Kim now sells denim blanks for you to paint your own designs on. Check these out and MUCH MORE!!
Ivory Snow Snowman2 cups Ivory Snow flakes |
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Assemble materials before beginning. Pour Ivory Snow into bowl, add water and whip with electric beater on high about 5 minutes until doughy. With damp hands, shape soap into three graduated-size balls. Stack and secure them (with biggest on bottom of course) by gently pushing a toothpick halfway into the center of one ball and then pushing another ball on it until they touch. Paint a piece of toothpick orange for the nose. Add twig arms, the toothpick nose, clove eyes and buttons. Cut a piece of fabric approximately 12" x 1" and fringe ends for the scarf to tie around neck. Make smile with a row of cloves (or seed beads). Add a top hat, straw hat or make ear muffs from a piece of chenille stem and poms. Decorate straw hat if used. Let dry overnight. Makes one 4" snowman and six snowballs.
Cut a small piece of paper into a rectangular shape and print "Snowballs 10 Cents". Glue edges of a piece of string to the back of sign and hang across a twig arm.
| Snowman Kit: Make a carrot nose out of purchased orange clay and bake or use salt dough recipe given below. (Note: Red and yellow make orange.) Keep it small and narrow since the clay is heavy. Put an old scarf, sticks (for arms), mittens, hat, buttons or coal, etc. in a large bag. Tie it to an old broom or snow shovel (which snowman can later hold) and attach "Snowman Assembly Instructions". Put aside and give to the kids on a snowy day! If desired, substitute a real carrot for nose just before giving the kit. |
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Snowman Assembly
Instructions
by shirleyt@craftmallusa.com
Snowmen fall from heaven unassembled.
Pack snow, form three balls, roll and roll.
Stack and add sticks, buttons, a scarf and hat.
Finish off with a carrot nose and eyes of coal.
Salt Dough Recipe: Combine 1 cup salt with 1 cup water and slowly add 2 cups flour. Knead until smooth. If dough is sticky, add more flour. To color the dough, pinch off what you need and add small amounts of acrylic paint to the dough. Knead thoroughly. Or, make your ornament, let dry completely, then paint. Put unused portions in a plastic bag, or it will dry out. To make parts stick together, put a tiny drop of water on one part and push the second to it. Bake in a 200 degree oven for 1/2 hour for every 1/4" thickness, or let air dry several days, turning over several times. Spray with several coats of clear acrylic when dry.
"Take Me Away!" Milk Bath: Mix equal amounts of table salt, baking soda and nonfat dry milk. Store in an airtight container up to one year. To use, add between 1/2 cup and 1 cup of mixture to bath water. My daughters and their friends have tried this and everyone raved about it! This makes a great gift in a pretty decorated jar with the following poem.
Take Me Away!
by shirleyt@craftmallusa.com
Let a milk bath work miracles.
Just sit, dream and fade away
To exotic, far-away places
Forgetting your cares all day!
Since the ingredients tend to separate after sitting and need stirring each time, I like to pre-measure into plastic bags. Tie each one with raffia and put in a pretty basket in the bathroom. You could also cover each bag with a piece of netting before tying closed with raffia or ribbon. Pretty individual milk bath bags with the poem would probably be a hit at craft shows.
Fantasy Flame Pine Cones: Create a romantic roaring fire for Valentine's Day (or any evening). Pine cones can be treated so that the flames will change colors. Here are some household items that will work. Use Epson Salts for white flames, Borax for yellow/green flames and table salt for yellow flames. Just create a saturated mixture with the ingredient and water. Then soak the pine cone in it and let dry. When dry you can burn the differently treated pine cones at the same time for an array of colors. Certain chemicals will also produce blue and red, but I prefer household ingredients. Does anyone know of other household items that can be used for different colors?
Valentine Cards: Make homemade valentine cards with your own verses, stickers and decorations. Here are some verses to get you started. The first one is good for young puppy love. Change the number of years to that of the sender.
Valentine, O Valentine,
I'll be your love and you'll be mine;
We'll care for each other, rain or shine,
And in eighty-three years, we'll be ninety-nine.
Plenty of love,
Tons of kisses,
Hope some day
To be your Mrs.
My love is like a cabbage
Divided into two,
The leaves I give to others
But the heart I give to you.
The above ones I found on the web and
elsewhere.
The following I made up based on an old saying.
Now this is one I can relate to!!!
Mom's Fantasy
by shirleyt@craftmallusa.com
I love roses & candy.
I love hugs and kisses
But what I REALLY love
is help with the dishes!
Envelope: Cut a piece of paper into an exact square. An 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper can be cut down to 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" to make an envelope approximately 5 1/2" wide. Put a dot in the very center of paper. (You can find center by measuring half way across diagonally.) Bring tip of a corner about 1/4" past the dot. Continue with all but last corner. Using a glue stick, glue the flaps together like on commercial envelopes. Insert card or contents into envelope and bring last corner down to create desired size. You may trim this last flap as desired. Brush envelope glue (see below recipe) on inside edges of top flap. Decorate with stickers made with sticker glue (see below recipe).
Envelope Glue: Mix 2 parts of white glue with 1 part of white vinegar. Brush it on and let dry. When ready to seal, wet as you would a regular envelope.
Sticker Glue: Bring 8 Tablespoons vinegar to a boil. Add 4 packets of unflavored (Knox) gelatin and simmer until dissolved. Add 1 Tablespoon peppermint extract and mix well. Cool. Brush sparingly on back of picture. Let dry. Paper may curl but will straighten when sticker is applied. Makes 1/2 cup. If glue hardens while using, place in a pan of hot water. Store any unused glue in a tightly covered container. Glue will keep for several months.
These cards are absolutely adorable and Linda makes them so easy to do! Click below for instructions and patterns. She even has an envelope pattern.
Smiley
Valentine Card
Happy Shamrock Greeting Card
Envelope
Linda had put her web site, Ewenique Boutiques, on hold in order to design patterns. I'm pleased to announce that she recently sent me four of her patterns for sale to scan and place on her site. They are very easy to follow and will be up shortly.
Peanut Butter Kisses: Mix 1 cup of crunchy peanut butter, 1 cup sugar and 1 egg. Form into 1" balls and push a candy kiss in the middle and bake at 325 degrees for about 8 - 10 minutes. That's all! This is NOT a misprint. Only three ingredients are needed and no flour!! You don't even need the candy kiss. My 4 year-old grandson can mix them by himself. He flattens them without the Hershey's kiss and then his Mom handles the baking part. And he handles the eating part very well!
Sinful Truffles:
These actually look EASY and sinfully delicious!!
Makes 30 truffles
1/4 cup whipping cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 1/2 inch pieces
6 T unsalted butter, slivered
1/3 cup unsweetened premium cocoa
In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate and butter. In a medium-size skillet, bring 1 inch of water to a slow simmer. Set the saucepan in the skillet over low heat. Stir mixture just until chocolate has completely melted. Remove from heat.
Pour chocolate mixture into a shallow bowl. Cool, cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. Pour cocoa into a pie plate. Line an airtight container with wax paper. Dip a small spoon into a glass of warm water and quickly scrape across the surface of the chilled truffle mixture to form a 1-inch ball. Drop ball into cocoa. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Gently shake the pie plate to coat truffles. Transfer truffles to the prepared container, separating layers with wax paper. Cover tightly; refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 3 months.
This was in a local newspaper with no mention of where the recipe came from. It says 79.2 calories per serving but doesn't say how many truffles are in a serving! Now, if we ate all 30 at one time (and considered it a serving), that would only be 2.64 calories per truffle. . . not too bad!!!
My ex-husband and I fought constantly,
Why I married him, I'll never know.
For all those miserable years I said
My hubby has got to go!
Tried poisoning cakes, stripping his brakes,
Salting his pork chops with lime.
Wiring his chair, igniting his hair
Even though playing with fire is a crime.
But I failed at each plot 'til I suddenly thought
Of a way that would set me free!
I got rid of him for good and, know what?
They couldn't do a thing to me!
I took him back to Wal-Mart!
They'll take anything back, you know!
They said they couldn't recall selling him,
But they must have if I said so.
They just credited him to my Visa and said,
"Ya'll come back now, ya hear?"
They were so nice, polite, pleasant and insistent,
I took back his mother the next year!
They'll take anything back at Wal-Mart,
Though it's broken or rotten or sweet.
And know what else? This time of year
You don't even need a receipt!
Author Unknown
After the Spelling Checker poem in the last issue, can you stand one more?!?!?
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem rite threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
Author Unknown
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Olive.
Olive who?
Olive you!
What did the boy octopus say to the girl octopus on Valentine's Day? Answer: I want to hold your hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand.
What did the valentine card say to the stamp? Answer: Stick with me and we'll go places!
Dieting Tip: If you have received lots of Valentine's Day candy, eat it before meals. That way it takes the edge off of your appetite and you don't eat as much.
