Whoa, whoa whoa…healthy Valentines?

Look, I’m a nurse so when it comes to Valentines Day I’ll be honest. I’m all for the occasional indulgence but my brain feels really conflicted when it comes to candy loaded holidays like this one. On one hand, I love spoiling friends and family with yummy treats but on the other hand I also know exactly how un-nutritious high fructose corn syrup and food coloring is. Yikes. What’s a nurse/crafter to do?

Well, necessity is the mother of invention as they say and my need for a compromise turned into the invention of these adorable fruity Valentines! You can try out any fruit you want but I chose simple hand held ones that don’t need refrigeration and can be eaten right away. Your friends and family will love these and even sugar addicts will be won over by the pretty paper, bright colors, and cute cut-out hearts.

So…is this all I’ll be handing out on February 14th? No, but now at least I can include it as a healthy option along with whatever sugary concoction I whip up. For me that’s the perfect compromise of nurse brain and crafty heart. :)

You Will Need:
Apples, oranges, and bananas
White paper
Patterned scrapbook paper
Red construction paper
White price tag stickers
Marker
Embroidery floss
Glue
Scissors

Start by cutting out an equally long strip of white paper and patterned paper. (Width depends on what kind of fruit you will be using.) Glue the two strips together.

Wrap the two paper strips around your fruit and secure it in place with tape.

If you have the white price stickers you can skip this step but if not you can easily make your own by tracing and cutting out a small circle. Either way, go ahead and write your message on the circle now.

Put the white price sticker on whatever side of the fruit you want to be the front. If you’re using a cut-out paper circle just add a dab of glue to keep in place.

Tie the embroidery floss around your fruit and snip the ends to a length you like. I like to make one strand longer than the other.

Fold the red piece of paper and half and cut out two heart shapes. I like making one a little bigger than the other for effect but that’s just me. You should end up with 4 paper hearts.

Put a dab of glue on one of the hearts and glue it and it’s twin on either side of one string. Repeat with the other string and set of hearts.

Voila! Now who will be able to resist your buffet of delicious and nutritious Valentines?