Valentine's Day is almost upon us - just 2 and a half weeks away - so I decided to consolidate some of my favourite Valentine tutorials into one post! I am working on new ones, but my mind always shifts to baking for events like these and, given that I'm trying to shed the final few pounds and Seeg has also become more weight-conscious, baking isn't such a good idea. Especially when I make the same cake every time, I just present it differently, it means a lot of extra sugar from frosting, sprinkles and so on! It's not worth it unless I can come up with something original, and as for general crafts, I spend almost all of my free time working on my book so I never leave time for things like that. There are crafts I've had in mind for a year now that I've not found the time to try!
So, for now, we'll make do and I'll ensure I have new ones up for next year. Promise!
Eros' Elixir Valentine smoothie. This Valentine smoothie is so clean and healthy, and provides a good dose of vitamin B12! It's a wonderfully clean and healthy treat to start the morning!
Valentine locket cookies. These are my favourite! Of all the Valentine tutorials I've done, this takes the biscuit. Sugar cookies, isomalt 'windows', vanilla filigree and pink/purple mini smarties painstakingly separated from the other colours. They're not that tricky to make or assemble, you just have to pay attention when using the isomalt. These Valentine cookies could contain anything - sweets, chocolate, fruit, sprinkles, perhaps even a little love note!
Patchwork Valentine sugar cookies. These Valentine cookies are really cute and the patchwork effect is so easily created with a ravioli cutter! Make the cookie dough, separate it into 3 balls and colour each individually, then roll them out, use a ravioli cutter/roller to cut squares of dough, layer them up and then cut out the hearts. Easy!
Chocolate heart cake bites - these make a wonderful little Valentine dessert. Miniature heart cakes cut using cookie cutters, topped with messy chocolate frosting and chocolate hearts decorated with transfer paper - and this led me to making a little tutorial on how to use chocolate transfer sheets. It's not as hard as it might seem, you just have to take care while doing it. In short: easy, effective, delicious.
Fabric Origami hearts. This unique tutorial provides you with wonderful handmade Valentine decorations! Using the same folding techniques as origami hearts and the heat and pressure of an iron, you can do the same with fabric! As the image might suggest, this is a very old post, but I've not seen it repeated anywhere else, so that's quite nice!
Check out my Tutorials page and
Valentine Pinterest board for more inspiration!