Holidays

FREE Valentine Paper Dolls & Vintage Valentine Cards Printouts

A-Meri-Card offers FREE Paper Dolls and Vintage Valentine Cards for printing. These cards and paper dolls are high quality scanned images from the original 1957, 1960, 1987 coloring books, paper doll books, and Valentines Day cards. To print these out properly you will need a color printer. If you are printing the paper dolls white or beige cardstock works the best.

“She has different outfits that she likes to wear for shopping, for skating, when rain starts to fall. For dancing all night at the Valentine Ball. So if you will dress her she’ll be your new friend. Sure hop you have fun as you play and pretend!”

Look! It’s little Miss Valentine” She brought her outfits too. She came to say, “Happy Valentine’s Day!” And spend some time with you. Ragdoll Dress-up paper doll printable.

“Though daily changes can be made. In things you do and wear, My heart will never change because it’s you for whom I care!” Dear Valentine: It’s plaint to see that you were cut-out just for me!”

“The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts…all for St. Valentine’s Day! So won’t you come and please have some, then stay while, and play!” This rhyme is from a vintage Joan Walsh Anglund Valentine’s Day Paper Doll from 1987. You can find the link below to print it out on your color printer.

Make a Heart-Shaped Pizza for Valentine’s Day

Everyone loves pizza so why not make a fun heart-shaped pizza for Valentine’s Day. The kiddos will love it! This pizza recipe is simple and comes with a homemade marinara sauce recipe to boot! To save time try using a pre-made pizza crust, refrigerated pizza dough, or if you want it a little more homemade, use the Bisquick or Jiffy Mix recipe below.

Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe

1/3 cup Jiffy or Bisquick Baking Mix
1/3 cup water
Cookie Sheet or Heart-shaped Pizza Pan

Directions:

In a medium-size bowl, blend the Jiffy or Bisquick baking mix with water.
Turn the pizza dough onto a surface that has been dusted with baking mix or flour.
Knead until dough is not sticky, about one minute.
Press pizza dough on a cookie sheet shaping your pizza dough into a heart shape, or use the special heart-shaped pizza pan that is suggested above.

TIP: We spray our cookie sheet or pan with a spray oil first, even if it is non-stick. It definitely helps to remove the pizza later and prevents sticking.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Add olive oil to the pan and heat in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the garlic is golden brown.
Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (optional), stirring to combine.
Simmer for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with additional salt, pepper or sugar, to taste.

Heart-Shaped Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

pre-made pizza crust or refrigerated pizza dough (or just Jiffy Mix recipe above)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Your favorite toppings like pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, basil, olives, etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat olive oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When garlic begins to sizzle, add tomatoes, salt and Italian seasoning and then simmer on low for 10 minutes.
Trim or shape your pizza crust into a heart shape on a cookie sheet or heart-shaped Pizza Pan.
Brush the pizza dough with olive oil. Spread the marinara sauce evenly on the pizza crust. Arrange the toppings and mozzarella cheese on top.
Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

With so many heart-shaped foods to buy, try and make, you’ll have plenty of ideas for Valentine’s Day this year. Did you know you can order a FREE Jiffy Mix recipe book too? They have great recipes and Jiffy Mix is cheaper to use than Bisquick.

Creative Valentine’s Greeting Card Boxes to Make at Home

When I was a child, we covered shoe boxes with brown paper and pasted colorful paper doilies and construction paper hearts onto the outside of the box to make a Valentine’s Day Greeting card box. Today there are many, many ways to decorate Valentine’s greeting card boxes. You don’t even need to use a shoebox, you can decorate a gift bag as as shown below. A Valentine’s Card mailbox craft is perfect for kids to complete before they share candy and cards on Valentine’s Day.

Visit Giggles Galore for instructions for Valentine’s Monster greeting card box.

Duct Tape Valentine’s Box

Instructions and photo by Michael’s Craft Store. These directions are for the Valentine’s Box on the top in the photo above.

Supplies Needed:

Shoe Box (or other box with removable lid)
White Duck Tape
Foam heart stickers
Pink Polka Dot Duck Tape
Retractable Utility Knife
Glue Stick
Sharpie Marker

Instructions:

Leave the lid on the box and attach a strip of White Duck Tape horizontally around the center of the outside of the box.
Remove the lid and set aside.
Draw a curlicue line in the center of the White Duck Tape strip all of the way around the box.
Embellish the top and bottom edges of the Duck Tape strip with foam heart stickers. Set aside.
Cover the lid of the box with Pink Polka Dot Duck Tape.
Cut a large slit opening with the utility knife.
Add a foam heart sticker to each side of the opening on the lid and draw an arrow on the outer side of each heart with a Sharpie® marker.
Write the child’s name near the opening with a Sharpie marker.

XOXO Valentine’s Mailbox Instructions:

Use an empty cereal box, freezer paper, some felt letters and hearts to make this simple, and cheap Valentine’s Mailbox.

Supplies Needed:

Empty Cereal box
White Freezer Paper (you can buy this at the grocery store)
Felt hearts and letters
Tape
Glue Stick

Instructions:

Tape the top of the cereal box closed.
Cover the cereal box with freezer paper just like you were wrapping a present.
Cut a long slit in the one front panel of the box. Make the slit wide enough for a card to be pushed through, about 1/2″ high.
Decorate the box by using the glue stick to stick on hearts and letters. If you don’t want to spend the money on felt hearts and letters, cut them out of construction paper.

Luv Bug Valentine’s Day Card Bag

You may purchase this as a kit from Oriental Trading Company or use your own supplies and our instructions below. You can’t buy just one kit from OTC and you would need to buy a lot of 12. This Valentine’s card bag can easily be made by using our instructions and craft supplies you have on hand or buy at your local craft store.

Supplies Needed: a pink bag with handles, foam hearts in various sizes, glue, one sheet of red construction paper, a single sheet of red felt, a single large pink pom pom (or cotton ball if you don’t have a pom pom), two small pink pom poms, silver pipe cleaner, and a pair of googly eyes.

Instructions: Cut four red construction paper strips, 1″ wide by the length of the paper. Fold each the strip accordion style. Glue a medium size, red foam heart to the end of each strip. Cut a large heart from the single sheet of red felt. If you want to make it more stable, cut the same size of cardboard and glue the heart onto it. Cut a mouth opening in the the heart and in the bag (as shown). Staple or glue the large heart onto the bag, matching up the mouth. Using the photo above, decorate the front of the bag by gluing other small hearts. If you staple the heart onto the bag cover the staples by gluing a heart over each staple. Glue the arms and legs onto the bag (as shown).

Owl Valentine Box Card Holder Craft Kit

This foam owl thinks it’s wise to keep your cards in one Valentine’s box! This is a craft kit that may be purchased from Oriental Trading Company. Includes self-adhesive foam pieces. All craft kit pieces are pre-packaged for individual use. These kits include instructions and extra pieces.

Valentine’s Day Cocktail Recipes

Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day cocktails that are to please. We enjoyed Partida Anejo at our Margarita party last month. It is smooth and tasty.

The Anejo Kiss

1 1/2 oz. Partida Anejo
1/2 oz Creme de Cacao (white)
1 oz. Amarula Cream

Mix ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Tequila Partida is an authentic, ultra-premium Tequila, made from 100% blue agave in the heart of Mexico’s historic Tequila Valley. With a clean, smooth, exceptionally pure taste, Tequila Partida takes the utmost care in every step of the process – from agave cultivation and harvest to distillation and marketing. For years, Partida has been commended by numerous media outlets, including The Spirit Journal (the country’s leading spirits review publication – which rated Partida Reposado “the best Tequila in the world” and one of the top five spirits in the world) along with Wine Enthusiast, The New York Times, Four Seasons Magazine and countless others.

valentines cocktails

Broken Heart

2 parts Broken Shed vodka
1 part pomegranate and/or cranberry juice
1/2 to 1 part Triple Sec or Cointreau

Mix ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Add pomegranate seeds and/or cranberries for decoration.

Broken Shed is a premium vodka that has a great back story, being created from whey in an old, bruised-up shed on a mountain in New Zealand with the help of two Connecticut expats. “Creamy” is the first word that comes to mind when trying this highly-regarded spirit. Broken Shed vodka has been four-times distilled to meet the highest quality standards and is gluten-free, naturally smooth and additive-free. First launched in the US in Connecticut this past June, Broken Shed Vodka expanded into New York via a distribution deal with New York Wine & Spirits, a division of Manhattan Beer. Broken Shed is also available online at a number of websites.

5 Steps to Carve The Perfect Halloween Pumpkin

Carving a pumpkin can be as easy as sticking a paring knife in the pumpkin and then just frees-styling your own design. It can also be a big mess and the face may not come out great. If you do a little planning your carved Halloween pumpkin can turn out great!

1. Choose the right pumpkin. A large pumpkin with a sturdy stem and a flat base is ideal. Large pumpkins are easier to handle and carve, and a sturdy stem is a sign of a healthy pumpkin that will last longer. Be sure to examine your pumpkin from top to bottom, and avoid ones with soft spots and bruises.

2. Use the right tools. These days, many great tools are available for both kids and adults. A boning knife or serrated knife works well for carving your pumpkin. An ice cream scoop or melon baller works well for removing the pumpkin seeds, and a curved rubber scraper is perfect for cleaning the inside walls nicely. For kids, you may want to purchase a carving tool set especially designed for them.

Pumpkin Carving Supplies List

3. Cut the lid. The first thing you will want to do is to create a lid by cutting at a 45-degree angle so it does not fall into the pumpkin when you place it back on top. Cut the lid in a zig zag shape or cut off the back or bottom. The choice is based on what you want your finished Halloween pumpkin to look like.

4. Scoop the goop. Remove all the seeds and pulp from the pumpkin with an ice cream scooper or melon baller. Set the seeds aside and roast them later for a healthy snack! Once the seeds are removed, scrape the walls with the rubber scraper. If you carve a pattern in the front, try to scrape the back of the pumpkin as smoothly as possible because it will be visible through your carved design and will reflect the light.

5. Draw and carve. Draw the face or trace a design using a template or stencils to achieve your desired design. Your design can be scary, grotesque, or funny. Consider using a dry erase marker so you can easily wipe off mistakes. If you are a beginner, start with a simple design. Use a small paring knife or Exacto knife for more detailed designs. Make slow, gentle cuts that go straight up and down, not at an angle. More experienced carvers may use drills and electric carving knifes.

Add flameless tea lights and you’re ready to party!

Get more pumpkin carving and Halloween pumpkin party ideas from fix.com

Source: Fix.com Blog

Bonus Tip: If you don’t want to carve your pumpkin and plan on using it to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, try adding paper cutouts or stickers to make the face instead of carving your Halloween pumpkin.

Want To Make Your Halloween Pumpkin Last Longer?

You can preserve your pumpkin to make it last longer by spraying or soaking your pumpkin in bleach or cold water. After you soak it, make sure to dry it completely to avoid mold. As an added preservative, apply petroleum jelly to the cuts. When you are finished carving, sprinkle a little cinnamon on the bottom of the lid or base of the pumpkin to make it smell like pumpkin pie!