Valentines Day Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Image via: Sweet Little Details

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Valentines Cake Directions:

For the Cookies:

1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 ounce milk chocolate, chopped

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon red food coloring

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped

Image via: Pinterest

Valentine Dessert Directions:

Make the cookies:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the semisweet and milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50 percent power until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth.

Whisk the melted butter, sour cream, eggs, vinegar, vanilla and food coloring in a bowl until combined. In another bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in four equal batches, whisking each batch completely before adding the next. Stir in the melted chocolate.

Scoop heaping tablespoons full of batter onto the prepared baking sheets and smooth the tops with a damp finger. Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly pressed, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Image via: Yummly

 Make the filling:

Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla seeds. Sandwich a heaping tablespoonful of filling between 2 cookies; repeat with the remaining cookies and filling. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Image via: Annies eats

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, experiment making these red velvet cookies in different shades of red. Line paper printed with heart shaped template to help in making heart shaped red velvet whoopie pies. Remember to pull out the template sheet before putting the whoopie pies in the oven.

For more dessert recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

How to Make Kids Creative Valentine Crafts

Image via: Mom Dot

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Crayon Hearts Make Perfect Valentines Day Gifts

Put your little ones old and broken crayons to use for this project that can result in great gifts for their friends.

Supplies needed:

Silicon heart molds

Old crayons

Directions:

1. Peel the crayons
2. Break each into about 3-4 pieces and put in the molds
3. Bake at 250 degrees for 10-15 minutes
4. Remove from the oven and let it cool until they have set
5. When they have cooled enough, pop them out and let them cool for some more time.
6. While optional, have your kids put them in little cellophane bags and staple some cute valentine themed paper on the top.

Match Box Valentines Gifts

Have your little ones help you choosing the sweets, sorting the fun craft paper to wrap these tiny gifts.

Image via: The Room Mom

Supplies needed:

Empty matchboxes

Valentines themed craft paper

Tape

Steps:

1. Empty the match boxes and save them for your next blackout
2. Cut the paper long enough and wrap it the all the way around the match box
3. Secure it with tape on the back
4. Fill it with candy of your choice and tuck in a little note
5. Wrap with a string if desired

Valentine Crafts for Toddlers

Sure, crafting with toddlers can get a bit messy but it’s certainly lot of fun, especially if there is some kind of theme present. As Valentine’s Day is a perfect occasion to create red and pink heart shaped projects with your little one, we point you this creative cookie decorating idea. You can also learn how to bake heart shaped cookies here.

Supplies to decorate the cookies:

Cookies

Food-safe pens

Wax paper

Steps:

1. Place wax paper on a cool, dry counter or tray. Place cookies on the top.
2. Using the food-safe marker, let kids design their own cookie creations.

What better way to celebrate this day of love than to spending it crafting with those you love the most? Enjoy these easy and fun kids craft ideas and do remember to let us know which ones did you try.

For more valentines crafts ideas for kids, click here.

Don’t forget to visit our Valentine Wreath Category at How To Make a Burlap Wreath.com!

Valentine’s Day DIY: Heart-Shaped Wreath Craft

Image via: The Little Miss Mommy

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Materials

Heart-shaped foam wreath

Red-colored felt (3/4 yard)

A packet of straight pins

A 3-inch circle round object (you can use a glass or a cup)

A pair of scissors

Painter’s chalk

A piece of red ribbon.

Procedure

1. Place the round object on the felt and outline its base with the painter’s chalk.
2. Repeat this process to make the number of circles you want.
3. Cut the circles using the scissors. Cut many circles in order to make a full wreath.
4. Fold one felt circle twice to make a quarter-shape. Insert the pin at the bottom of the “quarter” and stick it in the Styrofoam. Continue this process and place each quarter next to another to fill up the gaps. Repeat the process for the whole wreath.
5. Do not add circles to the back since it won’t be visible.
6. Fold the ribbon into a loop. Attach it to the back of the foam using the pins.
7. Hang it on the wall.

Make this Valentine’s Day DIY beforehand so as to test your skills. That way, you can always tweak it to change what you don’t like. It will show that you really care. Needless to say, your loved ones will love everything about it. While the craft is a bit time consuming, it is worth the effort. You will be pleased with the results and will look forward to making another craft next year. The craft also makes a lovely addition to your home décor. You can use it as inspiration for other DIY projects.

To see how to make a Valentine Roses Wreath, click here.

Valentine’s Day Gifts can be a tricky subject for some. After all, you want to send the right message. When in doubt, a gift basket is a solid option. But rather than purchasing a pre-made gift basket online, think outside the box and make one yourself. Not only will going the extra mile win you tons of brownie points for creativity and thoughtfulness, but oftentimes the final product will end up being better-looking an cheaper than something that’s been pre-fabricated. Below is a guide to help make sure that your personalized gift baskets come out perfect every time. 

Image via: BHG

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Know Your Goal and Budget:

When shopping for a gift, the first thing to consider is budget, but it can be especially important when creating a gift basket. When shopping for multiple items rather than one, it’s easy for things to add up. So it’s best to keep an ideal price point in mind. Then, think about your goal for the basket. Is it something that you’d like for yourself and the recipient to enjoy together? Or, do you want your basket to help the recipient treat themselves? Knowing your goal will help make the next step a snap. 

Image via: Pinterest

Choose a Theme:

Every gift basket has a theme to tie it together. Think about the person that you are going to be giving the basket to and his interests. Since it’s Valentine’s Day, the theme could be as a “Date Night In” basket featuring a comfy blanket, some of your favorite DVD’s, packets of microwave popcorn, a takeout menu from your favorite to-go place, and the ingredients for a cocktail you both enjoy.

Image via: Pinterest

Make a List:

Once you have a theme, think of items that could fill the basket. Successful gift baskets usually have 4-8 items, depending on size, price, etc. The key is that you want the basket to look full, while still leaving enough room to showcase each one individually. Write out a list of items that could potentially fill your basket – just to get your ideas flowing. As a rule, aim for more items than you think you’ll need, so that you don’t start to panic if one item is nowhere to be found.

Image Via: Luna

Do Your Shopping:

When shopping, it’s can be easy to get so caught up in looking for the perfect items to fill the basket that you forget about the items needed to assemble the basket itself. When you’ve gathered all of your gifts, head over to your local craft store. There you should be able to find an appropriate–sized basket, colored gift basket shred (the fluffy stuff that acts as basket filler), shrink wrap, and bows/ribbon to decorate the exterior of your basket. Choose colors that work well together and go with your theme.

Image via: Pinterest

Put it Together:

Start by fluffing up newspaper in the bottom of the basket. Then, set about arranging your items in a way that allows all of the items to be seen. If necessary, you can use more bits of newspaper to set the items at different heights. Once you have the items set the way you like them, cover the newspaper with colored gift basket shreds so that none of it is visible. Then, shrink wrap the basket, if desired, according to the package directions. Finally, decorate the basket with any bows/ribbon that you purchased and sit back to bask in the glory of a job well done.

Making a personalized gift basket is even easier than it sounds. Once you get the hang of it, they will become your signature gift-giving go-to. If any of you do end up giving a basket for one of your Valentine’s Day gifts, let us know in the comments. We love to hear what type of Valentine’s Gifts you are giving this year!

For more Valentine’s gift ideas on Stagetecture, click here,

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. If you are looking for easy, yet beautiful and useful Valentine’s Day Gifts, here is a great idea: DIY Heart Felt Bookmarks. They are simple to make yet they are a perfect gift for every booklover and good be a great accompanying gift if you want to give a more personalized touch to a book gift. Here are two ideas on how to make heart felt bookmarks.

Image via: afamily

Valentine’s Day Gifts: DIY Heart Felt Bookmarks

Materials

• Felt
• Heart-shaped template or cookie cutter
• Scissors
• Needle and sewing or embroidery thread
• Decorations (optional)
• Glue (optional)

Image via: Pinterest

Instructions

1. Take the template or cookie cutter and use it to trace two hearts onto the felt.
2. Cut out the hearts
3. If you like, you can embroider a pattern on one heart, or attach decorative items, like other felt pieces, buttons, beads etc. You can glue or sew the on.
4. Stich the two hearts together, making sure to leave the top or bottom of the hearts open, so the hearts can be slipped over a book’s page.

Another easy idea to make these Valentine’s Day Gifts is to make bookmarks out of two rectangular pieces of felt. You can now decorate one piece, either by simply cutting a heart out or by attaching a small heart-shaped piece of felt onto it. Then, sew the pieces together. Attach a long piece of embroidery thread and you will have a beautiful bookmark.

Image via: BHG

One more idea on how to make cute bookmarks for Valentine’s Day Gifts is to make a bookmark using a piece of ribbon and felt. To begin, just cut out two felt hearts. Take a long enough ribbon piece and sew or glue its end onto a heart piece. Then take another heart piece and sew or glue it onto the other one, covering the end of the ribbon. You can repeat the same with the other end of the ribbon or make smaller hearts or other decorations.

Image via: Etsy

Try making these easy heart felt bookmarks and give them to any book readers around you that you care about. They will definitely appreciate it!

For more Valentine’s Day ideas on Stagetecture, click here.