Happy VD! (and winner and last giveaway)

That is something my youngest sister used to say and to write on every Valentines Day card she made. Well, she didn't say the winner and giveaway part but she did say the VD part!

When I was really young I thought it was clever...when I got older I thought it would make me die of embarrassment...and now I wish she was still with us to inscribe it on the rare notes she would write in her increasingly shaky handwriting.

When I was a little girl my Dad would bring each of us four girls a little box of Valentines candy that I remember looking very much like this... The candy was never very good but my Dad would write in his also shaky handwriting a little tag on each of them... mine always said "To Jenny, Love, Dad" and that was as sentimental and personal as my Dad would be in those days. I actually saved those little notes for a long-time but somehow they have disappeared over time, chaos and moves.

But I remember those notes very clearly still. From both of them.

And one year after hearing yet another re-telling of both tales my wonderful husband took it upon himself to start making memories for the girls in our family. And I love him for that.

I have always made heart-shaped sugar cookies as a gift for people I love, but about six years ago Steve started getting involved. And gifting the women in the family with flowers.

This year he actually helped me make the cookies...his attempts at frosting hearts and sprinkling pink, sparkling sugar clumsy and wonderful. A memory for my heart for certain.

Valentines Day was complicated this year with Granddaughters being unavailable today and soccer and basketball games! So we improvised and attended the basketball game and then hurried to the soccer game.

My husband made the girls close their eyes and then made their eyes light up. He is sweet that way.





This morning we started our day sharing coffee and opening Valentines that had come in the mail. That has become one of our favorite yearly customs. We take turn opening cards and admiring them.

This morning we will meet one of our sons and his sweet girlfriends to share brunch with the couple and for my husband to give sweet Lindsey some flowers and cookies.

After that we will drop cookies and flowers to my Mom and one of our visiting Aunts.

And later tonight we are taking another daughter and her boyfriend out to dinner...

So it will be a sweet day...filled with laughter and stories and hugs and love!

And I hope your day is the same!

I've been doing a week of giveaways in honor of Valentines Day and to thank you all for being such sweet followers!

So to make someones day sweeter on this last giveaway of the week, I am giving away another $10.00 gift card today...to either Michaels or Joanne Fabrics. The winner of this drawing will be announced Monday morning.

The winner will be chosen from todays comments and the only stipulation is you must be a follower of my blog.

And the winner from Saturdays drawing was selected by Mr. Random Org. Mr. Random Org told me the winner is post #25 which is this post!

Sares said...
Cute Valentines! I can see how you would be tired of making them after 80,000 of them though! What a great giveaway, I would be thrilled with either one, although Michaels is more convenient. Happy Valentine's Day Jenny and have a terrific weekend!

Congratulations Sares! E-mail me with your address when you have a moment and let me know if you want Michaels for sure! Your prize won't go out until Tuesday because of the holiday tomorrow, though. Congratulations!

I'm just warning you now that tomorrow is a kind of sad post. I will also be giving away another ZippyStrippyQuilt tied to the post...

But for today we will be happy and remember sweet things...and eat chocolate...and hug our loved ones...

And I want to take just one more moment to wish each of you a wonderful, Happy VD!

Sigh.

Something different to make for Valentines Day

For three years in a row this super fancy jewelry store in our area... had a Valentines Day contest. The contest started for the first time in 2004 and I entered and won second place which was a $600.00 watch for my husband along with Godiva chocolates and wine. There is a long, long story associated with that entry but I didn't have a digital camera then so I didn't record it...I'll dig and try to find what I made so I can share it with you...it was cool.

The next year I entered a little book I made, again no digital camera but I know where the book is so I'll take pictures and show you how to make that next. That year I won first place which was an amazing Breitling watch for my husband. I also won Godiva Chocolates but I didn't give them to him...ha! Hey, I needed a reward for all my hard work. It is a fancy/schmancy watch and he loves it.

And the last year they did the contest I entered again and won first place which was a stay in some fancy/schmancy hotel with all the meals and wine and blah, blah, blah. It was a little highbrow for me but they did have a great bathtub for me to eat room service from so I was pretty happy.

And then they discontinued the contest which was too bad cuz I had a few more good ideas...which I have now forgotten.

Anyway...I came up with an idea to make resin candy. That sounds strange, doesn't it. But let me show you and see what you think. It's either a super weird idea cuz I've never seen it done before or else I'm just a craft trend setter. (cough, cough) Yea. That's it. Jenny Matlock Craft Trend Setter. Wow. That has a great sound - even better then "Off on My Tangent".

Wait, I need to unswell my head for a second here so I can continue with this post.

Do you have a pin?

OK, all is back to normal...or as normal as my head ever really gets.

So the first thing you have to do is gather together some stuff like resin (it's that two part stuff that really stinks) and all the stuff you need to mix the resin in. I tried plastic cups but to be honest it didn't work all that hot. But mixing the resin is your own problem, really. I can't tell you how to do everything here at Jenny Matlock Craft Trend Setter.

You'll also need some little things to put into your resin like buttons or glitter or beads or plastic stars or bees. You'll see my finished product and I'm sure you will think of other ideas to use.

You'll need a silicone tray to make molded chocolate, some vegetable oil, some of those little candy cup things that look like midget cupcake liners and a cool box.

Before you begin mixing your resin put a tiny bit of vegetable oil on a paper towel and wipe that inside your molded chocolate tray. Put your little candy cup papers in a row. Put whatever little doodads you want (yes, doodads is so a word!) where you can grab them quickly and follow the instructions on the back of the resin can. Don't do this inside. It smells really disgusting. And wear gloves. Trust me on this step.

While you're mixing the resin you can pretend you are a mad scientist. It makes it even more fun.
Now you need to work quickly but then fill the candy containers about 3/4 full with the resin.

Quickly position all the little doodads you like in the cups. Remember that the bottom of the candy molds will become the top when you unmold them. The cups will not be unmolded so arrange your doodads appropriately. Wait until the resin is totally hard to unmold the chocolate molds and leave the little candy cups alone to harden.

Now you need a box. Because you are going to make a pseudo-Whitmans Chocolate box. Do you know that kind of candy? Is has the little roadmap in the lid? So bear with me.

I found this flattish box and I spray painted it with high-gloss, low-odor spray paint. The inside is painted black and the outside is painted a cool, funky purple.

Isn't it pretty?

Isn't it shiny?

Then I made a little pretend label out of some paper with circles and put glass glitter all over it to make it shiny.

Oooh....isn't it pretty?

Isn't it shiny?
And then I hand-wrote a little tag.

OK, this is going to come together pretty quickly now so pay attention.

Do you need to run to the bathroom first? OK, we'll wait.

La la la... la la la... Wow, that was fast. You must have really had to go.

So now you arrange your resin chocolates in the box. I did glue them down so they wouldn't shift around.

See how pretty the top looks with the opened box?

And then you have to make up a pseudo-Whitmans chocolate thing for the inside of the lid...so the person getting the resin candy can identify what each candy is filled with! Ta da! Isn't this cool? I love it.

I thought you could make up little boxes for friends or for shower favors with appropriate doodads.

AND you can play with resin and be a mad scientist. AND you can spray paint something! AND it's all sparkly and pretty!

And that is my brilliant Valentines Day craft.

Uh oh.

It's oddly silent here in Blogland. Don't you like it?

What do you mean why?

Because you can, my friends. Because no-one makes resin candy. And because it's sparkly. And pretty.

And isn't that, really, totally enough?

Sigh.