Sunday, February 13, 2011

Fun Valentine To-Do Chart (& A Chocolatey Cake!)

I got the idea to make this after seeing something that someone in blogland made, except theirs was about fun things to do for children - so I decided to make a Valentine one for couples!  Just for fun. :D

So the idea here is that you write on the tags fun little things for you to do as a couple, and then every day starting on 1 Feb, you'd take a tag and for that day do whatever it says on that tag.  It can be anything from giving each other a massage, to having a romantic dinner at home or a candle lit bubble bath...whatever! :D
What I did was make a list of things I wanted to do and asked my husband to do the same, then I chose the best ones to write on the tags and then swish them around so that you don't know which one you'll get on what day. :)

I took a sheet of scrapbook paper and glued it onto a piece of cardboard of the same size.  Then I made little "pouches", and tags to go inside.

I made the pouches with ordinary printer paper, then cut out patterned scrapbook paper and glued it onto the top surface that you see on the chart:
 
I glued the folded pieces onto the background scrapbook paper to form the pouch.

For the tags, I cut out little pieces from patterned card stock, reinforced it at the back (where I was going to punch the hole) with left over card stock scraps, punched a hole and tied a ribbon through it.  Then I cut out pieces from white card stock, inked the edges and glued that onto the tags - this is where you do your writing on:
 

 A close up of the pouches and tags:
 
I also inked the edges of the entire chart to round it off nicely.

I added numbers to the pouches by cutting out 2 little hearts from red and black paper and writing the numbers on them.  I made this goodie a little late, so it's actually supposed to run from 1-14 Feb.

Then I decorated the "chart" with some more hearts that I cut out and embellished.  This one I added our initials with glitter, and added some white glitter around the edges of the heart (it doesn't show so nicely on the photo):
Here I just glued on some white ribbons with silver trim in a criss-cross fashion and glued on a little organza rose in the centre:
Lastly I punched some holes at the top and tied some jute onto it so that I can hand it up on the wall.

So you could use this every year, and if you wanted to, write on the tags on pencil so that next year you can change the activities.

And here's a delicious cake, called Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake - The good thing is that it's easy to make and you probably have all these ingredients already!
Ingredients:
500ml          cake flour
125ml          cocoa powder
15ml            baking powder
5ml              bicarb
3                  extra large eggs
375ml           sugar
250ml           mayonnaise
250ml           water

1.   Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
2.   Beat eggs, sugar & vanilla together until light & fluffy.  Add mayo & water gradually, alternating with dry ingredients.  Mix well.
3.   Pour into 2 greased cake tins & bake at 180 degree C for about 35 minutes.

I concocted my own icing here, which didn't turn out all that wonderful because it was way too runny and went all over the place - but I'm sure you have a good icing recipe that you can use! :)  I added some raspberry jam in the middle.

Enjoy! :D



LINKY PARTIES linked to:
I Heart Nap Time                                         Under The Table & Dreaming
Truly Lovely                                                 Chic On A Shoestring Decorating
It's A Hodgepodge Life                                Crystal's Craft Spot 
A Few Of My Favourit Things                      Tatertots & Jello 
Fun To Craft                                                What Allie's Making Now
C.R.A.F.T.                                                       Making The World Cuter 
It's A Blog Party                                           Craft-O-Maniac
Keeping It Simple                                         Until Wednesday Calls
Sew Chatty                                                  So Can Do 
The DIY Show Off                                       The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff                                       . 

ENTERED into:
Crystal's Craft Spot Valentine's Challenge:



My chart was featured on Truly Lovely and Crystal's Craft Spot! :D
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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a fab idea and love, love, love that cake. My DH would put 'Go Fishing' on every tag, lol. xx

Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous) said...

I wish I would have seen this sooner because the countdown idea is adorable. Oh and don't even get me started on that cake, it is making me drool over here.

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

Wow! What a great and fun idea for couples!! I"m sure you and your hubby are having fun with it!! And I love how you put it all together :)

And yum! That cake looks delish even if you weren't happy with the frosting!

Maria

AllieMakes! said...

Very cute! I think I might make a chore chart like this!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

Crystal said...

This is so wonderful! I made something like this last year and it was so much fun. Love it!

Unknown said...

LOVE this idea Monique!! Think I'll plan on this for next year! Or maybe even for our anniversary month... Guess what? We FEATURED you again! Go check it out here. http://trulylovelywiththelaneysisters.blogspot.com/2011/02/fancy-this-features-edition-11-day-late.html