These are a few of my favorite things . . .

Now that Valentines day is past, and I don't have to worry about ruining the "Valentine surprise" for all my little ones - now big, I want to share my hand crafted Valentines.

I love making homemade Valentines!

I think it stems back to when I was in junior high and one of my friends gave me the most beautiful hand crafted Valentine. It meant so much to me that she thought enough of me that she would go to all that trouble to make something so beautiful and hand crafted just for me. Ever since then, I have looked forward each year to making my special Valentines something homemade and handcrafted for Valentines day.

(these are actually CD covers - one of my favorite things to make for a cute gift)

Chocolate Strawberries - Yum!

Making chocolate dipped strawberries is a new tradition for us. Kelsie loves strawberries and soon she became an expert strawberry dipper. We started out very simple with just the basics, strawberries and chocolate. And soon added a second coat, two different colors, and a little decor to finish them off.

We've tried all different kinds of chocolate, Hershey bars, semi-sweet, milk chocolate - and had success with any chocolate that is good quality. They key is to be sure to keep all water out of the chocolate, not even one drop can get into the chocolate. We thin the chocolate with a little vegetable oil until it is smooth and a good dipping consistency. Be sure to melt the chocolate in a container inside a water bath so it melts slowly. We do refrigerate the dipped strawberries in between coats so the first coat is set well before applying a second coat of a different color. to do the little squiggles at the end, we put a small amount of chocolate into a zip baggie, cut a teenie bit of the corner and squeeze out. Once they are beauitul and ready to eat, continue to refrigerate.

The finished product - add a bow and a little cellophane, all ready to share!

Enjoy!

All kinds of Bliss at Blissfully Domestic