January 23, 2015

Berry Sweet Valentine

Y’all I am so, so glad I bought several packages of red berry baskets on clearance at Michael’s after Christmas! I will definitely be using this Berry Sweet Valentine printable from Party A La Mo with my little red baskets for the boys’ teachers! My boys’ school also has a limited treat policy for class celebrations, so this would be a great class treat for them too! And, I live in Central Florida, so it is strawberry season! Be sure to hop over to her blog and download your free printables and show some love!

From Maureen:

I made you some berry sweet Valentine printables because I love you! And I just love Love. Valentine’s Day has always been a favorite day for me. The holiday has never really been about romance in my mind though… to me, it’s more about celebrating all different kinds of love and relationships.

This year I am celebrating my loving relationship with my clients and readers with strawberries! I was inspired by a recipe for strawberry fruit leather that I came across in a cookbook that I got for Christmas. And, hey, strawberries are red and kind of shaped like hearts, right?

These cute Berry Valentine Tags can be used to adorn any strawberry flavored treats you can dream up or even just a small basket of the berries themselves. Fruit leather makes a naturally sweet valentine that will probably be welcome among all of the candy hearts and boxes of chocolates. To package them up like I did, see the instructions below.

Strawberry Fruit Leather Valentines

– 1 recipe Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather

– Unbleached parchment paper

– Coordinating baker’s twine (I love this multi-color pack)

– Printable Berry Valentine Tags

– 2″ circle or decorative punch (optional)

Directions:

•Lay your sheet of fruit leather on a sheet of parchment paper and cut it into 6-8 strips using kitchen scissors. Roll up each strip and secure with a small piece of tape on the parchment lining.

•Cut a rectangle of parchment paper that’s large enough to cover the fruit leather rolls with about 2-3 inches overhang on each side. Roll the fruit leather up in the parchment rectangle and twist each side to secure. Repeat for the remaining fruit leather.

•Print, cut, and hole punch the valentine tags.

•Thread the baker’s twine through a tag and tie it around each fruit leather roll. Secure with a bow.

•Hand them out to your favorite Valentines.

If you aren’t inclined to make your own fruit leather, the tags look equally cute on the store-bought version. These Stretch Island Fruit Co. strips work perfectly.