friday fixations

{domino mag} I started reading this one at its very start, so I was pretty crushed when it folded (I still have all of the issues and I'll never part with them). Imagine my excitement when I heard that Domino is issuing a special quick fixes edition in April! I'm putting that one on my calendar (and it sure as hell better be available in Canada at that time).

{strawberry syrup} I was trying to think up cute little Valentine's day ideas last week, so I thought it might be fun to squirt a bit of strawberry syrup in the shape of a heart into a bowl of oatmeal. Kinda like a healthy breakfast but cute with a pink tinge and then I could photograph the hell out of it and make a foodie post. Anyway, the heart wouldn't stay and oatmeal on its own is pretty much the worst thing in the world to shoot, but the resulting flavour was delicious! Happy mishap! I don't know if you remember the myriads of strawberry flavoured cereals that used to be on the market (I miss Strawberry Shortcake cereal with these exact sentiments), but there was also strawberries and cream instant oatmeal available (it had weird little freeze dried bits of strawberry in it), and this tasted almost exactly like it. Maybe even more strawberry-ish. It was a really nice change from usual oatmeal flavours, you should try it!

{what size am I?} I think this chart from Darkgreener is fantastic! I just wish it had more stores on it.

{heart shaped food} Instead of making a fancy meal for Valentine's day, I cut everything into hearts. It was a pretty standard every-day meal, but with heart-shaped everything which made it pretty special. We had heart cucumbers (from Save-On foods) in the greek salad; a heart-shaped watermelon, feta, mint, and balsamic vinegar salad (so good!); and almost heart shaped pitas (that was difficult!). I love eating heart shaped foods!

{stenciled roses} We had our last home visit from the builders this month and in it, they had the drywaller go round the house and fix all the popped screws (well, the one's I'd already spotted). I think I'm going to do a tutorial one of these days on how to fix popped screws because now that I know how, I'm so friggin' angry I let the drywaller do all of the ones I'd spotted. I should have learned from one and kicked him out after that. What a mess. I'm no professional, but I can definitely do better. Anyway, I was going around painting all the little dots and cleaning up all the dust so I thought I might as well paint the master bathroom since I was going to paint it anyway. I had cut out this rose stencil a while ago for something else but decided not to use it, so I thought I'd use it in the bathroom instead. What I'm wondering now is if I should do some leaves in between the roses or maybe a smaller flower. I have a lot of leftover paint at my disposal (two different greens among them). But once I start stenciling, it's really hard to stop which is why I'm asking, cuz I can go overboard way too easily when it comes to this stuff.

quickie DIY: snow hearts

You need: spray bottle | red food colouring | water | cardboard heart template (not paper! It's getting wet)

You do: set the template on the snow | spray the red water over the heart (aim close)

You get: little snow trails dotted with hearts

You'll note: the hearts pink up as the water is absorbed into the snow, so if you want them darker, use more food colouring

Inspired by: these grass heart attacks from Oh Happy Day (except we're not blessed with grass in February)

(p.s. I promise it looks so much cuter in person. this is not a good day for photography)

DIY: pop-up love card

Making a pop-up card only looks super hard. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Thankfully, I drew out about four prototypes on scrap paper before using card stock and I suggest you do the same. My first two cards were really just a lesson in block letters because as soon as I went to cut out the letters, I actually cut them out or I cut the tops or bottoms wrong. Sometimes I like cutting with an exacto knife so much, I forget to stop cutting!

I was inspired by these two card tutorials, and using them, I figured out what would work best for me. Here ya go!

I started by lightly folding the card stock in half and only creasing the edges. I didn't want the letters to have a fold in them. Then I wrote out, in block lettering, the word, LOVE, making sure that the letters would fall somewhere in the middle of the "fold" (cuz I haven't actually folded the card yet, I just marked where it would be folded). I've highlighted my pencil marks on the computer so you can see them better. Don't actually make them this heavy or you won't be able to erase them cleanly!

Then I used a ruler to mark a line just above and below the word (in orange here so you can see, but again,  in reality, it's a really light pencil line) so that I could extend the tops of the letters out to give them tabs and line up the bottoms of the letters so they'd fold straight.

Then I started cutting away the paper from around the letters. Leave the tops of the tabs and the bottom of the letters attached to the paper. I also cut out a portion from around the L and the E to help them pop out.

Folding the letters is probably the trickiest part. You've got to do each one separately making sure the main letter doesn't get folded. I find it helps a bit to fold the card almost in half and then press, fold, and adjust the tabs so the letters pop out properly.

As you can see, I also cut out the I and U. I was going to write them, but I thought this would have more punch. You can do this, too, if you want or just write something else in ("My love" or "Love forever" or "I love lamp" you get the idea). Then pick out a piece of paper for the back of the card. It can be any colour or pattern you want. This is a thicker tissue paper that I liked for the pattern, unexpected colours, and the fact that the pattern shows up in a lighter version on the back-side. Cut the paper down so it's just larger than the card and glue it onto the back of your pop-up. Make sure to push out any bubbles (because of the cut out letters, mine looks a little bubbly, but it's not a big deal. Handmade card! Hello!). Trim off the excess around the edges if you have any.

I opted to colour the letters so they stand out a bit more, but you don't really have to.

Once you get the hang of cutting the letters out properly, this isn't a time consuming project at all and should only take you about 20 minutes to finish one card. Don't forget that you can write whatever you like in the card and pop it out. You don't have to do the love thing. Personalize it or change it completely for a birthday or thank you card. Easy!

I really like the look of handwritten letters, but I also spotted this free pop-up font which you could use if you're a little nervous about drawing the letters yourself.

friday fixations

Here are 14 of my favourite pins for February 14th:

I just want something simple to make

1 {lace tape} Use this to embellish cards, envelopes, or candies.
2 {love bugs} Because boys need Valentines, too. (The jar card is a free printable!)
3 {scratch off lottery tickets} Combine this with the love coupons (below) or use it to send a secret message. I had no idea it would work but apparently, you can paint the scratch off paint right onto a picture. Of your choosing. A picture... get where I'm going with this?

I've got the whole weekend to scheme

4 {couch picnic} I love the idea of having a picnic on the couch. It's just about our most favourite place -- he even asked me to marry him on it. It's that perfect.
5 {heart warmer} The basement is a little cooler than the rest of the house, so I think it would be super cute to have this around for our toes. It would be even better if a hot water bottle were involved instead (I'm kicking myself for not buying one when I saw them at Christmas).

But I do own a printer and I like free stuff...

6 {watercolour pink} I love this shade of pink. It's almost like melon.
7 {pink bird} This love bird card also comes with a matching envelope.
8 {valentine labels} These were designed to wrap around envelopes, but I think it would make more sense to wrap them around a chocolate bar or a package of candy.
9 {owls} And other cute school-style Valentine's cards. It was really hard choosing just one to pin (the banana card is calling my name, too)!
10 {love coupons} Hasn't everyone made coupon gifts before? If you haven't, now's your chance (plus these are a little more stylish than the crayon and construction paper ones of my youth). This also comes with a matching card.

I'm out of colour ink and have no time!

11 {sriracha card} Idle Husband loves this stuff. I just love the slogan.
12 {geeky cards} I'm really liking the retro styling on these. Maybe it's because I've started watching Mad Men.
13 {pocket animals} If your loved one has a favourite animal, you might find it here. (I can't find our animal! Extra credit: sculpt your own using air drying clay.)
14 {pink domo} I love his nerdy glasses and colour. Don't worry about ordering online. I spotted these at Urban Outfitters, too.

As usual, you can find tons more ideas (especially DIY ideas and more free printables) over on Pinterest!

DIY: chocolate bar wrappers

This is mostly just to give you some ideas for easy chocolate bar wraps. It's not really a DIY because what could be more simple than rewrapping a chocolate bar? There's just about zero effort involved, but the cuteness factor is pretty huge.

I started with Caramilk bars because they were the only chocolate bars I could find that had a removable wrapper. I thought there'd be more variety in this area but apparently not (not like I'm bemoaning Caramilk! That bar is kinda tops on our list!). If you can't find chocolate bars with a removable sleeve, don't worry. I would take off the offending wrapper and wrap the chocolate lightly in aluminum foil, parchment paper, or waxed paper and then decorate. Any of these options would look just as pretty and it's a quick solution to an annoying problem.

Remember all the hearts I cut out earlier? Well, I kept the pieces of paper (cuz that's what I do. I'm a paper hoarder), trimmed up the edges to straighten them, and wrapped them around a bar.

I thought it looked nice with the gold foil, but you could also make a quick sleeve from coloured or patterned tissue paper and then top it with the heart cut outs.

To make a sleeve, choose your paper, then use the original sleeve as a guide and trace around it and cut it out.

Gently bend the paper and crease it around the chocolate bar then glue the ends together. Don't wrap it too tightly or it'll be difficult to remove later. For the eating. You have to ensure easy access to eating.

I also found this package of cute Valentine's tape at Superstore for $2! I thought that was a pretty good deal for five rolls of tape plus I can definitely use it throughout the year (hello polka dots!) And just so you know, this tape isn't washi tape, it's plastic.

But look at how cute it is! Gah.

You can use the tape to embellish the wrapper however you want. And if you're one of the lucky ones you've got some washi tape, consider using it. It doesn't have to be pink with hearts. Just know that as soon as it goes on, it's not coming off! You will rip the foil.

That's it! Pretty easy stuff, right? It's just another Valentine's day option that anyone can pull off with limited time and supplies.