Be My Valentine

Another holiday, which means...PARTY FRENZY.  Now, it doesn't have to be like that, but I romanticize every holiday.  It's going to be creative, it's going to be fun...and there is that, but it is stressful too.  Why can't I just buy store bought cards for the teachers and kids and call it good?  Well, actually, I DID, and then here's what happened.  This folks, is the story of my life.
When I was in California I saw these super cute old fashioned cards.  There were 15 in a pack and I thought, hey, that will be different, and definitely my style. Yeah, OK, so I get home and Samuel's teacher tells me they are going to combine 2 classes....so I am 8 cards short.  So what do I do?  Do I order more 'cuz I have plenty of time?  No, I wait until the last minute, even though I had the idea in mind for weeks, and make these.

I went to google images and typed in something like "vintage valentine's" and then cut and past them into a document, then printed them off onto heavy card stock (which I wished I had used glossy, but oh well), cut them out and bought envelopes to fit.  Sounds easy, and for the most part is.  Just a bit of running around for supplies because the scrapbook supplier store in town here keeps weird hours.  I guess you can do that in a small town.

Then their was the "treat" to go with the cards.  While everyone else is giving dum dum's, which my kids love, no, I have to BAKE cookies.  This, I also knew for WEEKS.  I could have baked one day and froze them to save myself time and stress.  Did I do that?  No.  I did them the day before.

The Sugar Cookie Icing really makes these cookies, they come dry to a nice sheen, like you see in pastry shops.  I used vanilla extract instead of almond, as it reminds me of almond paste, which I am not fond of.  You will need to at least triple this recipe for 30 cookies, as it will take more than one coat, at least if you are using a paint brush, which I did, which I am sure was the hard way to do it.  These are the little lovelies...

Oat Flour Sugar Cookies

This recipe says it makes 60 cookies.  Uh, no.  And you will see my comment to that effect on the review.  These made 30.  I didn't feel like mixing another batch, so instead, I refused to let the kids lick the bowl or eat any because I wouldn't have enough.  Doesn't that sound sweet?  I also wouldn't let my son ice them because again, not enough to "make a mess", as I am anal about presentation and just couldn't "let it go".  Yet another lovely memory maker with my kids.  Yup.

 Chocolate Cut Out Cookies

Then I decide, after being such a pill, that I would cook up a different batch with chocolate.  Follow all suggestions here, especially mixing confection sugar and cocoa, as it is like rolling out cold fudge.  But it was easy with the dusting "powder".  Now this recipe made quite a bit, not sure if it was 60, probably about 50?  And again, triple the icing.  For one icing recipe, use scant drop of red, a little goes a LONG way, as the first batch was a sickly pink, more like Pepto-Bismol.  I also put 2 coats of icing on these and let the kids eat as many as they wanted.  But still wouldn't let them decorate! Let it GO Kris!

All of this was not really an original idea, I was inspired by another blog I follow and she makes everything seem very effortless and is a much more hand on mom.  Though I did do it more her way last year and let them color.  This year, too crunched for time to be June Cleaver.  Maybe St. Patrick's Day...