Valentine Gift Card Holders

It is so easy to make custom gift card holders. To make these, I opened up Printshop and pulled up two cute Valentine designs. I used the grid to measure the size I needed and placed the design on the far right. I added names to each one to personalize them.

I printed them off onto white card stock and folded them, leaving the design on the top.

Then I trimmed off the excess.

You can cut slits to place the gift card in if you want to. I just used tape.

Envelopes are easy, too, but that's another post.

Pastel Valentine Tablescape

I decided to go with a pastel color scheme for my Valentine table this year. Though totally unnecessary at a table for four, sometimes I enjoy making place cards because it gives me something else to tie in and coordinate. I printed these onto white card stock with Printshop. I cut striped scrapbook paper into strips and glued them to the bottom of the cards with a glue stick.


As I have mentioned before, I collect Fiesta Ware and I have enjoyed it for many years. It is amazingly versatile. I picked the colors that would match my table, which were pink, blue, yellow and green. I wrapped braided cording around each napkin as a napkin ring. I tied a small knot on the back to hold it.


My centerpiece was simple and edible. The post about it can be found here.

I have a set of conversation heart lights that I purchased at Target several years ago. They are really fun to use. I usually drape them around a window, but this time I used them on the table.

Yes, there is a cord hanging off the table, but it's worth it.

I covered the wire with white tulle.

Now I just have to figure out a Valentine dinner...

Valentines Day is coming!

I have been taking a short break from my postings to revamp my blog a little bit. I plan to post some Valentine ideas soon. Sorry if you have been checking and being disappointed that there has been nothing new. Just give me a few more days! Thank you for checking.

Oven Roasted Cabbage Wedges

My mom was a wonderful cook and taught me all the basics of cooking and baking while I was growing up. I remember that when my mom cooked cabbage, she would always just boil it with onions until it was fully cooked. Yes, times were simpler then.
Cooking trends have changed now and vegetables are often cooked until crisp/tender, using techniques such as steaming and stir frying. This makes them much more flavorful, colorful. and nutritious. One of the newer trends in cooking vegetables is to roast them. I have roasted potatoes many times before, but I hadn't tried cabbage until I found this recipe. It is in the January 2010 issue of Martha Stewart magazine.

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamins K and C, and also a very good source of dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin B6 and folate, as well as several other nutrients. And it is so delicious! I discovered that roasting cabbage brings out the flavor and texture of the cabbage in a way that I had never tasted before.

Oven Roasted Cabbage Wedges

1 head of cabbage, cut into 8 wedges, core intact
olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar (optional)

Preheat oven to 450°. Brush both sides of cabbage wedges with olive oil and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (I used sea salt). Bake for about 15 minutes, remove and flip the wedges over. Bake for about 10 more minutes. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar if desired.

Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges, core intact.

Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place on a greased baking sheet.

After about 15 minutes, flip each wedge over. Return to oven and bake about 10 more minutes.

I served it with rotisserie chicken and mixed wild rice. The cabbage was so good that I could have just eaten it for dinner all by itself. My mom would have loved it, too.

Christmas Gift Toppers and Tags

I am posting more Christmas ideas a little late, but better late than never! This post contains many links that you can enjoy all year. And a reminder, double-clicking will really help you to see these better.

This year I utilized resources from the internet to make gift tags and trimmings more interesting. I downloaded this and other amazing Christmas prints from A Print a Day. I printed this on card stock to use on my pop top can treat project, which was an idea I got from How Does She...

The links for the following tags also came from How Does She... I printed these cute retro tags onto photo paper. They originally came from Orange You Lucky.

These tags came from A Print a Day.

These came from Mushy.

Sometimes if the paper and tag are cute enough, you don't even need a bow.

I made my annual visit to Kmart in late November to check out the Martha Stewart decorations. I went back a couple of times because as it got closer to Christmas, it all went on sale. This year it was a sewing/knitting theme, which was perfect for Amby. This reindeer ornament is a tiny pincushion.

This is an adorable sewing/knitting basket ornament. Another Martha idea was to cut "ribbon" from coordinating wrapping paper, which I did here.

Smith's Variety had an assortment of robot ornaments that I used for Zac and Nathan's gifts.

I LOVE cigar boxes, especially unique ones. Cigar stores sell them for a fair price. Nathan's had a sliding top and Amby's had a tiny metal latch. Nathan's tag was made with scrapbooking implements and I made Amby's with Printshop and printed it onto photo paper.

Anthropologie is always a great source for ornaments. This one doesn't need a tag.

Stickers are always easy.

I like to give adventurous gifts to the grandkitties, who, despite their busy schedules, were able to make it to Birmingham for Christmas. I found this kitty font at dafont.com. It is called CatsAlphabet.
This year they got adjoining cubes. I also got them a crinkle tunnel which Amby later joined in the middle between them. I understand that Sherman has taken over the gift just as he did last year.

Here is Sherman enjoying his new adventure cube.


If you HAVE the time, then I recommend that you take the time to add fun and personal touches to all your gifts, and not just for Christmas!

Warm and Cozy Christmas Tablescape

Happy New Year! I took a much needed break from blogging to spend time with my family and recuperate from our busy Christmas. I hope that you all enjoyed the holiday as much as we did.

We actually celebrated our Christmas on December 28th, so I didn't get to post this table before the 25th. I decided to go ahead and post it late because it would be appropriate to do throughout the winter.

I wanted a "lodgy" feel - rustic and warm. I found these oil lanterns at Kmart. I didn't like the stark black, so I rubbed on some metallic gold acrylic paint with cheesecloth. The only thing I didn't like about the lanterns was the oil I used for them. It was supposed to be unscented but it wasn't. It will be fine for outdoors, though.

This is the before and after:

I used the dishes my dad surprised me with on Thanksgiving of '97. Needless to say, this set of Christmas dishes is very special to me. The silver plate flatware was my grandmother's.

I bought 2 yards of fleece at Hancock to use as my tablecloth. I didn't even finish the edges. Fleece is amazing fabric and so versatile for tablecloths and such. Everyone commented on how soft is was. I used white cotton napkins and twig napkin rings that I've had for several years.

I put votive candles in small glass candle holders inside large Ball jars, then screwed the rims back on them. I alternated the Ball jars with the lanterns and tucked fresh greenery all around it.

This table provided a perfect setting for the wonderful Christmas dinner I had with my family.