Makita Studio: valentine's day

Showing posts with label valentine's day. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Love Day Recap

I know it's a week later and Valentine's Day has come and gone, but I just wanted to share a recap of the highlights of last week and to serve as a reminder to myself of how special it was.

I Heart Cheesecake | Discovered this lovely bakery in San Carlos, CA called Zest Bakery. All their goods are either gluten free and/or vegan. Love that!!!

This one is a Blueberry Cheesecake. Delicious!!!

My first time trying a Vegan Chocolate Cupcake + the verdict is out of this world. I am definitely going back for these....

My own homemade, fresh baked, Chocolate Chip Cookies....Shaped in a heart of course :)

Picked up my youngest, Lucas, from Kindergarten and was excited to find him all covered up in this heart shaped paper decorated by him.

I decided to make handmade cards for my boys with a handwritten message of how much they mean to me. It's the beginning of a new tradition....

Josiah, who is now reading like a pro, reads it aloud. Such a sweet moment....

My oldest with his first Valentine's Card from Mommy

Lucas, my youngest baby, doesn't quite know how to read yet, but as I read it to him, I saw his eyes light up with joy to hear my words of affirmation and love for him.

Lucas hugs his card.

***

Happy 83rd Birthday Great Lola

Another year to celebrate this woman that is who we call 'Lola' which means grandmother in Filipino. She is 83 years old and is still full of so much life, love, and faith. We no longer live in the same home, but there is no distance in our love for her. We visit her every week, cherishing her presence as much as we can and bringing her joy through my boys, her great grandchildren, which helps to keep her living life to the fullest.

Lolo (grandfather) is 90 years old, but don't be fooled because he has the energy and strength of a 20 year old. He still has his license and drives around wherever he pleases. All those morning oatmeal and banana breakfasts, soups with vegetables and fish, definitely has a lot to do with it. This photo is special because Lucas and Lolo have such a special bond. He always hugs him close and says that he wants Lucas to stay with him...

For Lola's birthday, Lucas gave his "heart" to his great grandmother and he is showing her that he knows how to spell his name.

Lola with her great grandkids + my niece Arielle.

Every little kiss I can get from my kids is a gift that I cherish. I love being my kids' Mom and will never take these little moments for granted.

Lucas, is starting to learn how to write and this precious note is hanging on my fridge. I think I'm going to frame this for sure.....

***

As for my husband and I, we didn't have any time together alone since it was on a weekday and we wanted to spend it with Lola for her birthday. But, we do have a date night planned very soon. :)

Hope your Valentine's Day was special!

xoxo,

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

[DIY Sweet Treats] Valentine's Day Pink Popcorn Pops

When my son's teacher announced that the kids are going to be giving each other Valentine's Day cards or candy, of course my brain switched on to craft mode and I started to think of ideas on projects that would make a really cool, yummy gift. Something different, you know? Of course, we did buy some cartoon card box sets at Target for Josiah to pick out as well. Yet, I could not help but want to make Pink Popcorn Pops!!

If you have been hiding under a rock and never heard of this amazing 'Pop-Queen' is what I call her, then head over to this site, Bakerella. Just a warning though, be prepared to be blown away by some of the most cutest, most yummiest, most artistic, sweet treats known to grace this earth, in my honest opinion. She totally ROCKS with her genius ideas and inspiration!

My first discovery about her was a few years ago when I made these to-die-for Oreo Truffles, which has become a family favorite for the holidays (which I will post about when I can). BUT OH, THEY ARE INSANELY GOOD! Not sure if she has made anything with popcorn, but this creation of mine was inspired by her idea of 'bite-size' treats. I'm sure if she did, hers would be a hundred times better :) Thank you, Bakerella!!!

PINK POPCORN POPS

You will need:

Popcorn Balls (see recipe below)
Lollipop Sticks
Lollipop Treat Bags w/ribbon
Red Felt or Cardstock - Cut out of a heart
Gift tags - I cut up my own tags with decorative edged scissors
Hole Puncher

Pink Popcorn Recipe (my revised version inspired by this recipe at food.com)

2-3 Bags of microwaveable popcorn. I used Newman's Own - Natural flavor
6 T Butter
3 Cups Mini-Marshmallows
4 T Strawberry Jello

Directions:

I followed the recipe, but doubled all the ingredients except the Jello because 4 T is actually a lot and even with doubling the popcorn and marshmallow mixture, it was just perfect for my taste. But, maybe some of you might want to add more of it who like it a little bit tangy and tart.

NOTE: I regret that I didn't take pictures of actually making the Pink Popcorn balls, so I will try my best to explain the process.

After popping all the popcorn, I poured it all out into a large aluminum roasting pan, but you can use a really big mixing bowl or baking dish. It's a lot of popcorn to mix so that is why I chose to use whatever was big enough to hold all the popcorn. In a medium pan, melt the butter over med-low heat. Add in the marshmallows until completely melted. Then mix in the strawberry gelatin until blended into a creamy mixture. Turn off heat. Drizzle the mixture all over the popcorn and then with a rubber spatula or spoon, mix it all up to coat the popcorn as evenly as possible. Don't worry if every single popcorn isn't completely covered. Once that is done, form the balls using your hands and because it does get a little sticky and messy, I like to use latex gloves while doing this part. I also try to make sure that before I form them, I look out for popcorn seeds and be sure I pick them out. No one wants to bite down on hard bits of corn :)

PROJECT TUTORIAL:

1. Here is a layout of everything that I used to create each one.

2. A yummy close up of the pink popcorn ball.

3. Used decorative scissors to trim the piece of paper and wrote my love note on it.

4. Then I carefully pushed a lollipop stick halfway through the center.

5. Punch a hole through the top center of the heart where you will be threading a ribbon through.

6. Punch a hole through the tag or strip of paper.

7. Place the popcorn pop into the lollipop treat bag, which already came prepunched with holes and a ribbon. Thread the ribbon through the felt heart and tag, then tie it into a bow.

VOILA!

Here are some optional ideas that I had thought about after making these:

Dip popcorn balls into dark or white chocolate, caramel, or cinnamon & sugar
Experiment other Jello flavors/colors
Combine popcorn w/nuts, chocolate chips, or M&M's

The day that I brought these to my son's class, a lot of the parents were excited to find these in their children's stash and it brought back childhood memories for some. I liked how these turned out, but I feel that I still haven't found that perfect pink popcorn recipe that does remind me of the ones I used to eat growing up as a child. If you or anyone you know, has a recipe for it, I'd love for you to share!!

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this little craft tutorial! I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!

I have more good stuff to share in a few days, so I hope you'll be back to visit my blog soon!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Let's Get Crafty With It | Valentine's Day Inspiration

Valentine's Day is only several days away and I've been finding so many fabulous ideas around the web from some of my most favorite blogs and craft sites! There are so many talented crafters out there that it blows my mind away. Just about every time I see something so clever and interesting, I think to myself, "Now I why didn't I think of that!" But, that is why the internet can be so wonderful in bringing all these amazingly talented people from all corners of the world, to share their creativity with others. I never can get enough of it and no matter how old I get, from as long as I can remember since I was a little girl, I absolutely get tickled with enthusiasm about anything crafty. There's this little girl inside of me that never grows old! Now that I am a parent with small children, their curiosity and playful spirit just ignites that creative passion even more...

Okay, so let me just keep this sweet and short! Here are some of my favorite Valentine's craft ideas, but let me tell you, there are tons of places I've found so far that have some great ideas. So although I can't list them all in this post, there will always be more for me to share. But for now, these are some really awesome places on the web for inspiration specifically for Valentine's Day :)