valentines day the martha stewart way

Take it from the queen of home & garden for this holiday devoted to love. If you’re looking to make something sweet for your sweetie or what extra special valentines for your kids to give out at school then take a few tips from the master. Take a “happy hour” this week to prepare for the upcoming holiday. Tried and true Martha Stewart and her crew have done it all! Crafts, recipes, desserts, valentines, gifts with the most special attention to detail.

Happy Valentines Day Happy Hour Mommies! xoxox

Crayon Hearts

If the sun seems to peer right into your window, give it something pretty to look at — and through. These translucent hanging hearts are easy to make from waxed paper and crayons. In return, sunbeams will color your room with cheer. Begin with a 12-by-16-inch sheet of waxed paper. Fold it in half along its length; unfold. Deposit wax-crayon shavings (made with a handheld pencil sharpener) evenly but not thickly across one half of the paper. Fold the clean half of the paper over the shavings. Crimp the three open edges with a 1/2-inch fold to hold the shavings. Protect your ironing surface with kraft paper. Place the waxed paper on the kraft paper, and cover it with another sheet of kraft paper. Iron lightly on medium heat, checking after every few passes. Stop when all the shavings have melted; let cool. Next, trace and cut out hearts of various sizes. String each heart with a silk thread for hanging.

Heart-shaped Soap

Stamped soaps, inspired by candy conversation hearts, are great gifts for friends. Put in cellophane bags tied with tags; adorn with glitter.

Tools and Materials
Nonstick 9-inch square pan
Heart-shape cookie cutter
Glass measuring cup
Glycerin soap
Bench scraper
Soap colorant or food coloring
Spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol
Cutting board
Needlenose pliers
1/8-inch metal letter stamps
Masking tape

Heart-Shaped Soap How-To
We used a 2-inch cookie cutter (1 inch high) and 2 1/2 pounds of glycerin soap-sold at crafts stores-to make 16 hearts.

1. Depending on your equipment, yields may vary. To determine how much glycerin you’ll need, fill pan with water to 1/4 inch below height of cookie cutter; pour water into measuring cup. Record amount; discard water.

2. Cut soap into small pieces with bench scraper; fill measuring cup. Microwave on medium heat until melted; stir. Add soap and heat until you’ve reached the water amount. Add colorant; stir. Pour liquid into pan. Spray with alcohol to eliminate bubbles.

3. Let harden at room temperature, 2 hours. Freeze 10 minutes.

4. Turn upside down onto cutting board. Create soaps with cookie cutter; pull cutter out with pliers if it sticks. Tape stamps together to form words, and imprint on soap, applying light, even pressure.

Sweet Spot Hearts

Snip candy hearts for an entire class in a snap. To make, cut a heart from a strip of candy dots, and glue it to a piece of construction paper. With scalloping scissors, cut construction paper to create a border around the heart.

Valentines Day treat Packages

To make these custom treat packages, cut out a picture of your child, scan it, and print onto heavyweight matte paper. Cut tags using pinking shears for the bottom edges, draw hearts, and stamp or write a message on each one. Fold the tags and tape them to cellophane bags filled with sweets.

Cinnamon Candy Cider

Here’s a potion kids are sure to love. Among the ingredients are cinnamon candies that give it zing. Stir 1 quart apple cider and 1/4 cup hard cinnamon candies in a medium saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, until heated through and candies have melted completely, about 8 minutes. Serve warm.

White-Chocolate Spheres Filled with chocolate Mousse

Serves 4

• 1 pound white chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red cocoa butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon white cocoa butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• Chocolate Mousse
• 8 Poached Quince Balls
• 12 heart-shaped Cocoa Nib Tuiles

Directions

1. Place 2/3 of the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan with 1 to 2 inches of water to a simmer; turn off. Set bowl of chocolate over saucepan; melt. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until it reaches 118 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove bowl from saucepan; add remaining 1/3 chocolate to melted chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until melted chocolate cools to 84 degrees; remove unmelted pieces. Place bowl over pan; stir until thermometer reaches 88 degrees to 90 degrees.
2. Using a very small pastry brush, brush a streak of red cocoa butter on each half of four 2-part 2 1/2-inch sphere-shaped molds. Repeat process with white cocoa butter. Using a larger pastry brush, brush entire mold with chocolate. Transfer mold to freezer until chocolate is firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully remove chocolate from molds, and place the bottom half of each mold onto a plate.
3. Fill a disposable pastry bag with mousse; cut tip off bag. Pipe mousse into the bottom half of each chocolate mold. Add 2 quince balls to mold and top with a tuile.
4. Working with one chocolate mold at a time, hold the top half of the mold, bottom side down, over a warm surface to soften slightly, about 10 seconds. Top bottom half of chocolate molds with top halves.
5. Pipe two small dots of mousse on the top of each mold; attach a heart tuile to each. Heat poaching liquid from quince and drizzle over chocolate molds; serve immediately.

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