Angry Birds Valentine

Like most other little boys, my son is a huge fan of Angry Birds. We were just going to buy the usual little cards and stick lollipops or something on them, but ended up with these awesome little valentines instead! Which is great, because as a "crafty" mom, I was feeling a wee bit guilty about not doing something at least a little more special than the boxed cards. 

I was walking outside of a Michaels store a few weeks ago and found these great little plastic Angry Birds, each containing a little Angry Bird figurine, a sticker, and small pack of candy inside. What really excited me was that they were in the 20 for $2.00 clearance bin! That's right....10 cents each! 
I thought they'd make great Valentines, so I bought enough for my son's class.

I designed a little card using www.PicMonkey.com and some free Angry Bird clipart I found online here. I printed them 9 to a page on some card stock and cut them out. Then I just punched a little hole in the corner and tied it to the bird's tail with a little red ribbon.

These Valentines were so cheap & easy, but sure to be a hit with the kids! These would make great party favors for an Angry Birds birthday party too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Blythe

Valentine Brownies

Valentine season is in full swing around here now that it is officially February! I took my kiddos to the library last week and we got a few Valentine books. I thought I'd make a visit to my son's class with a cute Valentine Book and a little treat. 

I read the book Ruby Valentine Saves the Day by Laurie B. Friedman and made some super sweet Valentine brownies. Both were a big hit with the little ones!

VALENTINE BROWNIES

What You Need:

• 2 Boxes Brownie Mix (plus eggs & oil per instructions on box)
• Wilton Candy Melts - White
• Valentine Decorations - Red or pink sprinkles, sugars, hearts, etc.
• Heart-Shaped Cookie Cutter

What To Do:

• Bake brownies according to "fudge-like" instructions on box (as opposed to "cake-like"). I made two 8x8 glass baking dishes of brownies which yielded 20 heart shaped brownies approx. 3" each. Be sure to grease the baking dishes well so the brownie will come out easily.
• Allow brownies to cool completely in baking dish. I let mine cool on the counter, then covered them and put them in the fridge for several hours.
• Once thoroughly chilled, turn the brownie out onto a cutting board and use cookie cutter to cut out heart shapes.
• Place full bag of candy melts into a bowl and melt in microwave following instructions on bag.
• Dip half of heart brownie into melted candy and place on wax or parchment paper.
• Quickly put on your decorations before the candy melts harden.
• Enjoy!

-Blythe

Places I'm Partying:

Lemon Oregano Chicken

We are not big red-meat eaters in our house, so we end up eating a LOT of chicken. Pair that with a couple of finicky eaters and I am perpetually searching for new ways to prepare chicken. I came up with this recipe and it was a crowd-pleaser!

LEMON OREGANO CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tbsp Corn Starch
• 3 T Butter

Directions:

• Flatten chicken breasts to desired thickness. 
• Mix garlic powder, pepper, salt, and 1 tsp oregano in a baggie. 
• Sprinkle mixture generously onto both sides of chicken. You won't need all of the spice mixture, so keep remaining spice mixture in baggie for next time you make this recipe.
• Melt butter in skillet and add chicken.
• Cook chicken until both sides are nice and browned.
• Reduce heat to low and move chicken to plate.
• Mix chicken broth with juice of half a lemon and corn starch.
• Pour broth mixture into pan and stir around to loosen brown bits from bottom. Bring to a boil until it begins to thicken. Reduce heat.
• Add chicken back to pan and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of oregano over top. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until chicken cooked through.
• If you want it to look fancy, garnish with a lemon slice. 
• Enjoy!

BON APPETIT!
-Blythe

Places I'm Partying:

Valentine Stained Glass Cookie Pops

I know as a Desperate "Craft"wife, I should be coming up with all kinds of cutesy Valentine crafts, but with my insatiable sweet tooth, all I can think of are Valentine treats! Fortunately I have my son's Kindergarten class and several neighbors who are happy to take the goodies off my hands so they don't end up in my belly. First up......Valentine Stained Glass Cookie Pops!

What You Need:

• Your favorite sugar cookie recipe (I always use this one: Best Rolled Sugar Cookies )
• Red colored hard candies - crushed (I used 1 bag of Wild Cherry Lifesavers and crushed them up in my Magic Bullet).  You can use red Jolly Ranchers too.
• Your favorite icing (my favorite is Sugar Cookie Icing, but with vanilla extract instead of almond)
• Heart shaped cookie cutters in 2 sizes
• Lollipop Sticks
• Parchment Paper

How You Make them:

• Prepare and thoroughly chill sugar cookie dough.
• Roll out dough and cut heart shape using larger cookie cutter. Use the smaller heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the inside and remove (or just bake the mini heart separately).
• Place heart cookie onto PARCHMENT-LINED cookie sheet (I cannot stress the importance of using parchment paper enough!). 
• Use a small spoon to fill center of cookie with crushed red candies.

• Place lollipop stick under bottom of heart so cookie will bake around it.
• Bake according to cookie recipe directions.
• Remove from oven. You may want to use a toothpick to push the melted candy all the way to the edges if it didn't get there or to pop any air bubbles that may have formed.
• Leave cookies on the cookie sheet to cool, allowing melted candy to harden.
• Once cool, frost as desired!

Have a Sweet Valentine's Day!

-Blythe

Places I'm Partying:

The Shabby Creek Cottage - Transformation Thursday
www.whipperberry.com
http://twosucculentsisters.blogspot.com/

Target Gift Card GIVEAWAY

So excited to be part of this amazing GIVEAWAY! 

I've partnered with Beth from Through the Eyes of the Mrs. and several other ladies to offer a $125 gift card to Target! I think it is safe to say we all love Target! It is my "go-to" store for everything including clothes, toys, groceries, electronics, etc. and if I wasn't a sponsor, I would so be entering this! 

Be sure to check out all the great bloggers who are sponsoring this giveaway and GOOD LUCK!!!

Shine On Fridays and a GIVEAWAY!

I am really excited to be co-hosting Shine On Friday today with Amy from One Artsy Mama and Kara from Happy Go Lucky. It is one of my favorite linky parties of the week! There are sure to be some amazing projects linked up.

This is the first party I have co-hosted and to celebrate I am giving away a set of 2 Hand Stamped Aluminum Rings to one lucky reader!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Now let's show off our creations and oooh and aaah over the amazing projects posted. I am always inspired by the creativity of others and hope you will be too!


<center> <a href="http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/"><img alt="One Artsy Mama" src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc86/dancers4life/shine3.png"/></a><center> </center> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <br /> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span> <strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you'd like to join the Party:</span></strong><br /> <ul> <li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Link up crafts, recipes, home decor, etc.</span></span></strong></li> <li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Follow all 3 co-hostesses - <a href="http://www.oneartsymama.com/" target="_blank">One Artsy Mama</a>,  <a href="http://www.happygoluckyblog.com/" target="_blank">Happy Go Lucky</a>, <a href="http://www.thedesperatecraftwives.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Desperate Craftwives</a></span></span></strong></li> <li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Grab a party button and put it somewhere on your blog</span></span></strong></li> <li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Be sure to visit others and share the love!</span></span></strong></li> </ul> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Linking up your photos gives us permission to use them in features on our blogs and Facebook pages.</span><br /> <div style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"> </div> <div> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div> <br /> <!-- start InLinkz script --> <script type="text/javascript"> document.write('<script type="text/javascript" src=http://www.inlinkz.com/cs.php?id=231818&' + new Date().getTime() + '"><\/script>');</script> <!-- end InLinkz script --> If you'd like to join the party:

• Please follow your 3 co-hosts: One Artsy Mama, Happy Go Lucky, Desperate Craftwives
• Link up crafts, recipes, home decor, etc.
• Be sure to visit others and share the love! Nobody likes to stand alone in the corner at a party!