My Favorites Friday #1 – Valentines Fun & Sweets

Welcome to the first of My Favorites Friday!

I pulled together some of my favorite Valentine’s ideas this week and divided them into three categories: Homemade Valentines, Fun & Craftiness, and Sweet Treats.  I hope you enjoy these awesome ideas!

I love these little guys from Fiskars.com!  They may take a little time to cut out, but if you have some shape punches, it wouldn’t take long at all!

I love this ‘fin-tastic’ candy-less Valentine from Tammy Mitchell Photography:

The pillow boxes she was selling are sold out, but you could make your own or just use a zip-top baggie.  Fold a piece of colored cardstock over the zip-top and staple into place.  Add the cute tag to finish it off!  She has the free printable tags here:

Skip to My Lou has darling butterfly Valentines and even offers a free printable template!

This idea was found on Esty.  Who doesn’t love candy buttons {and their cell phone!}?  They are not available for order anymore, but it looks pretty easy to me to re-create this one!

I ‘CEREALsly’ love this one from Best Friends for Frosting.  This was intended as a party favor, but someone on Pinterest added this cute idea to make it ‘Valentine-y’: Add a heart tag that says, “I CEREALsly like you!”

Living With Three Moon Babies has cute  gumball Valentines and also offers the free printable!  She shows how to twist the baggie and tape it to the back.  Older kids could help cut out the gumball machines.

I ‘must-ache’ you if you like this one {and the current mustache craze}…

{I searched, and searched, for the original source of this picture and just couldn’t find it.  I hope you can figure out how to make this cutesy Valentine!  It would be adorable to have the mustache removable from the card with a hole in it so kids could put it on their lollipop stick.}

Tip Junkie has this super cute Valentine available for free printing here:  She also has a great tutorial on how to make the pants.

Thirty Handmade Days has this awesome Valentine {the printable is only available to her subscribers}:

Disney’s Family Fun offers this great non-foodie pencil topper Valentine idea.  Simply use foam hearts and chenille sticks {isn’t the new name so much prettier? – I never liked ‘pipe cleaners’}!

The Barger Blog has an adorable Valentine keepsake.  No printable is available, but you can easily type up the poem and print it out on cardstock.  Then use a heart sticker on your kiddo’s hand before ‘inking’.

Life in the Thrifty Lane shows us this great idea for transporting Valentine cupcakes:

Nest of Posies has a great recipe for candy coated popcorn.  For a healthier alternative, you could simply add regular popcorn with some pink and red M&Ms.

Alpha Mom has super cute printable tags to make your healthier Valentines more fun!

Doodlebug Blog has a great tutorial on how to make these Valentine’s Door Hangers.

If you enjoy sewing, Martha Stewart has instructions on how to make this adorable bag to hold all your Valentines.

Plaid Online offers instructions on how to make these Valentine’s Holders with cereal boxes:

Woodland’s Home has a pretty heart wreath.  Sorry – no instructions, but you could probably figure this one out!

Rust & Sunshine has a fun crafty idea for the littlest ‘sweets’ in your home:

The Peanut Paint Shop has this incredibly cute idea for Valentine’s decor.  She has a great tutorial showing you how to do it.  Now to actually make this…hmmm.

This idea could take some prep time, but who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt?  You could personalize the hunt using clues to hiding places in your own home.  Thanks to London Reid Blog for the idea!

and last but not least:

One of my most favorite treats is a candy coated pretzel.  I just LOVE the combination of salty and sweet.  Here is a pretty Valentine’s version.  The original source of the picture was not linked properly, so I can’t give credit where credit is due – sorry!  These are super easy to make: just melt some candy melts {available at craft stores or Walmart type stores} and dip in your pretzels.  Dry on parchment paper.  Add sprinkles or drizzle with white candy melts.

Who doesn’t love Rice Krispie Treats?  These would be a perfect dessert to add to your kiddos lunch on Valentine’s Day.  Once again, the original picture wasn’t pinned properly, so I can’t give appropriate credit.  I’m sure you can figure this one out. 😉

Midwest Living has a yummy recipe for this snack mix.  Just substitute the Christmassy M&Ms for Valentine-y ones.

Here is another version from Betty Crocker and this one can be made gluten free!

I did mention that I heart salty and sweet combos, right? 😉  Here is another great idea from Pink Roses and Other Passions:

Everyone loves these yummy sweets {noticing a trend here?}  Thanks to Souffle Bombay for the idea:

I’ve never made cake pops before {I know, I know, I’m a little behind on this trend!}, but these sure look pretty amazing.  There is no tutorial or recipe, but you could Google the idea if you need instructions.  Thanks to Bee in Our Bonnet for the idea:

Okay, I have to admit, this looks like a lot of work, but aren’t these Oh. So. Cute?  I love these fuzzy little critters from Hungry Happenings:

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed the first of My Favorites Friday!  I’m looking forward to making some of these great ideas.  Don’t you just love Pinterest? 😉 I would love to have you follow my pinboards to keep up with my latest pins!

I hope you’ll stop back next week for My Favorites Friday #2 – Crockpot Recipes!