Everyone has their own thoughts on this occasion, but for me, it’s a reason to make sweet treats and decorate some gift bags. Personally, I don’t feel it’s just for couples, people in love (yes there is a difference between couples and those in love), or children. I like to think of it as a day that gives me a reason to say, “I’m thinking of you, and I just want you to know it”. But honestly, working on the entire production satisfies my penchant for testing my creativity, so honestly, 50% is directed at self-gratification. There, I said it. 😉
Now I am not a baker per se, well… okay, I am not a baker at all, but I can make cupcakes using a boxed mix and a can of frosting. I don’t even feel bad about it because it’s the decorating that excites me, not the baking. Maybe this is why I work harder on the presentation aspect. Presentation works wonders and I’ll take a “Wow! The treats were meh, but the presentation was ridiculous!” any day.
Initially I planned on making mini cupcakes, but then I thought ‘hmmmm… how can I make this different?’ and ah ha! I decided to bake little cake loaves instead using my new, silicone, mini loaf pan. Below, is how they turned out. I did learn that using canned frosting to pipe flowers doesn't come out as good as if I had I made buttercream icing. I will definitely do this when I bake the new loaves closer to Valentine's Day. This was my test run.
So now for the gift bags. These are the supplies I started out with below.
As always, I started on my first gift bag with one thought in mind and one quarter of the way into it, an idea flashed (not like in the 70s though!) before me, and I went with it. Originally, I was just going to create a bag with ruffles and then add some other embellishments on it. I was thinking maybe some crepe paper flowers and mylar hearts. But that would have been somewhat boring and no wow! factor for me. So, this is where my flashing idea led me.
Below is the back and side.
It's my rendition of a lady in a dress with sleeves, but no head. I could have made one out of a Styrofoam ball or even a balloon, but then it would have gotten in the way of my cake loaf (you'll see why further down). What's nice about this bag design is that I was able to use some vintage buttons, cotton ruffle, and ribbon out of my collection of embellishments.
Because I liked how the 'lady bag' turned out, I decided to make a 'gentleman bag', and no head for him either...
Below is the back and side.
Here's the couple standing side by side. They're all dressed up with nowhere to go until two more weeks. Zzzzzzzzzzzz...
You would think that these are completed, but they aren't unfortunately. To fully complete them, I had to think of a way to support the loaf cakes as I didn't want them to be stuck on the bottom and get squished. I had to devise a structure, so I utilized a little of my inner Macgyver. I used the cake box, trimmed it down to make sure it would fit inside, and then covered the top portion with aluminum foil. My geometry teacher from high school would be so pleased.
This is the front and side view of the 'structure'.
And here's a plan view of it.
I have ordered mini loaf paper liners from Amazon, which will arrive before Valentine's Day, so the loaves will go into them and then be placed on top of the 'structure'. I'll then add some colored tissue paper to fill in the sides. I'll take a couple photographs of them and add them to this posting for you to see. Ouhhhhhhhh, you can't wait! LOL!
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