Sarah Hearts

Yes, trust me, theses are cupcakes! Tuesday was our good friend, Jared’s birthday. Jared is a big fan of fast food so what better way to celebrate his birthday and make fast food sweets. I followed Bakerella’s awesome tutorial on how to make the cupcakes and little french fry bags.

I cheated and used box mixes for everything (I know, I know, not very DIY) which cut a lot of time. The day before I baked the cupcakes and made the brownies. One box mix makes about 22 cupcakes. If you bake the brownie mix in a 13″ x 9″ pan you can get exactly 22 brownie burgers if you use 2″ round cookie cutter. Cut the cupcakes in thirds and remove the middle third. If this is difficult, find your significant other, they can be helpful in “removing” the middle of the cupcakes.

Place a “burger” on the bottom “bun” and top with a your choice of frosting condiments (I choose yellow orange frosting to mimic American cheese and red as the ketchup). Then put the top “bun” on. The sesame seeds on top are really sesame seeds. They just help make it more realistic and don’t change the flavor much. Dab a little water on the top of the cupcakes then spindle the sesame seeds on top.

I used this template to make the fry bags. I traced it in Illustrator and added the type and printed it on sheets of 8.5″ x 11″ vellum. You can find this vellum in a pack of 50 sheets at Staples. I then made a template for my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the bags. This made them so easy!

I had a lot of extra “ketchup” red frosting, so I put it in a paper condiment cup. Everyone actually enjoyed this and dipped the cookie fries in it!

To help hold all the layers together, I made washi tape toothpick flags. Super easy to do, here’s my tutorial.

For the ketchup I used ready-made vanilla frosting and colored it with Christmas Red Wilton icing color. For the american cheese I used Golden Yellow Wilton icing color with a tiny bit of the red, to make it a little warmer.

If you’re an animal lover like me, you’re probably wondering what to get your favorite furry friend for Valentine’s Day. Here are some cute gifts for dogs and cats. I mean, what dog doesn’t need an adorable bow tie?

Do you give your pet a gift for Valentine’s Day? Or another holiday?

1. Pink Standing Mouse cat toy, $3.99
2. Hearts and Flowers dog collar, $16
3. 3-Piece Bowl Set for dogs, $9.59
4. Valentine’s Stack of Hearts dog toy, $9.99
5. Chocolate Dipped Strawberries catnip cat toys, $15
6. Red Honeycomb Bow Tie dog collar, $42
7. Retro Modern Valentine plush cat toy, $20

Here’s a few Valentine’s Day gift ideas for your little one (or ones!). The cute love book, Me Without You, would be equally great for your significant other.

1. Me Without You book, $9.95
2. Red Crocheted Hair Bows, $10
3. Red Wool Tiny TOMS Cordones, $29
4. Heart Embroidery Tiny TOMS Classics, $29
5. Hello I’m New Here baby onesie, $18
6. Hearts and Cookies pretend wooden play food, $26
7. Red Glove Fox  Stuffed Animal Toy, $18

Here’s a few suggestions on what to get your boyfriend, husband, brother, or dad for Valentine’s Day. I love the idea of a breakfast-in-bed tray, like the one above. It would be a sweet gift that can be given on Valentine’s Day (with breakfast) that can be used again… like for your birthday breakfast-in-bed of course.

1. Custom Stripe Duvet Cover and Shams, $19-71
2.  Product Red iPod Nano, $129-$149
3. Black White & Red Plaid Men’s Button Down Shirt, $19.99
4. LunaTik Lynk Blackout Watchband for iPod Nano, $139.95
5. Love You More Pillow, $16.95
6. Papa Bear Mug, $14.95
7. Bentwood Breakfast Tray, $39
8. Retro Handset for iPad, iPod, and iPhone, $25.27

Valentine’s day is just around the corner and I’m going to be sharing gift ideas, printable cards, and more. For today, here’s a little guide to help you shop for your special lady. I’ve personally been eyeing the wooden heart necklace for a long time (hint, hint, Kevin). What’s your favorite item?

1. Wood You Be Mine necklace, $14.99
2.  Heart apron, $39.95
3. Mini Charm Heart Stud Earrings, $38
4.  Personalized glass shadow boxes, $24-79
5. Let Go shirt, $29.99
6. Red Canvas women’s wedges, $69
7. Mama Bear mug, $14.99
8. Savor the Date dress, $79.99

As I continue to catch you up on what I’ve been up to, here’s a little design work I’ve done recently. Above, a save the date card for my gorgeous friend Jen and her cute fiancé.

Save the date post cards for Amanda and Tim’s gray and yellow destination wedding.

I was honored to create the wedding stationery for my friends Janna and David. Hands down the most fun I’ve ever had making a wedding invitation. And yes, that’s an Ugly doll holding a Swedish flag.

Here’s an infographic I made for Summit Church.

Time for camp! Here’s a fun logo I made for the high school group at Summit Church.

I had the opportunity to make a logo for Nick West. Who is always on tour.

Neon is in and I had the opportunity to finally use this color palette. I created a shirt design for Young Life, a ministry that loves kids and Jesus.

Today I’m continuing my “what I’ve been up to” posts and I’m finally getting around to sharing a few photos from my friend’s wedding. Haley and Kevin were married in October in Kevin’s parents lovely lakeside property here in Orlando, Florida. The wedding was truly beautiful, I mean, isn’t her dress just amazing?

I met Haley and Kevin through our Summit Church connect group. They are kind, caring people that love each other dearly. Their wedding was a great display of love as friends and family helped decorate the property, and even cooked all the food. I made the little craft paper “cones” that held baby’s breath on the aisle chairs.

The small plate were the guests gift to take but also served as a pretty place setting. Haley collected vintage plates for months then stenciled their initials and wedding date on each one.

A Florida wedding wouldn’t be complete without the bride wearing sandals.

Haley’s dress was handmade by her aunt. It was a silk slip dress with a lace dress on top. The slip was a warm, mocha ivory hue that looked lovely with the lighter lace on top.

Don’t I have the beautiful friends? Haley and Kevin thanks for letting me capture your special day. You can see more photos on my flickr page.

{Photos by me}

Hello there! If you’ve been following me on instagram (my user name is sarahkhandjian if you’re interested) you’ve had some insight as to what I’ve been up to. Almost two weeks ago I had surgery on my left foot to help alleviate the chronic foot pain I’ve been experiencing. I’ve been pretty much couch-bound since then.

I’m going to use this week to catch you up on what I’ve been up to. If you’re curious what design things I’ve been up to, you can find me on dribbble. However, today I’d like to share a few photos I snapped while the boy and I were in San Francisco and Napa. We traveled there in November to celebrate our three year wedding anniversary.

You can see more photos from our little getaway on my flickr.

{Photos by me}

Happy New Year! I hope this year brings you great joy. Here’s a wallpaper I made that’s inspired by new year’s confetti. You can download it for your phone, iPad, or with or without the calendar for your computer.

2560 x 1440
2560 x 1440 with calendar
1920 x 1280
1920 x 1280 with calendar
1280 x 800
1280 x 800 with calendar
iPhone
iPad

This week I will be sharing simple gifts you came make for all your fooide friends. Like some of the gift ideas from last week, these will be easy to make and be very affordable.

Today’s gift was inspired by a recipe I discovered in the current issue of Everyday Food. This citrus-herb seasoning salt uses pantry spices to make a very versatile seasoning that can be used as a meat rub, a bread dipping sauce, popcorn or nut flavoring, salad dressing mix, and even a veggie dip.

After making this simple seasoning, you can print out the gift tags I made (shown above and below). They include serving suggestions and a place for you to write the expiration date.

Since the seasoning contains fresh lemon zest, it will last 3 months when stored in an air-tight container. Glass jars with a rubber seal work perfectly for gifting this.

Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 4 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 3 teaspoons dried thyme
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Supplies:
• Glass jar with an air-tight rubber seal (I got the one above at Home Goods for only $1.99)
• One sheet of card stock
• Home printer
• Ribbon or string (I used baker’s twine I had on hand)
• This Citrus Seasoning Salt Gift Tag Template

Combine all ingredients in a bowl then place in a clean jar. Wrap jar with string or ribbon and add gift tags. Be sure to write in the expiration date, which is three months from that date you made it. Happy gifting!

Cost: $1.99 per gift