SOME VALENTINE TREATS

I finally finished some of my Valentines gifts that I need to give out. Kayla wanted some treats for class so I made these cute little lollipop holders that I saw on Dawn's blog here. She does a wonderful tutorial if anyone wants to give it a try! She is a wonderful stamper and I love her blog. So, here are the ones I made - all 35 of them!! Kayla is in year-round school and so they do bigger classes and break them out in some mysterious way. It seems to work really well but I was a little amazed at first at how many students there were! BUT, her education is top notch so I cannot complain! Anyway, I left the tops blank on these rather than stamping on the inside so she could write names on them. I think they turned out pretty cute AND of course I used my Happy Heart set again because it is PERFECT for these. Here is a close-up of the two designs I actually did so you can see them! Kayla actually helped with the coloring then quickly lost interest when it came time to assemble - LOL! She really likes them though and is looking forward to handing them all out on Thursday (even though at first she said, "you know mom, I am 11 now and I am not sure I should be still handing out Valentines! *sniff, sniff* - this might be the last year I get to do these!) This next gift is one I made for my MIL. She is a wonderful lady who has been so supportive and helpful through all the trials we have gone through with this house that I wanted to make her something for her desk that she can enjoy even when Valentines Day is over. Now, I know some of you are thinking "gosh, Alex sure used a lot of purple!" and yes, I did because it is her absolute FAVORITE color and she owns more purple stuff than I thought they made. So, purple it is! I think it actually turned out pretty with the different shades and I happen to like Elegant Eggplant which is the base for both projects. The card is pretty straightforward so if you have any questions, just ask. The jar was a little bit harder. I thought I would be able to get a 12 inch piece of card stock around it, but nope, it was too short. So, I improvised by adding the center piece you see as the front of the jar. I did layers and then punched some scallops and layered those too. I used my paper piercer all over this jar as I think it adds some pop. The image I used all around the band and on the main one in front I paper pieced it so it looks like it is flying. My MIL is also a nut for butterflies so I think I did well with this - how can you go wrong, a purple butterfly?!! But, the top of the jar is really fun because I used our new SAB rubons all over it and it turned out really well! Here is a close -up so you can see what I did. Aren't they awesome? I was sooo very excited that they had some butterflies and hearts since it matched my theme so well. I also threw in some flowers because they are so stinkin' cute I could not help myself! Now, I could not find candy that was wrapped in purple so I settled for hot pink caramel kisses and just added some pink ribbon with the purple ribbon to pull in the candy color. And there you have it, one MIL gift all finished and ready to present. I hope she likes it! And now, the fact of the day!
FACT #17
I ADORE chocolate, any kind of chocolate but especially dark chocolate! It is definitely a weakness for me that I have to keep in constant check. I also really like white chocolate but only the one made by Linden. I cannot eat popcorn without chocolate, and I usually have some when I am stamping as well. What can I say, it is definitely one of my vices but not one I am willing to give up totally - LOL!