February 3, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} A Recap

Hi friends! Did you follow along with our fun 14 Days of Valentines series? We had quite a few fun guest posts as well as great projects from A Night Owl Contributors! If you missed any, I’m doing a quick recap for you today…and to remind you that to cap off the series we have a FUN giveaway going on from DecoArt! Be sure to stop by and enter to win!

Now here are the links to our 14 Days of Valentines Projects, Recipes and Posts! Enjoy!

What to Wear on Valentines – Through the Eyes of the Mrs	Sweetheart Fudge – Pink Cake Plate	Arrow Wreath – Illi Style	Cool Kids Valentine’s Day Printables – Just Us Three
Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes – Life According to the Streets	I’m Wild About You Valentines – Adventures of Brad & Kendra	Chocolate Dipped Spoons – Growing Up Gabel	Cherry & Vanilla Shake – Glued to My Crafts
Children’s Valentine’s Day Painting – Songbirds & Buttons	Easy Framed Heart Wreath	Valentine’s Day Goodie Bag – The Lemonade Diaries	Framed Valentine’s Dry Erase Love Note – Flecky Fotography
Shot Through the Heart Treat Bags – Life According to the Streets	DecoArt Valentine’s Day Chalkboard

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Posted by Kimberly · 1 Comment

Filed Under: Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

February 1, 2013

DecoArt Valentine’s Day Chalkboard + Giveaway

Hi friends! Have I got a treat for you today! First, I’m going to share with you a cute and easy Valentine’s Day project but make sure you stick around til the end because we also have a FUN giveaway from DecoArt! Now you know I love using DecoArt products; I’ve shared a number of projects including our Baker’s Delight Gift Basket, Snow-Capped Christmas Ornament, and these cute Valentines Vases with DecoArt Gloss Enamels! But there is one product that I’ve been drooling over lately, and that’s the DecoArt Clear Chalkboard Coating! That’s right, a paint that can turn ANY surface into a chalkboard! Oh my! I love a good chalkboard. You can never have too many and I can’t tell you how many surfaces in our home that I’ve turned into chalkboards. So this product makes me giddy!

For this project I wanted to make a fun Valentine’s Day Messageboard to write sweet notes to my boys. While I was shopping at my happy place, yes Target, I came across these FUN placemats! They’re black but had such a fun geometric design! I knew they would be perfect for our note station. Want to make one?

What you’ll need:

Placemat
DecoArt Clear Chalkboard Coating
Chalk
Foam hearts
Removable mounting squares

And the steps:

Paint thin layers of the DecoArt Clear Chalkboard Coating on the placemat and foam hearts, waiting an hour between coats. I used just two coats and felt that I had good coverage.
Wait 24 hours to allow the paint to cure.
Prime the chalkboard surfaces with chalk.
Wipe off and write your fun love messages!
Mount the placemat to the wall with removable mounting squares.
Add foam hearts (they’re mini chalkboards too!) with mounting squares around the chalkboard. And you’re done!

And here’s how it turned out…

I love that this is right by our entryway from our garage. It’s probably one of the highest traffic areas, so my boys are sure to see the sweet messages each day!

Cute, right? And it works perfectly. JUST like a real chalkboard. Oh yes, now the wheels are spinning! I have a feeling this fabulous product will appear on many surfaces and in many projects in the future! You MUST give it a try! Now this pretty project concludes our 14 Days of Valentines series! I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing from all our different guests! If you missed some of the days, be sure to go back and take a look!

But now I bet you’re ready for the giveaway, right? Well here you go! Enter for you chance to win this amazing DecoArt Valentine’s Prize Pack via the Rafflecopter form below! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and over and ends at 11:59pm EST on February 8, 2013. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. Number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Approximate retail value is $30.00. One winner will be selected. All liabilities and responsibilities with product is directly responsible by DecoArt. Winner will be drawn by random.org from all verified entries, contacted by email provided, and announced on this page at the end of the contest. Winner has 48 hours to respond or prize will be redrawn. Entrant is responsible for the email address they provide, whether through typing it directly or through the Facebook entry method. A Night Owl is not responsible for lost or misdirected emails. All prizes will be awarded. No prize substitutions allowed. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook and we hereby release Facebook of any liability. Information is provided to A Night Owl, not to Facebook and your information is never sold or shared. Facebook is not a sponsor of this giveaway. DecoArt is a sponsor of this giveaway. Prize is awarded directly by DecoArt and requires confirmation of delivery. Protected tweets do not count as an entry method for tweeting. Tweets must come from a public account. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Listed at Blog Giveaway Directory.

Posted by Kimberly · 122 Comments

Filed Under: Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines, DecoArt

January 31, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Shot Through the Heart Treat Bags

Hi everyone, A Night Owl Blog contributor Jen here again! Did you catch my earlier post in the 14 day’s of Valentine’s Day series where I shared my Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcakes? If not, you should check them out, they’re sure to please the man in your life! Today, I’m going to share with you a fun Valentine’s day treat bag with washi tape and straws! These bags would be great to use for your children’s lunch on Valentine’s Day or to send a whole bunch with treats for the class party!

What you’ll need:

lunch bag/kraft bag
straw
washi tape
scissors
hole punch

And the steps:

Start by folding the flap forward and hole-punching two holes towards the center of the bag. (I used scissors because I couldn’t find my hole punch and trimmed the edges of the holes for a finished look)
Open the bag, add your treats and then re-close your bag.
Take your straw and starting from the back of the bag lace your straw so the ends of the straw are on the front.
Trim the edges of the straw so they aren’t longer then your bag’s length.
Next cut a length of washi tape in half length-wise, add to one end of the straw spaced out.
For the arrow portion, use two pieces of washi that are the same length and overlap them a bit to make a square of tape. Next, cut each side at an angle to make an arrow point and add to the other side of the straw.
And waaah laaah, you have a cute lunch sack that looks like it’s been shot through the heart, hehe!

Washi tape and straw arrow tutorial { anightowlblog.com } #valentines #washi

I was really enjoying the simple look but thought it would be fun to add a Cool Kids Valentine’s Day card because they’re so darn cute!

Craft a cute arrow with washi tape and a straw to make these adorable Shot Through the Heart Treat Bags { anightowlblog.com } #valentines #washi

You could even have the children draw on the bags before assembling and address then to their class mates for a personalized touch! I hope you enjoyed this simple yet fun washi tape arrow Valentine’s fun!

Jen of Life According to the Streets is a contributor for A Night Owl.

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Posted by Kimberly · 4 Comments

Filed Under: Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 30, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Framed Valentine’s Dry Erase Love Note

Hello friends, I’m Jessica of Flecky Fotography and today I’m sharing with you a cute way to let your man know you are crazy for him! Valentine’s Day is supposed to be extra cheesy, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate “cheesy” ways to say “I Love You.” It’s dry erase, so you could use this daily. I’m using mine February 1st through Valentine’s Day!

What you’ll need:

Printable
5×7 Desk Frame
Dry Erase Marker

To download the printable, simply right-click and save this image:

And the steps:

Simply print and frame the printable and use the Dry Erase marker to mark your love message of the day!

If you don’t have a color printer at home, feel free to send your printable to a local printer like Costco or Walmart. Make sure you select “matte” or “lustre” finish. Order the print in a 5×7.

What do you think? How cute and fun is this? Hope this makes your man blush!

XO, Jessica

Jessica of Flecky Photography is a contributor for A Night Owl.

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Posted by Kimberly · 12 Comments

Filed Under: Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 29, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Valentine’s Day Goodie Bag

Hello friends! I’m Monique from The Lemonade Diaries! Today I am sharing with you one of my favorite little craft projects and a great Valentine’s Day gift – the easy peasy Goodie Bag! I first learned how to make these adorable favor bags back in high school. And I have loved them ever since. They are absolutely perfect little Valentine Goodie Bags.

What you’ll need:

Envelopes, any color, any size
Glue stick
Scissors
Washi tape, stamps, anything you want to decorate your bag

And the steps:

Begin by sealing your envelope completely. Then, decorate the outside of the envelope any way you like. Keep in mind you will be folding in the sides and the bottom of the envelop about 1/2 inch.
Using scissors, cut an inch off the top, depending how tall you would like your bag to be.
Fold each side in about 1/2 inch. Flip the envelope over, and along the same crease old again. Finally, fold the bottom up about 1/2 inch. Flip the envelope over and along the same crease, fold again.
Now slip your hand in the envelope and push in the middle crease on all the folds to form the sides and bottom.
Glue or tape the bottom corners in to strengthen the bottom of the bag.

Finally, stuff your little bag with Valentine goodies.

So, what do you think? Fun-right?! The best part of this DIY is that you can make small bags or tall bags, it all depends on the envelope you use.

Happy crafting!

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Posted by Kimberly · 3 Comments

Filed Under: Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 28, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Easy Framed Heart Wreath

Hi friends! Have you been having fun following along with the 14 Days of Valentines series? It’s been so much fun to have some of our sponsors and friends share some lovely Valentine’s Day ideas! Today I’m sharing with you an cute and easy Valentines Framed Heart Wreath! You may recognize a good portion of this frame wreath from our Rustic Christmas Wreath! Yep, it’s the same set-up, which made it so easy to change out for Valentines. I think I may leave this frame up all year long and continue to find ways to update it for each season. Now won’t that be fun?

What you’ll need:

Ready Made Frame (open wooden frame)
Twine
Thumbtacks
Burlap Ribbon
Valentines-related ornaments

And the steps:

I cut a length of burlap ribbon to hang the frame from and used a thumbtack to tack it to the back of the open wooden frame to hold it in place.
I tied two lengths of twine to the heart-shaped ornaments.
I tied a knot at the other end of the twine (to keep it from fraying), then simply used three thumbtacks to tack the ornament on twine to the back of the frame so that they hung from the center of the frame.
And you’re done! Now these pictures show the steps from our Rustic Christmas Wreath, but you can still get the visual and all I did was remove one of the twine lengths and replaced the Christmas ornaments with the heart-shaped ones!

And here’s how this one turned out…

Soooo cute, right? It’s simple, understated, and I love it! I actually picked up those heart ornaments from Target from their Christmas clearance – for 70% off! But they just screamed Valentine’s Day to me, so I knew I could put them to good use. And they’re just perfect here. What do you think?

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Posted by Kimberly · 14 Comments

Filed Under: Valentines, Wreath · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 27, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Children’s Valentine’s Day Painting

Hi friends! My name is Kendall and I blog over at Songbirds and Buttons! Today I am sharing with you an easy and fun Valentine’s Day Painting that you can do with your little one! We are making them this year as gifts I love the holidays, I love decorating, but most of all I love doing craft projects with my son, Wyatt. This is the first time that we’ve done this project – but it definitely won’t be the last!

What you’ll need:

Canvas
Paint brush
Sponge Brush
3 different paint colors
sharpie marker

And the steps:

Use your sponge brush to paint the background of your canvas. (You can use a regular brush if you’d like – but the sponge brush is faster).
Let canvas dry for an hour.
Fold a piece of craft paper in half, cut out a heart, and then use washi tape to adhere the paper to your canvas. Washi tape doesn’t stick – and I try to use what I have for projects.
Use your second color to paint inside of your cutout – it helps if you have a little one to do some of the muscle work
Peel the paper cutout off of your canvas to reveal a beautiful heart!
Use your third paint to let your little one have some fun! Let them put their hands in it and play around – then – when they’re ready – help them to press their hand on the canvas in the center of the heart.
Write a special message – or just their name and the date so you’ll always remember.

And here’s how it turned out…

So, what do you think? Cute – right? If you end up making this project with your little one(s) – please make sure to share a photo with us!

xo,blog :: facebook :: twitter :: instagram

Posted by Kimberly · 4 Comments

Filed Under: Family, Kids, Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 26, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Cherry & Vanilla Shake

Hello everyone! I’m Stacey and I blog over at Glued To My Crafts. I’m pretty excited to be guest posting today at A Night Owl. Let me start off with introducing myself. I’m a mother to a nearly two year old boy (yikes his birthday is next weekend) who keeps me on my toes and inspires a lot of my posts. I’m also a wife to a wonderful man serving in the Air Force for 12 years now. I’m a girly-girl who loves cooking, crafting and inspiring. Ok, the last one is more of a “I hope I inspire you.” My blog is mainly about life experiences, recipes and craft creations. Everything I post can we be recreated with simple, everyday items you probably already have in your house. Even though I’m a shopaholic, I’m all about saving money and using what you have on hand. I don’t spend a lot to be crafty, and neither should you.

So let’s get down to business, shall we? Today I’m sharing with you my Cherry & Vanilla Shake recipe. I don’t know about you, but I love cherries. The price for them scares me at time, but it’s my spurge food. I remember picking cherries in my grandma’s garden growing up. I think that’s why I’m such a sucker for cherries. They bring back some good memories.

And did you know February is National Cherry Month? So not only is this recipe great for Valentine’s day, you can also whip it up in honor of National Cherry Month. PLUS, the items? Simple, ingredients! This isn’t going to break the bank or your waist line. I hope you get inspired to try it and love it as much as we do.

Cherry & Vanilla Shake

Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Stacey @ Glued to My Crafts

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1½ cups frozen, pitted cherries
1¼ cups milk
3 Tbsp sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 pinch of salt
1 cup ice

Instructions

Throw all the above items in to a blender.
Blend until completely mixed & smooth.
Serve with whipped cream on top.

Enjoy!

post signature

For more inspiration and to get to know me better, please check out my social media sites:

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Posted by Kimberly · 5 Comments

Filed Under: Recipes, Uncategorized, Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 25, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Chocolate Dipped Spoons

Hello! I’m Camille and I blog at Growing Up Gabel about recipes, crafts, and … more food! I’m so excited to be here today to share an easy food inspired Valentine’s Day craft that anyone can make and everyone loves!

Since we’re focusing on Valentine’s Day, I had to share something to do with chocolate! Chocolate dipped spoons are a simple food craft that make adorable Valentine’s Day gifts because (almost) everyone loves chocolate. My kids love to use these spoons in hot chocolate and I love them in my coffee.

What You’ll Need:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
6 plastic spoons
Assorted candies or other toppings

And The Steps:

First, set out your spoons on some wax or parchment paper. Put your candy and toppings in small bowls for easy access. It’s best to get this all set up so you can use your chocolate as soon as it’s melted.

Next, melt the chocolate chips. You can do this in the microwave, over a double broiler or in a Little Dipper Crock Pot, like I did. Just throw the chips in and stir every 5-10 minutes until the chocolate chips are melted.

Once chocolate is melted, use a spatula to spread the chocolate over the spoons. The first few spoons I covered completely with chocolate, but I found that I preferred to just do the front of the spoons as you can see in the photo above. This used less chocolate and was less messy, but either way is fine! It’s up to you.

While chocolate is still wet, add your candy or toppings. I used a crushed candy cane, ice cream cone shaped marshmallows and Valentine M&Ms (because chocolate on top of chocolate is better than just plain chocolate!). Coffee beans might be fun for a coffee drinker. My kids really wanted sprinkles or jimmies.

Let the spoons rest on the parchment paper to dry. It will take a few hours, at least. I live in a dry climate so it didn’t take long, but it may take longer if it’s humid. The spoons do not need to be refrigerated. Mine are being stored in a plastic storage bag in my pantry until Valentine’s Day.

Finally, package the chocolate spoons in a pretty Valentine’s Day bag with some ribbon, attach a card and hand out with abandon!

Camille Gabel lives in Las Vegas, NV with her husband and two children. When Camille isn’t dipping plastic kitchen utensils in to chocolate she enjoys homeschooling her children, reading and knitting. You can connect with Camille through her blog Growing Up Gabel on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

Posted by Kimberly · 10 Comments

Filed Under: Recipes, Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 24, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} I’m Wild About You Valentines

Hi, I’m Kendra from Adventures of Brad & Kendra. I’m an Electrical Engineer engaging my creative side through my blog and Etsy shop. My husband and I live in the Seattle area with our two cats and two dogs.

Are you looking for Valentine’s Gifts, especially ones that don’t include candy? I have a few ideas, and corresponding printables to share with you today.

Gift #1

All throughout Pinterest, spraypainted toy animals seem to be all the rage. I took the idea and adapted it to become a keychain.

Items Needed:

Plastic Toys – Available at dollar store or Goodwill
Screw Eyes
Key Chain Ring
Spray Paint

Total Cost: ~ $0.40 each

Making these keychains are incredibly easy. The screw eyes simply screw into the back of the animal. The plastic can be a bit hard to start so the easiest way to screw it in is to hold the eye with pliars as you push it in and twist. After the screw eye is installed, spray paint it whatever color suits your fancy! I chose to do this one in gold, but I think that hot pink or green would have also been fun to do. It does take a few coats to cover the animals since they have all sort of nooks & crannies so be patient and do light coats.

Gift #2

Why not spraypaint other items? The idea below is to make bobby pins more exciting and become more of an accessory and less of something you try to hide.

Bobby pins are cheap and are easily found for around $2 for a large pack. To spraypaint these, make sure that none of them are touching then go over in light coats. If the pins are touching when painted, they will stick together and the paint can chip when pulled apart.

To wrap, place on a cardboard cutout to showoff your hard spraypainting work! I have the one below on a rectangle but it would be super cute on a heart for this holiday.

Gift #3

Another great gift for girls would be fold over elastic hairties. I have seen some great Valentine’s Day patterns including hearts and chevron. These could be wrapped up in a small cellophane bag or takeout container. If you are looking for some, and don’t want to make your own, I would love to help you out through my Etsy shop – Simply {Darr}ling. Here are some samples of Valentine elastic I have seen.

I’ve included this fun printable correlating to all of these gifts. I hope you enjoy them and give you inspiration for Valentine’s Day!

Follow along with my adventures:

Blog, Etsy, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest

Posted by Kimberly · Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 23, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

Hi everyone, it’s Jen, A Night Owl Contributor and resident cupcake baker! Did you know you can also keep up with the going-ons of my crazy little life at Life According to the Streets? Anyhow, sorry I missed you all last month but I’m back to share with you this months reci-tweak!

Is it just me or are the men in our lives hard to buy for? I have the hardest time figuring out what to do/make for my husband…especially for Valentines Day! So I decided to dedicate this cupcake post to the men in our lives! I think it’s a scientific fact that all men love bacon! At least every man I know does. So I thought with all the bacon infused treats out there lately that I would give in to the fad and give it a try as well!

Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes

Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Jen Street

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 24

A delectable combination of dark chocolate and bacon make these cupcakes to die for!

Ingredients

1 box dark chocolate cake mix
Ingredients according to package directions
4-6 thick slices of bacon, crumbled
Vanilla frosting
Pecans, chopped (optional)

Instructions

Mix cake mix according to package directions (or with beer instead of water)
Add ¾ of the crumbled bacon
Cook according to package
Once cooled, add frosting and sprinkle the remaining bacon and chopped pecans

Another fun twist that we enjoyed was using stout beer in place of the water. The alcohol cooks out and I felt like it made the cake such a nice texture. Well I hope you give this tasty recipe a try! The man in your life will surely appreciate you making him this salty/sweet treat!

Jen of Life According to the Streets is a contributor for A Night Owl.

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Posted by Jen S · 10 Comments

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Late Night Snack, Recipes · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines, Cupcakes

January 22, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Cool Kids Valentine’s Day Printables

I bet you know some pretty cool kids that you need to give gifts to for Valentine’s Day! I do too and designed something fun just for them….some cool kids with manners. Hehe! These guys are super modern and define cool by sporting some of the latest kid trends. I thought these cards would pop and so obviously needed to be attached to some delicious popcorn over the typical Valentine’s candies. As you can see one little girl COULD NOT keep her hands off the stuff! Hope you enjoy your free cool kids that Kimberly selected and for the the full crew please visit the Just Us Three Design Etsy shop!

To put it all together, here’s what you’ll need:

Popcorn filler
Recollection pattern bags
Smashbox washi tape
Colored staples
Fab Cool Kids V-day Printable Card

And here’s how cute they turn out!

A sure kid-pleaser, right? Ok now for the real fun – goodies for you!

Download your FREE set of printables HERE!

And if you LOVE what you see and want the FULL set, you can purchase the digital file (print as many copies as you’d like) HERE!

Hope you enjoy and share some Cool Kids this Valentine’s Day!

Rachel of Just Us Three Designs and Harding Family Happenings is a contributor for A Night Owl.

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Posted by Rachel H · 28 Comments

Filed Under: Printables, Valentines · Tagged With: 14 Days of Valentines

January 21, 2013

{14 Days of Valentines} Arrow Wreath

Happy Monday all you Night Owls!

I am April, I’m a pastor’s wife, mom, artist, interior design firm administrator,
wine taster, crafter, and generally fun girl. I craft/create/share over at illistyle.

I am so excited Kimberly invited me to share this fun craft with you today: