valentine’s day

January 11, 2012 13 Comments

easy Valentine marshmallows

My itty and I ran into the grocery yesterday to grab a few things and I saw these huge Kraft marshmallows on sale for $.50 (all sizes and colors are on sale this week at Kroger)!! Yay!

My first thought was to make Valentine marshmallows and use them to decorate my boys’ placesettings Valentine’s Day morning. Then I thought of their poor teachers… and decided these might be a better treat in the evening. {wink}

These Valentine marshmallows are super simple. You’ll need Karo syrup, large Kraft marshmallows, sprinkles and a toothpick.

Just write your message in Karo and add sprinkles. The Karo is clear so all you will see are sprinkles! I used this technique on smaller marshmallows for my art party collection, when I made marshmallow paint cans.

Did I mention…

because I really do! As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

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FREE lovebug Valentine cellos

I have a few fun Valentine freebies lined up for you! This first one is my lovebug ladybug cello topper with two different sayings: Our friendship is all the buzz! and I’m buggy for you! I may have to give this one to my girlfriends since my boys wouldn’t dare hand them out! Which of course also means there is a boy version coming. {hint. hint.}

And the cool part, you can personalize them (in the font shown) before printing. Yay! All you have to do is type and print. Download my FREE Valentine cello toppers now! (UPDATE: File now includes owls, dinosaurs and robots!)

By the way, these work best with 4″ wide cello bags. I use the mini length and I get mine at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, but I bet you can find them at any craft store.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

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Valentine party punch + giveaway

My Christmas decorations aren’t all put away yet and my brain has already moved on to Valentine’s. I know… it’s just who I am. {snicker}

Over the holidays my sister-in-law made this incredible punch and she had kids and adults alike clammmoring for it. It was fabulous. I took her idea, tweaked it just a bit (thanks Norma!) and came up with this Valentine party punch!

Here’s what you’ll need per flute serving (punch bowl):

1/3 Sierra Mist Natural (2 liter)
1/3 tropical punch (2 liter)
1/3 scoop pineapple sherbet (1/2 gallon)

Oh, and there’s a GIVEAWAY! {Yay! Free Stuff!} ~ win a Sierra Mist Natural gift pack (shaker, drink garnish/sugars, party glasses) & a $50 AMEX Gift Card

How to Enter: Leave a comment on this page telling me your most creative cocktail/mocktail recipe idea. You never know, it might just wind up on Sierra Mist’s facebook page! Hint. Hint.

Deadline: January 5, 2012 at 11:59pm Eastern Time

Extra Entries (leave a comment for EACH extra entry!):

Like Sierra Mist on facebook
Like The Celebration Shoppe on facebook (existing and new counts!)
Follow Sierra Mist (@SierraMist) and The Celebration Shoppe (@celebshoppe) on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Something like: Head over to win a $50 AMEX card and entertaining pack from @SierraMist & @celebshoppe ~ goo.gl/fb/knJH9
Sign up for The Celebration Shoppe updates through my RSS feed (upper right sidebar); if already signed up just leave a note letting me know.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

Join us on facebook, sign-up for our daily feedburner e-mail (box in the right navigation), follow us on twitter and pinterest.

{NOTE: This post was sponsored by Sierra Mist Natural, however, all opinions are my own. You guys know I don’t write about things I don’t like. That would be too much like work!}

No purchase necessary to enter. Prizes will only be shipped within the United States. Winner will be selected at random using Random.org. All entries received after the giveaway closing day and time will not be considered. Entries that do not follow the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified via email.

cherry chocolate cake cobbler

I was recently asked to come up with a fun dessert for the holidays using my favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock fruit fillings. This was such an easy yes! I use Duncan Hines all the time because most of their mixes are dairy-free and as you know, I have a little one with severe dairy allergies.

This recipe is so easy. I call it a cherry cake cobbler, but it tastes a bit like a cherry cordial brownie. No matter what you call it, you’ll say BAKE ON!

You’ll need three things: Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix, Comstock Country Cherry filling and butter. (I used vegan butter for my little guy.)

Grease the bottom of the pan with butter and spread 3/4 of the can of cherries on the bottom.

Crush up (or sift) 1/3 of the Duncan Hines dark chocolate fudge cake mix in the bag and spread over the cherries. (Save the rest for cupcakes or your next cobbler.)

Put pats of butter all over the top of your cobbler and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. The cherries will bubble up and the butter will melt cooking the cake mix.

Dish the cobbler, topped with the remaining cherries, AND maybe a scoop of ice cream. My family loved it!

You can visit Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find other great recipes for your holiday get-together! You can also find Duncan Hines on facebook and twitter. As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake and create!

Join us on facebook, follow us on twitter and pinterest. Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. Sponsorship selection by the Clever Girls Collective.

heart Valentine card crafts

We LOVE hearts for Valentines, but why not get a little creative with the kids this year?! We used the simple heart shape to make this adorable butterfly. And yes, those are candies for the segmented body. {NOTE: Many red cherry chews were consumed during the crafting of this card.}

But I think my favorite is this heart balloon card. It’s so super simple. We just cut three pieces of cross-stitch thread, tied them at the base, cut out three hearts and glued it all into place. Done!

And don’t forget that we’re also giving away dinosaur and owl cello toppers because we “heart” all of our fabulous customers and friends!

Happy weekend everyone and as always, I hope you’re inspired!

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Valentine gift for you!

Again this year we’re giving away Valentine cello toppers! Owls for the girls and dinosaurs for the boys! And if you like these designs we have full party collections of both in the shoppe: owl couple and dinosaur.

My boys enjoy gathering up little treats for their friends and packaging them for the big Valentine Day party at school. This year we chose to go the route of more toys and less sweets. I LOVE these mini flutes, slinkies, bubbles and dinosaurs, all from Target. The modern colors make me smile and the boys have already started to dip into the bags for themselves. I’ve been able to protect most of them… but it might get dicey if we don’t fill and seal our cellos soon!

DOWNLOAD NOW!

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!

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get crafty for Valentine’s

familyfunvalentines

My Valentine craft for the boys is wrapped up {no pun intended… really} with the dinosaur (and owl) cello bag toppers that we’re giving away to all of our wonderful readers and customers, but while perusing the most recent issue of Family Fun magazine I found some super cute crafts that I just had to share.

How cool is this robot Valentine!? A little candy, aluminum foil and a the template from Family Fun and you’re set. And I know we’ve seen the flower sucker before, but I still think it’s adorable. Since these were so cute I looked back to last year’s issue and here’s what I found.

familyfunvalentines2

We sometimes call my youngest ”Bear” so I’m a little fond of the “Bear Hugs” craft. And if you have a teenager in the house, this rock candy Ipod is too fun.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and don’t forget to get our free Valentine printable.

Valentine sweets

williamsonomavalentinesweets

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we’re having friends over this weekend {can’t wait ladies!}, so I was scouting around for ideas on how to fill our Valentine cello bags. Oh, if you’ve not seen our free owl and dinosaur Valentine cello bag topper printables, you must check it out before you leave.

Back to the sweets. All of these are from William Sonoma. Don’t the whoopie pies look so yummy?! I believe you can buy the pies, or the pan if you want to make them yourself. Wow, and these s’ more X&O cookies?! And the chocolate sugar cookies can even have personalized messages. Do you think “Thank you honey for being so handy around the house and keeping the boys entertained while I run amuck” will fit? {wink}

Don’t forget to stop over and get your free Valentine cello bag toppers. They’re excellent for Valentine parties at school. I’m even giving them to my girlfriends {that’s right ladies!}.

gift: Valentine cello toppers

thecelebrationshoppe_dinovalentine

I sat around trying to think of a fun way to show our customers, loyal readers of my blog, bloggers who have shared the shoppe and candidly anyone intrigued enough to stop by, how much we “heart” them on Valentine’s Day. In the end I decided to give away another free printable. This time it’s a craft you can do with your kids: adorable Valentine Day owl and dinosaur cello bag toppers.

thecelebrationshoppe_owlvalentiner

Pick out your favorite candy or bake up some goodies, put them in clear cello bags (shown with mini cellos, but you can cut off the longer ones), print off the topper, have your child sign his/her name, fold and staple (instructions are provided if you prefer ribbon). It’s simple and much cuter, in my opinion, than the cardboard ones I used to get as a kid… especially since I don’t recall getting any cookies attached. {wink}

thecelebrationshoppe_dinosaurowlvalentine

UPDATE January, 24, 2011 – we just posted for 2011! Read the post on how to receive your templates!

thecelebrationshoppe_owlvalentines

We hope that you will love these new printable designs as much as we loved creating them. And remember, our kids don’t get to have all the fun… I plan on giving these to my girlfriends too!

thecelebrationshoppe_xovalentinecookie