Pepper Design Blog

Liv’s ‘Bag of Kisses’ Valentine’s Day Project

***Congrats to Ashley D. on winning the $100 Minted.com giveaway!! Thank you to everyone who entered***

Liv and I made little Valentine’s Day treat bags for her grandparents and great grandparents (they were inspired by this version we made last year for Mother’s Day with drawings by Liv and taffy), and this time around we filled the little clear bags with Hershey’s kisses to officially send ‘Bags of Kisses’ through the mail.

BUT, before I share this super easy and customizable candy bag, I have to share that we had our little gender reveal party yesterday and it was so much fun! So neat to experience the awesome surprise of what we’re having with everyone at the same time!! Caught it on camera so I can share the surprise with you all. But you have to wait just one more day or two while I edit the video! So sorry for the suspense… let me just say I was totally caught off guard!

Okay… back to the cute little baggies .

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‘Bag of Kisses’ Treat Bags

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Materials: pretty paper, clear treat bags (almost any size will work – I used 5×7 bags for this project and 4×6 bags for today’s project), an optional photo or image for the bag, Hershey’s kisses, paper cutter, glue/stapler 

A very quick and simple project to assemble.

First up was Liv’s Valentine’s Day photo shoot! I actually caught Liv on a day that she was wearing her little tutu (as a ‘ballerina’ – which rarely happens) and handed her a construction paper heart to play with (I made two which turned out to be the smartest plan because the first was crinkled and torn before I had even pulled out my camera).

Then we shot away!

500 pictures later (in about 45 seconds) and Liv was smiling and standing and carrying the heart in the same photo. I love that middle shot – I always have to take a ton, but it’s always worth it.

Actually this might be my favorite:

We turned it into the little card that we’d send out with the bags:

Ahhh and here’s Liv last Valentine’s Day! One year makes a huge difference.

After processing the photos, I ended up cropping both the bag and photo to make the finished bags just a little smaller.

Then into the bag went a handful of kisses and on the top of the bag a cut rectangle of a pretty paper (from the scrapbooking aisle) that was folded in half. You could easily staple the top directly onto the clear bag as well, but I tried something new for a seamless look this time around with glue.

Finished!

I couldn’t decide on which pose I loved best, so I made several of each:

Here’s the entire project in one quick collage:

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This is a favorite and easy project in our house, we’ve made them for Mother’s Day (which I referenced above here) but you could use them for parties (they make great favor ‘thank you’ bags) or as treats for school. You could really add any image (be it a favorite photo, paper, fabric square, etc) as the backdrop or even leave it blank as a clear bag. Use a solid piece of paper at the top to include a little message, too! And we’ve also filled these with miscellaneous goodies such as confetti or glitter just for added fun.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Here’s a quick link to search by all heart-day related posts.

A Thank You Post!

Happy Friday! And soon to be weekend (so ready for the weekend). We are hosting a gender reveal party this Sunday for our little Baby Spenla (we went in for our 20 week ultrasound Tuesday and asked the technician to seal up the gender in an envelope) and we can’t wait! By the way, did you catch that? Our 20 week appointment! I can’t believe we’re half way there!!

I am starting a new little ‘thank you’ series that highlights the very special people that keep this blog going. Blogging is a passion and sharing our creative living is something that I would continue to do if PDB had just one reader and we didn’t make a penny from it. But it is these folks that I am especially grateful to for helping to keep the blog ‘lights’ on. I hope that you’ll visit PDB’s sponsors if you have the chance!

First up, I’d like to welcome three new sponsors to our family!

Welcome, Fabric Warehouse Direct! FWD is a discount online fabric boutique that offers first quality, brand-name upholstery, drapery and wallpaper that are closeouts so their prices are more than 50% off retail prices! You might recognize names like: Kravet, Brunschwg & Fils, Lee Jofa, Ralph Lauren, Gaston Y Daniela, Titley Marr, Osborne + Little etc. PS you can get in on bigger savings by becoming a FB fan of theirs.

I am so happy to welcome Minted to our team as well. Their beautifully designed invitations, art prints, business cards and party decor are so fun to browse through. I am loving this save-the-date which I might pair with this wedding invite and this Valentine’s-inspired artwork. Mmmm.

I have a secret to share with you… post-freshman year of college I lost 25 pounds through diet and exercise (I was a super active teen, but that freshman 15 is for real) and I believe healthy living should be a part of everyone’s life.

I happen to know Barb (our third newest sponsor this month) through a Women in Business group here in San Diego and she is spreading the good news about health as well. Barb is passionate about helping people enjoy better health, live in a healthy home and preserve a healthy world! She has lost 30 pounds (and counting) with Shaklee (you can read more about her story here). Shaklee is a company which produces products that are as natural as humanly possible.

If you guys have been following this blog for the last couple of years then you know that Lowe’s has had our back through a bathroom renovation and side yard transformation. Thank you to our favorite home improvement store for helping to make these projects happen with select products and advice, and for supporting us along the way! PS Lately we’ve been participating in their $50 and Change program – see our first project here and the second is soon to come!

Olympic delivers high quality paint and excellent advice to DIYers all over. We are thrilled to join forces with Olympic and share their magic through painting projects over here on the blog as well! Check out this Ultimate Painting Cheat Sheet – one of my new favorite resources!

Tiny Prints has sponsored our blog (and our Christmas cards!) for almost three years now. They are awesome to work with and their selection is fantastic. A few of my favorites? This sweet confetti card, this birth announcement (we used the pink version for Liv 2 years ago) and this vintage-esq wedding invite. PS get 20% off Valentine’s invites and cards with code: 20FEBVAL

Cards Direct is another long time supporter of PDB and we are so happy to include them in this round up. They offer seasonal, business and pretty photo cards – this Valentine’s Day card being one of my favorites that I featured above! I love the classic design. And I might gift this card, or frame it!

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Thank you to all of the sponsors behind PDB. It’s my goal to be as transparent as possible about the companies that partner with us to bring brand awareness to their products and I hope that these posts will help to do that. And of course my main goal is to honor sponsors for the support that they are!

Love = Heart Shaped Artwork

I mentioned on Monday that I’m on the hunt for new artwork for the home. Art is such a great way to add a pop of color to a space and to bring a little personality to a room! And our home could use more of it.

It’s fitting that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner because one such style of art that has caught my eye over and over again (from that initial four heart Lonny print below to the modern paper craft versions that were very popular last year) is a solo heart shape.

Inspiration 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Shoot, even pillows are all the rage:

Determined that I could create a solo heart painting myself without spending a fortune, I dug up some canvas paper from a giant sketch pad of Kevin’s (left over from one of his architecture classes) and my watercolors.

Instant bookcase update! The pop of pink is a great color addition against a dark espresso bookcase.

One of my favorite bookcase styling tips is to use art as a backdrop to add a ‘tall’ component to shorter decorating elements such as stacks of books, figurines, family photos, bowls and other featured knick knacks. It also detracts from a monochromatic bookcase and helps to add unexpected color.

Wish I had a straight on photo but there was a horrible glare while snapping these quick shots.

The frame is from Aaron Brothers (probably picked up during one of their penny sales) and used to house a remnant piece of brown and white fabric. I love the pink color, but I also really dig how the white helps to ‘brighten’ a pretty dark spot.

Here’s a picture from Christmas that gives a little glimpse of the matted remnant fabric (also an easy and inexpensive art idea).

When it came to painting this guy I began with a simple and soft pink heart and then began to add contrast and brush strokes until it felt right. The finished result is organic with obvious brush strokes and bits of yellow, red, coral and pink.

Plus, you can’t beat free art . Though I’m sure there are Etsy finds out there for anyone who wants to make heart art easy peasy!

Pink! It’s here to stay and it’s my new best decorating friend.

PS All living room makeover posts can be found right here. It’s been a long journey!