february 2011
www.79ideas.org
let’s cook, decorate, create, together few simple ideas for your Valentine’s day but not only ...
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Hello. I am Radostina Bosseva and most often you can find me in my blog - www.79ideas.org. The idea behind this magazine came to me when I wanted to give something different as a present to my readers, something inspiring and at the same time I wanted it to be useful also. I deeply believe that the most valuable presents come from the bottom of one’s heart and are not necessary big and expensive. Thus I believe that a present created with care could bring a lot more joy to the person it is intended to. So this is the purpose of this magazine. This is a present from the bottom of my heart to you. 2
Thanks to ... Here I’ve collected few ideas for this specific holiday but you can easily implement them in other situations as well. We’ll start with few delicious treats, then we will have some recipes to look even more beautiful, then some words about the small gifts, how to prepare and pack them and at the end few ideas for decoration and inspiration. Before we move further I would like to say Thanks. First, to You, the reader, for taking time and reading this. Then to my dear friends, without whom I wouldn’t be able to do this – to Dana for being my gorgeous and patient model, to Ciprian for taking some of the great photos you will see in the next pages and to my best friend – my husband Martin, who never got tired of supporting me. Thank you.
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Imagine ...
Imagine that you have a whole day to prepare pleasant surprises for the person you love. What would you do? Would it be difficult to you? Even so, don’t worry, I can give you some simple ideas how you can make the things better and easier. All you need is desire, smile (because with a smile things get better), favorite music for good mood and few simple and cheap things from the shop. The beginning of each day begins with a breakfast, so I suggest we start there. 4
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Breakfast. It is not necessary that the breakfast is very fussy. It could be even fried bread slices, but served in a special way – in our case, for St. Valentine’s Day in the form of heart. Generally the heart shape will take a main role, so it would be good if you can put your hands on some heart shaped baking moulds, stencils or something similar. If you have never made fried bread (also called French Toast, fried slices, eggy bread) here is the way I do it, but of course, you can also improvise. You will need: 2 eggs 100 ml. milk Cooking oil Sliced bread Stir the eggs and the milk in a bowl. Cut the slices in form of heart and fry them in the heated oil until they become golden. Usually this breakfast is served with some jam and here is a hint: you can replace the label of the jar with some romantic message for your partner. :) In case you don’t feel like fried bread, another idea is pancakes. After all we all love pancakes, don’t we? You can use the classical pancake recipe and then cut them in the shape of heart. However, do the cutting at the end, when they are ready, because otherwise, I don’t guarantee good results... and I speak from experience :) 6
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Beautification. The romantic occasions are great opportunity to put some attention on ourselves too. You can go to a hairdresser, have your nails manicured or in case you don’t have time or money for that you can use my beautification mask. It is very simple and 100% natural. As far as I know, the banana is full of vitamins and is suitable for all skin types. All you will need is a banana, some milk and 20 minutes for the mask to be effective. With the banana and the milk mixed together put a thin film on your face and leave it for 20 minutes to work. Clean your face with warm water and then use your daily hydrating cream. 10
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Garland. Let’s be creative. If you are the same like me and like handmade things, no matter that sometimes they don’t look perfect, then this section is for you. Here is an easy and fast way to make a romantic garland which you can then spread across the room. You will need two paper-punches - one to cut hearts from paper and the other to make small holes on the hearts in order to pass the string through. If you don’t have heart shaped paper-punch you can of course cut manually the hearts from paper and they could come up even more original. After you got approximately 20 hearts make a hole on each of them with a classical paperpunch, pass the string through all of them, distribute the hearts evenly and hang it across the room. 12
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Picture. Card. Labels for presents. Here the things get just a bit more complicated, because we will make a set but don’t be scared. We will make a framed picture, which you can hang on the wall, labels for presents and a card – all in a common style. All you should do is choose a pencil or pastel in your favorite color (I chose purple), a heart-shaped stencil and suitable paper - I chose white, 250 g/m2 (10 pt.) card stock. The framed picture – mine is with A4 size so I didn’t need to cut the sheet and I can start directly. Find the center of the page and choose the largest heart stencil you have. Start drawing lines from one side of the stencil to the other in the way I show you below:
It is not necessary that the lines are straight – vice versa, if not straight it will be even more charming. On the same principle you can make the card and the label. I’ve had the idea to make also a T-shirt but unfortunately the time wasn’t enough but of course you can improvise. :). 15
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Presents and packaging. I have to admit that I don’t know well the traditions connected with St. Valentine’s Day but what I know is that I don’t like when a holiday is celebrated only by certain people. In case you didn’t have luck in the love recently you should not stay at home in you pajamas and whine about your bad destiny. That is why I am usually sending cards to all my friends, family, people who are important to me and who I love – so nobody is sad, lonely or feels forgotten. And everyone gets their valentine card and small present as a gesture from me. This year it will be some delicious chocolate cookies, arranged in an original handmade box with a heart on it – the same heart that I have on the framed picture, present labels and the card. If you like the idea you can use the stencil on page 22. Print it, cut it on the straight lines and the bend on the dotted lines. Then make a hole on each apex for a ribbon to go through. 20
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Cookies for the friends.
This is a recipe adapted from a Bulgarian blog - “In The Kitchen with Yoana” - www.kulinarnojoana.com and the lady there makes the cookies with a lot of fresh mint leaves but I prefer them this way. You will need: 40 g. cocoa 200 g. sugar 60 g. butter 2 eggs 1⁄2 tbsp. vanilla 160 g. flour 1 tbsp. baking powder 1⁄4 tbsp. salt
Put all products in a bowl and stir with an electric hand whisk. You will get one very sticky mixture which you have to leave 30 minutes in the fridge. After that dip your fingers in oil so the mixture doesn’t stick on them, make balls with diameter approximately 2 cm., put them on a baking sheet and bake for 9 minutes in a preheated to 180o C oven. In addition, here is another idea for packing the cookies – cupcake papers :) 25
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More packaging. Don’t be afraid to improvise. Here is another way to pack your present. It is traditional but still you can avoid it look boring by just putting a flower as an additional element. The important bit is the flower to be put on the present right before you give it in order to look fresh and beautiful. Also don’t be afraid to use some calligraphy technique when writing the card. It doesn’t matter if you are not a professional calligrapher, things can look good nevertheless. 27
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Meringue. These are one of my favorite sweets. Not only because they are delicious but also because, as the French macaroons, they are very beautiful and on the last place they are called “Kisses” in my language – we can’t get more appropriate sweet temptation for St. Valentine’s Day. Again I will share my recipe, but you can use yours or improvise :) You will need: 4 egg whites 14 tbsp. sugar 1-2 packs of vanilla Beat the egg whites on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted. Then turn the speed up and start to add the sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It’s important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don’t over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy. Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer. I’ve used a pastry bag and piped them out using a large star tip. Bake them for approximately 1 hour on preheated to 100 o C oven but don’t let them overcook because they become brownish. 31
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Random romantic ideas. There are plenty of other romantic ideas or secret dreams that come up to your mind from time to time. Collect them in a jar and then you can read them together, recall them and laugh together. You could bite all the apples at home in the form of heart – I tried and it is possible although a bit tricky :) Open the book that your partner reads and underline particular words thus creating a secret love message. It doesn’t really matter what romantic idea(s) you will choose, the important part it to do it and not only on the 14th February, because kind gestures are important but sometimes tend to become rare nowadays. 34
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Note with Rose leaves
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Vintage cameras. I will admit I am addicted to the old cameras. For me it is very romantic to shoot with my old cameras the people I love and to collect the pictures in a box. Sometimes when I miss someone I just open the box and experience the good memories once again. 43
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The Fragrance. I am very sensitive when it comes to scents. I connect them to memories. For me, the most romantic aroma is Lavender. I connect it to many wonderful, emotional moments. If you have similar fragrance, which you connect to your partner or to some pleasant memories you can use it in many different ways to inspire yourself, just improvise :) 45
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Външния вид. Природната маска за лице не е единственото нещо, което можете да направите за себе си. Купете си рокля, нови обувки, бижута. Направете всичко, което ви кара да се чувствате по-женствена и красива. Ние комбинирахме два цвята - сиво и любимото ни розово. На сребристата ни рокля поставихме красив детайл - розово цвете. А за да са съвсем розови нещата: и розова панделка в косите. 47
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Outfit and make up. Combining of two colors in the outfit always looks elegant. We can add a pink detail to the gray dress and the some color ribbon on the hair. I have always believed that it is an art to be able to do a proper make-up. Because we have pink accents let’s have the make-up in pink too. The light pink make-up will underline the freshness and the gentle charm. 50
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Happy Saint Valentine’s Day. So our story has a happy end here it comes. I hope I have provided at least a bit of inspiration and you have enjoyed reading my magazine. The occasion for it was St. Valentine but as I said earlier most of the stuff here you can implement successfully in many other celebrations or holidays - they would be a kind gesture to the people you love. Be happy, smile and I hope we can meet again :) Model: Dana Uta Photography: StanChoo - http://gysmo.me/ & Radostina Bosseva Styling and design: Radostina Bosseva www.79ideas.org 55
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