Two Old Crows Valentine Crafts and Recipes

How to Make Fabric Bags

2007-02-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

What a great way to wrap up that special Valentine gift ! These bags are so easy to make...takes about 15 minutes and you can make them in any size you want . A neat way to use up fabric scraps and dont you just hate throwing away all that expensive paper you are continually buying. Complete instructions and diagrams can be found at the following url :
http://quiltmaker.com/patterns/patt77/ Have fun crafting !

Valentine Crow Poke

2007-02-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

Im offering a free pattern for a Valentine Crow Poke at Primitive Times Magazinethis month....its so easy to download there and is completely free..while there check out all the other great patterns and recipes.

Ways to Use Essential Oils

2007-01-31T08:26:00.000-08:00

This site has some wonderful ways to use essential oils and is worth looking at just for the beautiful background picture of the roses Essential Oils Ideas (http://www.herbaltreas.com/EssentialOilsIdeas.html.) Just had to share . Hope you enjoy !

Valentine's Day: Scherenschnitte Art

2007-01-31T08:14:00.000-08:00

Scherenschnitte is the art craft of intricate paper cutting. This art was brought to America in the late 17th century by German and Swiss immigrants fleeing religious persecution. Symbols of faith are common in German Scherenschnitte and are found in the design. This paper-cutting art form was used to convey love messages towards God, as well as by men to express love towards their sweethearts. Many Scherenschnitte cards contained verses or other expressions of love and is the forerunner of today's Valentine's Day card!

To make a Scherenschnitte Valentine Heart

Supplies:
White paper doily
Black paper 8.5"x11"
Red heart of paper

Directions:
Fold doily paper in half, cut a half of a heart design out that will fit onto the front of the folded black paper. Unfold the doily to reveal the whole heart design and mount onto black paper. On the inside of the black paper you can write a Valentine poem or greeting.

Splendid Raspberry Spinach Salad

2007-01-31T07:55:00.000-08:00

Splendid Raspberry Spinach Salad

2 Tablespoons Raspberry Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Raspberry Jam
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
8 Cups Spinach, rinsed, stemmed and torn into pieces.
3/4 Cup coarsely chopped Macadamia nuts or toasted almond slices
1 Cup Fresh Raspberries
3 Kiwis, peeled and sliced

Dressing: Combine vinegar and jam in blender or small bowl. Add oil in thin stream, blending well.

Toss spinach with 1/2 of the nuts, 1/2 of the raspberries, 1/2 of the kiwi's and the dressing.
Top with the remaining ingredients (nuts, raspberries and kiwis.)
Serve immediately.

Valentine Garland

2007-01-30T05:46:00.000-08:00

This has got to be one of the cutest Valentine Patterns Ive seen. It a wonderul garland full of hearts and words LOVE. It even has heart cards of a playing deck...really cute ! Just hope I can find the time to make this one.....would love to surprise Dean with it on Valentines morning.

Heres the url :http://www.countryhome.com/country_projects/valentinedecore_ss_3.html

Hope you have the time to take a look !

Symbols of Love

2007-01-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Symbols Found on Valentines

Ribbons, Laces and Frills
Ribbons and frills have been associated with romance since the days of King Arthur and the Round Table, knights would ride into ballte with a ribbon or scarf given to him by his favorite lady.The word "Lace" comes from a Latin word meaning a “noose” or to "snare". Do you think thats why woman wear lace to snare men. During Victorian times women carried lace handkerchiefs which if she dropped a gentleman might pick up as sign to return to her and thus start a conversation.

Rings
In some countries men and women exchange rings when they become engaged or marry. A ring is a symbol of eternal, never ending. Valentines Day has been traditionally a popular day for giving an engagement ring.

Hearts
To a beloved, there is no symbol as important as the heart. To give someone your heart means to give to him or her one's whole being,. The heart stands for love. Thus a heart, pierced by the cupid's arrow, has become the most famous of the valentine's symbols.

Cupid
Cupid, the mischievous son of the Venus the goddess of Love and is supposedly responsible for people falling in love. According to the myths, anyone being hit by Cupid's arrow falls in love with the first person he/she sees.

Cherubs
Cherubs are descendants of Cupid. They are depicted as lovable little chubby winged creatures.

The Rose
The rose is probably the most popular flower. Roses of different colors have different meanings. The red rose stands for love and passion. White roses are for true love and purity. Yellow roses for friendship. Pink roses for sweetheart while Black roses mean farewell. So choose the color of your roses carefully.

Love Knot
A series of winding and interlacing loops with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of endless lover. People made love knots from ribbons or drew them on paper.

Hands
A lady's hand was a favorite decoration that depicted "femininity." Adding a frilly cuff and a jeweled ring on the third finger enhanced its beauty. Clasped hands represent those of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and were symbols of the friendship between their countries of Germany and England. When a man proposed marriage he “asked for her hand” The hand became a symbol of marriage and lover. Soon gloves also became a symbol of love.

Love Birds and Doves
It was thought that birds chose their mate on February 14.
Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in Africa. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs. Doves were thought to be favorite birds of Venus, they remain with the same mates all their lives. The males a Because these birds are symbols of fidelity, loyalty, and love, they have become the most endearing symbols of the spirit of Valentine's Day.

These symbols of Valentine's Day can be incorporated into many of the crafts we do.

More Love Quotes

2007-01-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

There is no remedy for love but to love more.
-Henry David Thoreau

Never close your lips to those whom you have opened your heart.
-Charles Dickens

May the love you share be as timeless as the tides and as deep as the sea.
-Anonymous

To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.
-Mark Twain

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
-Hellen Keller

Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one.
-John Keats

Hearts are not had as a gift but hearts are earned.
-William Butler Yeats

Love is the mortar that holds the human structure together.
-Karen Casey

He is not a lover who does not love forever.
-Euripides

When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.
-Elizabeth Bowen

Other men said they have seen angels,
But I have seen thee
And thou art enough.
-G. Moore

Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze.
-Elynor Glyn

If you live to be a hundred,
I want to live to be a hundred minus a day
So I don't have to live a day without you.
-Winnie the Pooh

Real love stories never have endings
.-Richard Bach

Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance
. -Oscar Wilde

What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out
.-Elizabeth Bowen

What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us
. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world
Is a woman's heart.
-Josiah G. Holland

Love is not a matter of counting the years ... But making the years count
-Michelle Amand

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.
-Henry Drummond

Love is a look that linketh noble minds,
Faith is the key that shuts the spring of Love.-
Robert Greene

Love and desire are the spirit's wings to great deeds.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

To love is to know the sacrifices which eternity exacts from life.
-John Oliver Hobbes

Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own.
-Swedenborg

Love is a beautiful dream.
-William Sharp

Those who love deeply never grown old; they may die of old age, but they die young.
-Arthur Wing Pinero

We were two and had but one heart.
-Francois Villon

It is better to have loved and lost than never to have lost at all.
-Samuel Butler

I have learned not to worry about love;
But to honor its coming with all my heart.
-Alice Walker

I love you - those three words have my life in them.
-Alexandrea to Nicholas III

I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion.
I have shudder'd at it.
I shudder no more.
I could be martyr'd for my religion.
Love is my religion.
And I could die for that.
I could die for you.
-John Keats

Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience.
Falling in love is not.
-M. Scott Peck

Love vanquishes time.
To lovers, a moment can be eternity, eternity can be the tick of a clock.
-Mary Parrish

Love cures people, the ones who receive love and the ones who give it too
. -Karl A Menninger

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
-David Viscott

It is impossible to repent of love.
The sin of love does not exist.
-Muriel Spark

Quarrels in France strengthen a love affair, in America they end it
-Ned Rorem

Let those love now who never loved before;
Let those who always loved, now love the more.
-Thomas Parnell

Red Hot Valentine"s Day Salad

2007-01-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Red Hot Valentine's Day Salad

Ingredients

6 oz Cherry Jello; (2 Pkgs)
4 oz Red Hots Candy
3 c Boiling Water
20 oz Pineapple, Crushed, Undrained
2 c Applesauce

Directions
Dissolve jello and cinnamon red hots in boiling water; set aside and let cool till room temperature
When jello is cooled, add pineapple and applesauce.
Pour into oiled 8-cup mold.
Chill before serving.

Valentine Quilt

2007-01-23T12:48:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and this is one of the projects I really want to do so have gone through my fabric stash today to see if I have everything I need....well of course I need one more fabric - dont we always !

I love quilts whether they be old and tattered from wear, precious preserved antiques or brand new, there is just something about them that makes me feel good. I especially like handstitched quilts and this is the kind I make. There is just something about all those little stitches nice and neat and in rows. When I look at an old quilt I imagine who made it and all the time they spent, I often wonder what they were thinking about since I tend to daydream when quilting.

This Valentine applique quilt is just 32x32 and perfect to give to someone you love. The four hearts are embroidered with Be Mine and I Love You. These could be adapted to a quilted runner or even used as ornies - wouldnt they be just perfect !

Heres the url for pattern and directions : http://www.quickquilts.com/golden/qg46_pattern/ . If you decide to make it please come back and share with me and Ill try to post pictures of my progress along the way.

Happy Quilting

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

2007-01-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries are so romantic and so tasty ! There is a technique for dipping the perfect strawberry that I would like to share. When you dip the strawberry into the milk chocolate slowly pull it out giving it a little shake this will fill in cracks and leave a nice even line. After withdrawing swirl it in a quick clockwise motion to spin the dripping chocoate. Now invert you hand upward to seal it. With this technique you will have lovely perfectly dipped strawberries every time !

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Ingredients:
24-30 fresh strawberries
6 ounces sweet, semi-sweet, bittersweet,milk or white chocolate ( I prefer chocolate chips they seem to melt the best for me - if you use other chocolate be sure to coarsely chop it)

Directions:

Place chocolate in a microwave safe dish and microwave either at the defrost setting or 10 percent power in 2 minute increments until the chocolate is melted smooth

Dip as described above

Place covered chocolate strawberries on a sheet of wax paper and keep in cool temperature

It is really best to dip the strawberries the same day they are to be eaten !

Valentine Milk Bath Sachets

2007-01-23T06:03:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share these wonderful sachets with you ...this is such a great find ......the recipe and printable graphics are awesome ! And what person doesnt appreciate a little luxury at bath time.

The ingredients found in the recipe are all things found in the kitchen- oatmeal, baking soda, milk powder, and corn starch to which you can add fragrant oils such as lavender, peppermint or rose. You can also add fragrant herbs such as rose petals, lavender and rosemary if you dont mind the little particles floating in the tub. The milk powder makes this water silky rather than greasy like you get with bath oils.

Heres the recipe she gives for the the Oatmeal Milk Bath

Oatmeal Milk Bath Recipe
1 cup corn starch
2 cups milk powder
1/2 cup baking soda (increase if your water is hard)
1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal
Optional1/2 cup dried rose petals, lavender or rosemary, and/or a few drops of matching essential oils

Process oatmeal in the blender until finely ground. Add milk powder and process until well mixed.Pour into a bowl, add corn starch and baking soda, mixing all ingredients very well.

Grind herbs finely with a mortar and pestle, or in the blender, and stir into the powdered mixture.

If desired, add a few drops of essential oil and mix well.

Add three tablespoons (or more, if you like) to your next bath to soothe your soul and soften your skin.

The graphic she shares for the sachets is called "Romantic Ladies" and is really beautiful figuires of Victorian women with 6 different one. These could easily be printed off and made up. Heres the url : http://www.allfreecrafts.com/homemade-gifts/oatmeal-milk-bath.shtml.

These would make wonderful Valentine gifts for any of the women on your list or gifts for any other time of the year such as Mothers Day.

Valentine Quotes

2007-01-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

For you see, each day I love you more
Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.
~Rosemonde Gerard

I claim there ain't
Another Saint
As great as Valentine.
~Ogden Nash

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. ~Author Unknown

A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you.
~Author Unknown

I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. ~Author Unknown

For you see, each day I love you more
Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.
~Rosemonde Gerard

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. ~Author Unknown

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. ~Robert Browning

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place. ~Zora Neale Hurston

Love is not blind -- it simply enables one to see things others fail to see.
~Anonymous

Love is not something you feel. It's something you do.
~David Wilkerson

You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.
~Sam Keen

Valentine Grubby Tags

2007-01-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

Im including my instructions on "How to Make Grubby Tags" here from my crafting blog Two Old Crows Folk Art Tips and Techniques . These could be made up for all your Valentine crafts and as gift tags with Valentine images and red glass glitter.

Some sources for Valentine clip art are :
Karens Whimsy
Susannas Loft

Making Your Own Grubby Tags

Grubby tags are a great addition to any primitive or country project. They can be used as tags on baskets, packages or even as Christmas ornaments too. You can make them as elaborate or as simple as you wish with decorating. The directions below are for the simple basic grubby background to the tag.

Supplies:

3x5 index cards ( You can substitute boughten shipping tags but I like using index cards - they are less expensive and you can make them any shape or size you want.)
3 heaping tablespoons of instant coffee ( the more expensive brands will give you a darker color - if you use a cheaper brand you may want to add more)
1 cup of boiling water
Few drops of vanilla ( I like vanilla for a scent, but do use cinnamon oil at Christmas time...the choice of scents is yours)

Directions:

Cut the index cards into the shape you want and punch a hole in the top ( I have used star shapes, Christmas trees, bells, snowflakes besides the standard tag shapes)

Mix the hot water, instant coffee and vanilla well then apply with a sponge brush to both sides of the tag place on a drying rack to dry ( I use an old window screen but a baking rack will work also)

Let the tags dry thoroughly turning them over a couple of times . If they dry to light you can restain them.

To hurry up this process place them on a cookie sheet in a low temperature oven for a few minutes

If you would like the tags to have a motley effect spray them with a bit of water before completely dry.

Should the tags curl up ( I find this happens more often when I dry them in the oven) press them with a old iron on the cotton setting ( a pressing cloth may be used if you dont have an old iron)

You should also stain the string you use - embroidery thread may also be used as string as well as torn homespun or raffia

Once they are completely dry the fun begins.

Writing should be done with a permanent sharpie marker.
Embellishments such as mica flakes, buttons, rubber stamping, bottle caps, vintage copies of photos, vintage images can all be used. Also like to paint on the tags with acrylics.
If I do more than just write on them I do modge podge them. If the items you add seem to light colored just add some of the staining mixture to them with a q-tip.
Let your imagination and creativity run wild and have fun making tags !

Valentine Heart Necklace

2007-01-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

These are great for kids to take to school !

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
3 drops red food coloring
2 1/4 ounces colored candy sprinkles
60 long red vine licorice

DIRECTIONS
Cream 1 cup butter or margarine and 3/4 cup white sugar together. Blend in egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and grated lemon peel. Sift together 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and blend well. Cover and refrigerate dough for approximately 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a floured heart shaped 1 to 2 inch cookie cutter and cut dough into heart shapes. Place the cut-out hearts on greased cookie sheets.
Using the drinking straw, make a hole at the top center of each heart before baking. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until very lightly browned. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
To Make Butter Frosting: Mix 3 cups confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup butter together. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat until smooth making sure frosting is of spreading consistency. Stir in food coloring to create a pink or red colored frosting, if desired.
After cookies have cooled, frost and decorate them with nonpareils, sprinkles, dragees, or colored sugar. Use a toothpick to dislodge the hole, if necessary. Let the frosting dry.
To make a necklace, tie the ends off of two pieces of red colored licorice with a knot. Thread it through the hole at the top center of the cookie. Tie the other ends off with another knot to create a "chain." Makes approximately 30 heart necklaces.

The History of Valentine

2007-01-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

On February 14th we exchange cards, flowers and gifts with love one all in the name of St. Valentine. But who was Saint Valentine….does anyone really know…the history of St. Valentines Day and its patron saint is a mystery. The Catholic Church is even confused and recognizes at least three different saints with the name Valentine or Valentinus, all who wer martyred.

One legend tells us that Valentine was a priest during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II decided that unmarried men would make better soldiers and therefore outlawed marriage. Valentine feeling this was unfair defied the Emperor and married young lovers in secret. Being found out Emperor Claudius ordered that Valentine but put to death.

Another legend suggest that Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians escape the torture and beating they were subjected to in the Roman prisons

Yet another legend tells us that Valentine actually sent himself the first holiday greeting. Iit is believed that while he was in prison that Valentine fell in love with his jailor's young daughter who often visited him. Before his death it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signing it "From your Valentine"
Although there are many mysteries behind the legend of Valentine he is a romantic figure and since the Middle Ages,