get cracking...it's almost valentine's day!

posted by jennifer:

for the past 2 years i have participated in a valentine swap put on by blogger aunt peaches.  have you ever read her blog?  it is one of my favorites.  www.auntpeaches.com.
she organizes it all so that you send out three valentines and receive three valentines... from all over the country... well the world really.  last year one of my valentines came from china.  i love being part of it.

this year i decided to make valentine cascarones.... confetti eggs.  but instead of filling the egg with confetti, i slipped in a petite valentine.

how to make an eggcellent and unique valentine: 

first you need to gather some eggshells.  when you are cracking the egg,  use a knife... think more spreading knife and less machete...and gently break the egg towards the pointy end of the egg.  the idea is to have the cavity as large as possible, but you also need the opening to be large enough to fit your valentine in.  i am thinking i did the break about 3/4 of an inch from the top of the egg.

wash and dry the eggshells.   make french toast or scrambled eggs or cookies with the eggs.

now you are going to make your valentine.   i decided to make little paper birds that i just decorated with ink doodles.  you could write a love note, or add some sweets, or if you want it to be more of a traditional casarone heart confetti.  the sky is the limit.
 
"james dean, french fries, the skies the limit.  that's what they say."  name that movie.

to the bird, which measures 2 inches beak to tail feather and 1.5 inches top to bottom, i added a silver thread.  this serves as both a hanging loop, and as a beading string.   i also cut a thin piece of cotton fabric, 3/4 of an inch wide, and wrote my valentine sentiments on it. i then glued this to the back of the bird along with the silver thread.  make sure all the glue on your valentine is dry before moving on.

to put the bird in the egg, i rolled the strip of fabric around a pencil to form a roll so that the fabric wouldn't get as kinked up in the egg.   then gently slide it into the shell.

next you will add either a piece of tissue paper, or fabric, as i used,  to cover the hole in the egg.  glue along the edge of your fabric.  i used a 3 inch by 3 inch square.  then wrap the fabric around the egg.  embellish it as you please. 

when the recipient cracks open their valentine, they will not have egg on their hands, just a sweet bit of love.

cheers!