CARDS
Cut a Valentine shape from a used cereal box. You can decorate by painting it red on both sides, or pasting all sort of pretty pictures torn from magazine onto it --decoupage style. Or Paste Fabric scraps on it. Anyway --once covered write a poem or message on a smaller heart shaped piece of paper and glue it on for the recipient. Paste scrap lace or paper lace you cut yourself on the edges to finish! Looks great and in this hurried impersonal world --- is very personal!
Also, Send ECARDS FOR FUN:
http://www.care2.com/send/categories
SCENTED HEARTS
Mix a can of apple sauce with cinnamon, cloves or other spices to make a dough. Roll and cut into heart shapes. Use the scraps by rolling into balls. Let dry on wax paper (recycled from old cereal boxes for the truly frugal). Turn once or twice to dry evenly.
HEART CANDIES
Melt one bag of chocolate chips in a double boiler. Mix one tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of juice from marishcino cherries into it until it forms a soft paste. Take a cherry and roll some of the mixture over it into a heart shape. Let cool in refrigerator.
Finally, melt more chocolate and dip each hardened cooled piece into it to coat. Let cool. Now you have beautiful candies for a gift.
HEART PRETZELS
Make a standard white bread dough with:
one pack of baking yeast
a tablespoon of sugar
2 cups of flour
Water to make stiff dough.
Mix and let rise. Knead for five minutes. Shape into 12 ropes and shape on cookie sheets to form a heart -- instead of the usual pretzel shape. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with red colored salt. Let rise a half hour then bake in 400 degree F oven until lightly brown.
To make red salt. Take kosher salt and put in a jar. Sprinkle in a few drops ot red food coloring. Shake the salt to mix. Voila! Red Salt!
CAKES AND COOKIES
Any cake, cup cake or cookie can be hoilday fare by frosting it to match the occasion. Frost with pink or red frosting shaped like a heart on standard white. Or cut standard cookie dough into heart shapes and then frost red when cooled.
I hope this inspires you to new VALENTINE'S DAY projects!
Here are some more Valentine's Day sites here at Bellaonline:
Two Tone Cookies
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art5881.asp
Recipes For Valentine's Day (TONS AND TONS OF THEM!!!)
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8168.asp
For more ideas Check out these Frugal Living Books!
Complete Tightwad Gazzette
The Complete Tightwad Gazzette
Declare Your Finanacial Independence
Declare Your Financial Independence
Complete Cheapskate
Mary Hunt's Complete Cheapskate
Miserly Moms
Miserly Moms
You Can Afford to Stay Home With your Kids
You can Afford to stay Home WIth your Kids
