Saturday, February 12, 2011

Home-Made Valentine Garlands, Envelopes, and Dog Cookies

Our dining room table is a big, happy mess right now:

But it's all for the good. Yesterday, I made some simple, easy valentines for friends and their dogs. Go ahead; you can steal these ideas. I promise not to mind!

For my people friends, I made Valentine Garlands. First, punch out a bunch of hearts from slightly stiff paper and string them on a skinny, satin ribbon:

Simple loops knotted at each end of the ribbon allow the recipient to hang the garland almost anywhere:

The hardest part, for me, was tucking the finished garlands into the envelopes!

For a special touch, make your own Valentine Envelopes. It's not hard, I promise.

First, unfold a regular, #10 business-sized envelope:

Choose an easy-to-fold paper with a pretty pattern or color. Using the unfolded business envelope, trace around it onto the nice paper, then cut the shape. Fold in the flaps on all four sides. A ruler helps fold the flaps in evenly:

If you have it, a bone folder makes a nice, sharp crease. But a fingernail works fine, too:

Use a glue stick or rubber cement to stick the side flaps to the bottom one:

And tuck your garland--and maybe a love note?--inside:

To seal the envelope shut, you can use glue, of course. But for extra style, try a heart-shaped sticker, or sealing wax, or these big, fat notary seals, available in any office-supply store. I like how the seals echo the oversize polka-dot thing I've got going on:

Some of my finished envelope valentines are at the bottom of the photo, below:

The valentines at the top of the photo, above, have ribbons because they're going to be tied on to bags of dog treats.

Home-Made Dog Cookies are a terrific way to say "Happy Valentine's Day" to anybody with a furry pal. The ingredients couldn't be simpler: whole-wheat flour, rolled oats, peanut butter, hot water, and a little egg wash for an attractive shine.

These "Happy Day Doggie Treats" are on my blogger friend Erika's site, The Boulevard Market. They are uber-simple to make and look almost good enough to eat:

I tucked the home-made treats into cellophane bags and added a few store-bought dog cookies in Valentine's Day colors and shapes:

Last touch: tying on a ribbon with a little card attached:

On the card, I listed the ingredients in the home-made treats. Some dogs are allergic to foods, just like people, so it's always nice when you give home-cooked things to tell the recipient what's inside:

The pugs and I ran around the neighborhood yesterday, delivering the valentines and treat bags to our friends.

Now, on to sugar cookies for the humans.

Just don't forget: Clean up as you go!

3 comments:

  1. The biscuits look SO cute! Do the pugs love them? Pierre is burying the carob treats as we speak...in corners and under toys as the ground is still frozen outside! Crazy terrier!

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  2. tha garlands are adorable! i made some dog cookies for my little guy too :)
    http://damegoodeats.blogspot.com

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  3. Some VERY clever ideas and creations! ("Surprise"...I'm NOT surprised, considering the source!)Happy Valentine's Day, Sis. xoxo

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