We Seek After
These Things
Recently returned from serving the people of Honduras for 3 years

Monday, February 16, 2009

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

8 comments:

Lauren said...

I was lucky enough to receive one of these and it was great. Well, what I got of it anyway. Conan stole one and my son ate most of the other, but really great what I did have!

Anonymous said...

I saw your link on Blissfully Domestic.

The chocolate strawberries look so yummy. Great ideas of putting gifts together.

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

I love making chocolate covered strawberries! I always find that people are so darn impressed, but they are so easy to do. And, darn it -- they taste SO good!

Looks like a really great Valentine project!

Kate said...

You are so talented. I love the valentines and the strawberries. They look SO yummy. I bet you are a pro.

Kim said...

Oh, I wish I had read your post before Saturday! I also tried to dip strawberries in chocolate. I was wondering, "what went wrong?" I think I got water in the chocolate (from washing off the berries). Anyway, the chocolate never got smooth. However, my family still enjoyed them. Thanks for the tip, for the next time I make them!

Ann Mitchell said...

YOU SHOULD HAVE YOUR STRAWBERRY PICS IN A FOOD MAGAZINE!!!

Sonshine said...

Those strawberries look divine! :)

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Kristin,

I love all the Valentines you made. Too cute!

Thanks a lot for adding my button to your page! I was very happy to see it here. And thanks again for letting me feature your cheesecake!

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