Valentine Wrap-Up with some Truffles!

I hope everyone reading this had a lovely Valentine's Day. Mine was filled with so many things and people I love. Breakfast in the morning with my boys, a round of tennis with some of my best friends, a special "date lunch" with my husband and a little something sweet whipped up in the kitchen. Today I'm sharing with you a recipe for chocolate truffles. I actually thought they would be difficult to make since they are so expensive when purchased in a chocolate shop, but to my surprise they were easy. I adapted this recipe by Jacque Torres. Of course, I'm not a baker nor a chef, so my version is the "easy" version. I shared the truffles with my tennis club and I didn't hear any complaints!

Ingredients:
10 oz. of Dark Chocolate (I chose to use large chips by Ghirardelli)
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbs. Unsalted Butter

Coating:
Shredded Coconut
Instant Coffee Drink (I used General Foods International Coffee)
Peppermint Sugar Sprinkles

Directions:
Melt choc. chips in a melting pot or in a double boiler.
Heat cream and butter in small sauce pan until tiny bubbles just begin to appear around the edges.
Pour warmed cream & butter into a glass bowl.
Add 1/3 of the melted chocolate and whisk well.
Once well blended, add remaining melted chocolate and whisk well. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
After mixture has set up in refrigerator, prepare for truffle making! Set your coatings in bowls and prepare your paper cups. For scooping the truffles, I used a small cookie dough scoop, but you can also use a teaspoon if you like.

(special thank you to "Thing 1" for helping me mix the chocolate)

Make small balls of chocolate and set on wax paper. Coat each truffle in the topping of your choice. Enjoy!

Finally, I'd like to recognize those who participated in the Valentine Card Swap. If you don't already follow them on twitter, read their blogs or visit their shops... please do! They're all sweethearts.

Alicia Colina-Ashby 

Heidi Shenk

EA Stewart

Paige Ronchetti

Lauren Bird    

Betty Ann Quirino    

Marnely Rodriguez-Murray    

Kristen Skelton

Angel Robinson    

Jenni Alexander    

Morgan Rescorla-Wolfe

Jaimee McClellan

Ashli Crowe

Jenna Rostek

Amanda Cobb

Lynn Capps

Sara Stroman

Isa Maria Seminega

Cheryl Kraynak

Dianne Fernicola

Kristin Kane

Cathy Sundermann

I'd love to hear about any special valentines you received this year. Let me know in the comments below!
xoxo
Patti

Valentine's Card Swap - 2012

"The only true gift is a portion of yourself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Valentine Gift Tags or Magnets by: By the Book Paper (etsy)

Ah, love... it's that time of year when hearts of pink and red are scattered everywhere you look! Valentine's Day. Okay. It's actually January 10th as I write this, but I've been thinking about Valentine's Day with the release of my new greeting cards! And I've also been thinking of ways to keep the handwritten note in fashion. One way to walk-the-walk is to send at least one piece of "snail-mail" each week of 2012. Another way is to organize a Valentine's Day Card Swap! Yay!!!

Running Heart, Love Vintage Postage by: Verde Studio

So here are the details:
If you'd like to participate in the card swap, email me: eastonplacedesigns [at] me [dot] com by 9:00 p.m. EST, Tuesday, January 24 and give me the following information:
-Your Name
-Snail-mail Address
-Email Address best to use for notification
-Would you be willing to mail internationally?
-Would you like more than one Swap Partner?
-Any blog or website you'd like included in my follow-up post

I'll then select a partner for you to swap with and email you the mailing details. I should have things organized by Friday, January 27. You'll have a more than a week to get your Valentine Card in the mail with plenty of time for delivery by February 14. If mailing to an international address, allow a few extra days.

Have fun with this! You don't have to be a "crafty person", nor a professional card maker to participate. Anyone can join the fun. Hand-made cards are fun to receive, so try your talents with a little glue and glitter! Need ideas for something different? Check out Pinterest. And if you really don't want to send a hand-made card of your own, there's always Etsy.

Please leave a remark in the comments below so I know to look for your email and address! And invite your friends to join the fun as well. And while I have your reading attention, let me know if you'd like to receive a card from me at some point this year. I'm still collecting addresses for my "weekly handwritten note" project!

photo & tag by Easton Place Designs

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day!
xoxo
-Patti

Valentine's Card Swap!

I recently participated in a Valentine's Day Card Swap organized by the lovely Carina over at Crow and Canary. (Thanks, Carina, for putting that together.)

The first card came from Tori Higa.  When you have a moment, visit her blog and website! Such cute illustrations and cards.  The card Tori sent me has sweet fabric adhered to the front of an illustrated tea cup and above it the wording "You are just my cup of tea, Valentine".  Inside the card was a Red Raspberry Tea Bag! How thoughtful is that? See for yourself:

The second card to arrive in the post was from Tara Bliven. You can visit her blog and shop as well.
Tara sent me the prettiest little letterpress card (swoon) featuring the word Love and a trail of yellow and teal hearts of various sizes. I'm a pushover for letterpress. How about you?

I really enjoyed receiving cards from these two talented designers! Thank you, ladies! 

While I'm on the subject of receiving things in the post... I have an updated snail-mail address. My new address is:

If you want to "card swap" with me any time of the year, send me a card. I'll send one to you as well!

I hope you all had a sweet and loving Valentine's Day.