DIY Valentine Felt Envelopes

I told you on Valentine's that I would be posting a few late Valentine entries this week.

And since we were blasted with snow and ice last week and there was no preschool....

and the Valentine party was post-poned until today.....

I am right on time!

I made these Felt Valentine Envelopes for my kid's valentines.

They are super easy to make and cost about $1 or $2 depending on how many colors of felt you use.

The felt I purchased was in sheet form 8.5x11 and was 25 cents each.

Take one piece of felt and cut it into a "house"

This will be the front of your envelope as well as the back flap

Cut your second piece of felt in half.

This will be the back portion of your envelope

Next cut out shapes that you want to attach to your envelope

I chose arrows and these squiggly lines for the return address.

(Honestly this pic looks like some kind of ancient Chinese characters)

Then cut out as many hearts as you want.

I cut red, white and pink

 Lay out your design on the "house" side of your envelope and arrange away.

Then sew onto felt or glue.

I sewed in order to get the best attachment to the felt.

But, I will warn you, I have heard sewing felt can gum up your machine.

So, you are warned.

I sewed black stitches into the black felt.

White stitches into the white felt

And red stitches into the red felt

When you are finished with the front of the envelope,

lay the back of the envelope on the back.

Match them up and stitch the edges together.

I also stitched the edges of the flap that fold over to give it more durability.

On one envelope I used a single line stitch

but on the last two I used a zig-zag stitch (that I personally liked much better)

My littlest man woke up after 1 hour of naptime.

He was not fond of the sewing machine.

He hates loud noises.....don't worry I didn't keep him in agony too long!

Here are my finished envelopes!

Front and back views for you

I really love how they turned out. 

The possibilities with these are really endless.

Put your imagination to work and I bet you could come up with some awesome designs. 

Don't you just love a hand written letter?

I sure do!

Happy Valentine's Day

It's been a big week. 

Snow and ice have once again paralyzed our area.

I spent Tuesday night at the hospital and worked Wednesday.

I spent Wednesday night at the hospital and worked Thursday.

Needless to say, my last 2 Valentine Projects will be posted next week.

And since preschool was cancelled all week, we will still be celebrating Valentine's next Tuesday.

Today I am going to enjoy.....

Breakfast with my babies

Frozen Sing-A-Long at the theater with my 2 oldest

Movie Popcorn and Coke Icees for lunch

I hope you have a wonderful day,

whether you have snow, ice, rain, colds or sunshine!

If you need a last minute Valentine Project check out these posts from last year

Cheesecake Tarts

DIY Valentine Boxes

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

PHOTOS: Ashley Nelson Photography

Chocolate Almond Bark

I tasted this yummy treat at my friend Michele's house.  

She gave me the recipe and I can not stop making this stuff.  

Here is what I use:

24 oz of semi sweet chocolates (I like more chocolate than almond)

12 oz of plain almonds

pinch of sea salt

I don't have a double broiler (so I make my own)

Glass mixing bowl on top of a pot of water.

(This has worked for me several times but I realize could be dangerous.

Please make sure there are no weak spots in your glass bowl before trying this)

Pour in chocolate chips

Pour in almonds

Toss it up

Add a pinch of sea salt

And start mixing.

You could melt the chocolate first if you like and then stir in everything else

Looking yummy

Here is what it should look like when all melted

Spoon it out onto a wax paper lined plate or cookie sheet.

Tope with a pinch of sea salt.

Place in the freezer

Take out of the freezer and break apart into desired pieces.

Makes for a yummy treat to share!

"Love" Sharpie Mugs

Writing on a mug with a Sharpie is an easy fun craft.  Check out Sharpie's Website for how I did this little fun craft.  I am not great with freehand but I put my limited skills to work and I think these turned out great for a sweet treat for my daughter's preschool teachers.

2 White Cups

2 Sharpie Markers

Use your creative side

After you have added your flare...

Bake for 30min at 350 degrees

And there you have a great little gift.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Over Christmas break, my sister made this yummy soup.  

{Here is the recipe link she shared with me.}

 lb of sausage

1 can of Evaporated Milk

6 Chicken Bouillon Cubes 

4 cups water

1 bag of Cheese Tortellini 

1 tbsp Parsley

1 tbsp Oregano

salt & pepper to taste

Parmesan Cheese

1.  Cook sausage and drain

2.  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil 

(I actually think 5-6 would be better for more broth)

3.  Add six chicken bullion cubes to boil water and dissolve

4.  Turn heat to medium and add evaporated milk, seasonings, and sausage

5.  Simmer for 15 minutes

6.  Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions

7.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese

8.  ENJOY!

This was such a yummy dinner.  The pickiest of my children ate it and loved it!

And the baby....he fussed until I pureed some up for him, too!

Join me next week for....

                      Valentine

Projects

{recipes, gifts, kid crafts, Valentine canvas art}

Winter Reading List

I have about 20 books that I would like to read in 2014.

Here are my first five.

I couldn't be more excited!

And I look forward to sharing little mini reviews of each of these books.

Same Kinda Different As Me

This was recommended by one of my former small group girls.

She loved it.  It sounds like a great read.

Kisses from Katie

I have heard a lot about this girl and even heard her on a radio interview.

She is intriguing and down right astounding.

My friend Ashley read a paragraph from this book one night in our small group

and I knew it had to be on my reading list.

Bread and Wine

I will be flowing along with Bloom Book Club as I journey through this read.

If you have never read a book with Bloom...you should!

I have loved everyone I have read along with them.

Anything

Recently finished up Jennie's study STUCK.

My friend Laura highly recommended this book.

And since she recommended STUCK and it was excellent....

I definitely wanted to read this book.

Where Did You Go Burnadette

And this little book with a cute cover came up in my
Amazon suggestions for reads a few weeks ago.

It has over 2000 reviews.  It looks cute and yet interesting.
 I think it will be a lighthearted read.
And hopefully I will enjoy it...

I'll let you know. 

Here are links to my 

Summer Reading List 2013

Fall Reading List 2013