Monthly Book Club - February

"She read's books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live" - Annie Dillard

Well the month of February is officially over so its time for us to review our February books. The book's this month where Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

*Spoiler Alert, I tried not to reveal anything that will spoil the book but just in case only read on after you have finished you wont want to ruin the surprise*
I read this book in under a weekend, I couldn't put it down. I loved that way that it was written in different characters perspectives and leading up to the murder leaving breadcrumb clues as it went onward. I love reading books that aren't just a straightforward narrative as I find it far more exciting jumping back and forward.
SUMMARY: Big Little Lies is the story of 3 women Madeline, Celeste and Jane each with very different backgrounds and social standings thrust together as friends when their children begin kindergarten together at Pirawee Public School in a fictional Australia beach side area. The opening sets the scene of the morning after a murder at the public schools trivia night, it then jumps back 6 months prior and slowly tell's the story of the 3 women, the lies that they live and leaves you guessing who died and who was the murderer throughout the book.

THE CHARACTERS: Madeline is funny, smart, sophisticated and stylish so I felt I related well with her. She has 3 children, a boy and 2 girls, 1 of the girls Abigail is 14 years old and from her first marriage to ex Nathan. We don't hear too much about her son but her youngest daughter is starting kindergarten. Madeline and her current husband Ed have been through the whole kindergarten thing before so are a fixture in the school community and are already good friends with Celeste and her husband.

Celeste is a naturally beautiful woman who married Perry, he is handsome and a very successful businessman which provides a lavish life for them and means that Celeste could quit her job and become a stay at home mother to her twin boys that are also starting kindergarten. Celeste and Perry have the perfect life on the outside however this is all a lie as Perry is abusive.

Jane is the youngest of the 3 women at only 23 years old. She is a single mother to 4 year old Ziggy and has recently moved to the beach side area to give Ziggy a new start at a new home and kindergarten. At first Jane seems to be quite mysterious and the other kindergarten parents think she is promiscuous as they find out Ziggy was a one night stand and doesn't know his father. Much of the commotion that leads to the murder starts on the orientation day when it is believed that Ziggy physically bullied one of the other little girls.

There are multiple sub characters including Madeline's ex husband Nathan who moves back to the area with his new much younger wife Bonnie a yoga loving hippy and their beautiful blonde little girl who is set to start kindergarten with Madeline's youngest. Tom the young, handsome and possibly gay barista that owns the coffee shop down near the beach that all the mothers frequent. Renata the uppity business woman and the mother of the little girl that is believed to have been bullied by Ziggy. Saxon Banks the man that Jane believes to have fathered Ziggy. 

NARRATIVE:
As I said above the book starts at the day after the murder when the parents are being interviewed by the police and then jumps back to 6 months prior so you actually have no idea who was murdered that night or who was the murderer. Each of the 3 woman that the story follows not only delve deeply into what lead them to be at the scene of the murder but also tell a beautiful tale of lies, deceit, living life as a single mother versus staying in a perfect yet tortuous relationship because its better than nothing mentality.

THEMES:
This book certainly has a mixed range of themes that I think really I could really relate with on a personal level which made me feel personally invested in the characters stories.

Family - The book lists several different family structures from a happy blended family trying to map out the arrangement of joint custody to the shame and struggle of a abusive relationship and the toll it takes on the children to finally living as a single parent and struggling with not being able to provide what is considered normal family traditions.

Abuse - Clearly one of the big ticket topics in this book is the emotional toll domestic violence takes in a family and the associated feelings of guilty, failure and anguish that comes with it. It also outlines the struggle it takes to break away from abuse and fear of the future.

Bullying - The book discusses bullying in a way that makes you think, if one parent is inherently evil does that mean the child will be a bully by nature, do children become bullies when the see their parents domestic violence or can a child just be a bully. What is the nature of a bully, are the always rude or can a quiet, shy and kind child be the one harassing all the children.

Strength of Character - The 3 women that the book centralized around are 3 extremely different personalities which mean they have verifying strengths of character yet at the same time all seem to certain characteristics, does this mean that no matter how different we are as women, we are at the same time similar purely because the fact that we are women. There are several moments in the book where each woman needs to stand up and take charge of the situation at hand which is enjoyable and empowering to read.

THE MURDER:
As the book leads up to the murder the settings change and you learn new secrets and lies about the characters which changes the views on who the murder and the victim are. The book has been written so carefully that there really is now way for you to truly understand who is murdered, who was the murderer and why was the reasoning behind it until you are reading that section. I felt like the last few days leading up to the murder I had worked out who it would be but I certainly didn't guess anywhere close to who killed them and the reasoning behind it. It really was a mystery and that was why I chewed through this book, I couldn't put it down because every time I was about too a new secret or lie was revealed and I had to keep reading.

THE QUESTIONS:
Who did you suspect was the murder victim? 
Did it change throughout the book? 
How did you feel when you found out who it was?
Were you surprised when the culprit was revealed? Did he/she get a fair sentence, in your opinion?
What do you think about Nathan moving into Madeleine’s community, particularly since they have children the same age and in the same school? 
Abigail becomes passionate about doing her part to end child marriage, do you think she would have gone through with her “special project?” 
Did you ever suspect Saxon Banks was Perry? When did you begin to suspect?
Do you think Perry was indeed genuinely sorry for his abuse of Celeste after the fact? Did he truly believe he’d never do it again? 
Would you see the signs of a friends abuse? If not, would you be upset with yourself for not noticing, as Madeleine was?
Did you think Ziggy was the bully? Did you think he was being bullied? Did you suspect it was really Max?
Did you suspect Tom was not, in fact, gay? Were you glad for Jane?
Was it fair of Madeleine to ask Ed to lie about what he saw (or didn’t see) that night on the balcony? What would you have done in his position? 

I apologize for waffling on with this book review but I really did love the book!

Onto book number 2 for February, I knew that Wild was coming out in the cinema's soon and I really wanted to see the movie but I am an avid read the book first kind of girl so I selected it for February's second book. I am also turning 26 in March and love empowering books so thought that this would be a perfect read for me.

SUMMARY: Wild by Cheryl Strayed a memoir of herself, a women that at 26 years old recently divorced from her husband, struggling to over come her mothers sudden death to cancer 4 years earlier and dabbling with a heroin addiction. After a chance encounter with a hiking book Cheryl sets her sights on traversing the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with out any form of training and alone in hopes of emerging the other side of the trail a new woman, the woman her mother knew she could be.

THE CHARACTERS: The book is told in Cheryl's point of view, she is a strong willed yet broken woman who has decided the best course of action to get her life back on track is to hike a trail she barely knows by pushing herself to both physical and mental limits. I feel like Cheryl aptly describes what it's like to be a self loathing woman and it sadly was easy for me to relate to her in certain situations which surprised me.

Cheryl's pack Monster whilst not an actual character in the book is described in great detail and discussed throughout the book. Cheryl over packs her backpack making it large, heavy and hard to maneuver by herself and aptly names it monster, throughout the book as Cheryl struggles with the trail and her own emotions her attitude to monster changes, from something that is holding her back and causing her to struggle to then a empowering statement that she is stronger than she believes both physically and mentally.

There are smaller sub characters that Cheryl meets on the trail and whom help her to lighten her pack, motivate her to keep going and advise her own tracking through the snow however we don't actually find out too much about these trekkers as their stories do not have any real impact on Cheryl's journey.

THEMES:
I feel that the underlying theme of this book is that you are only as great as you believe you are, we are all limited by limitations and labels we put on ourselves.

Self Worth - Cheryl spends most of the book struggling with self worth and her thoughts on her own future. As she sets out on the trail she is struggling with minimal self worth and using this tough journey to help build her self worth back up. Cheryl has such awful self worth that when she changes her name after her divorce she aptly chooses the last name Strayed as she doesn't believe there are any other names worth for her. Towards the end of the trek she has managed to shift how she see's herself and leaves a resounding idea that if you put your mind to something and believe in yourself you can do anything.

Death - Death is a pretty strong theme in this book and really the driving factor that sets Cheryl off on a journey of self loathing, fear, adultery, drug use and eventually walking the PCT. Cancer is a shocking illness and a horrible way to die, the way that Cheryl describes the death of her mother is terrifying and real. I know that I called my mother and spoke to her after reading the part where her mother died, she describes it in a very real and understandable way.

Family - Cheryl's idea of family seems to be slightly skewed caused by growing up with a abusive father, leaving with her mother, brother and sister then living with a single parent until her mother remarried and her own self worth that caused her to run off and yet married young. I believe that death of her mother and the implode of her family was so troubling because she had such a fairy tale idea of what her family should entail, thus driving her to cheat on her husband and the implode of her own marriage.

Adultery & Drug Use - Adultery and drug use tied together and are a smaller theme throughout the book but it is caused mostly by Cheryl's self loathing and she uses sex and heroin to help numb the pain she feels from the death of her mother. This raises the question can you be forgiven for seeking out sex and or drugs to numb the pain of a tragedy, are you really at fault or would she have sought out adultery and drug use even if her mother didn't die.

THE PCT:The PCT is described in beautiful detail through out the book, Cheryl has a way with words that makes you feel empowered and really describes the physical and mental aspects of hiking. I had never heard of the PCT before I read this book nor had I ever thought of spending my time trekking through the wilderness. After reading this book I was hooked, I am so interested by the thought of packing your whole life up into a backpack and walking around for 3 months that I would like to one day look at following a similar plan.

THE QUESTIONS:
What did you think of Cheryl's reaction to her mothers death?Do you think that you would be as effected as she was?Do you think that her families imposion was to blame for her drug use and adultery?Did you relate to any of Cheryl's self loathing issues?Where you worried about Cheryl heading off by herself?What where your thoughts on Cheryl's one night stand? Should she have gone off with this unknown man in the middle of the night?If you had lost your boot in the middle of the hike what would you do?What was your favourite moment on her hike?Have you ever taken time away to help heal yourself?Would you ever pack up and go on a trek?Has this book inspired you to do something new? 

Well that is enough from this book review.
Did you read these books? Did you feel motivated by them? Do you have any book suggestions?

Top Free Fonts

Picking fonts can be a make or break decision on your blog, blog titles with interesting fonts can help drive traffic to your site but hard to read fonts can deter readers from your blog so it is a very fine line. I am currently favoring Quicksand as a font because it is clear, ledge-able and also has a classic feel to the lettering which is exactly the way I want my blog to feel.

Here are a few free fonts which I think are not only interesting but are also pretty easy to read, I have also included the sites to download these fonts from.

// American Horror Story // Sofia // CF Old Photography Credit // Clippers Script // Fine College // Sail // KG Happy //  // Quicksand // Lilly Belle // Moon Flower //
What do you think about these fonts? What is your favourite fonts? Do you have any suggestions?

Thank Goodness It's Friday

//THIS WEEK// I felt...

...strong, it was really wonderful spending a week without Dylan. I relished being alone.

...slightly tired, my boss has been "sick" again this week and hasn't been able to work, I find that a bit of a cop out.

//THIS WEEK// I learnt...

...don't ever get in a twitter war with Amber Rose or Khloe Kardashian, those girls are serious.

...that most business have 2 types of specialized shut off valves so you don't have to shut off all the water to the area. IMPORTANT!!

//THIS WEEK// I loved...

...my newly refilled painted nail, a deep purple red-ish colour I'm in love.

...WILD by Cheryl Strayed it's the February book for book club and I urge everyone to read it, it is such a wonderfully motivating book.

...Lady Gaga's 2013 itunes festival I have been meaning to watch it and finally got around to it, AMAZING!

//THIS WEEK// I am looking forward to...

...picking Dylan up on Sunday!

...possibly heading out somewhere special to celebrate Chinese New Year.

//NEXT WEEK// I will...

...continue working on reclaiming who I am!

...work on getting my 10,000 steps in once again, if you have a fitbit let me know I will add you and we can be fitbit friends.

How was this week for you? Did you link up with Oh Hey Friday?

Reclaiming myself

Coming off Valentine's day you can still feel the love in the air for most couples, everyone is still enjoying that special feeling that only Valentine's day can bring. Well not me! I am home alone this whole week. 
My sneaky husband and his best friend got me pretty liquored up a few weekends ago before asking if Dylan could take the spare plane ticket his friend had and head over to Surfers Paradise for the week, of course in my wonderfully intoxicated state I agreed but as I later started to sober up I began to develop a bit of separation anxiety.
My husband and I have been together for around 5 years, lived together for around 4 years and been married for 3 years this November. In these past 5 years we have gone through quite a journey together with all my health issues and I have started to become heavily reliant on Dylan for any decision big or small in my life. The longest time we have spent apart since he moved in is only 2 nights and I have almost developed a phobia of being with out him.
This is all coming from a woman who before she met her husband was fiercely independent, was working full time 7 days a week, had bought her own house and was living alone, dealing with all her medical issues and certainly didn't need any man to fly in and "save her". Somewhere along the way I lost sight of who I was and became someone that I don't really want to be.

This week alone is all about reclaiming that woman I used to be and allowing myself to feel safe and secure in my own decisions and thoughts. I am currently reading Wild for the February Book Club and this book is the perfect book to read at this time because I can relate so well to the struggles that Cheryl undergoes.
I have been thinking long and hard about where I lost my kicking arse and taking names attitude and I think it was after my kidney transplant. I felt so fragile, so exhausted from fighting so hard that I just gave up and allowed Dylan to scoop in and fight my battles for me. However once he had started making all the decisions for me I somehow started to lose sight of my self worth and suddenly I wasn't a full person without him there.
That certainly was a slippery slope and once I started doubting myself I quickly lost all self identity and have been so comfortable with being cared for that I completely lost sight of the woman I was and the woman I had hoped to be one day.
During this week alone I am going to really work on self discovery and gaining back my self worth which I know will be a struggle and I am going to create daily affirmations, nightly meditation routines and diarise all my personal feelings.
Of course there are a few silly things that I am also looking forward to completing whilst Dylan is away, they include:

• I am going to stack the dishwasher the way I want, I'm going to put plates and bowls where ever I want. Who cares about maximum dishwasher layouts I am just going to throw them in.

•  I am going to sleep right in the middle of the bed and snuggle in with as many pillows as I can find.

• I will put the air conditioner on so I get cold and then use extra blankets to keep me both warm and cold at the same time.

• I will explore my surroundings, I may just head down to the Saturday Markets all by myself and buy a big piece of lemon pound cake that tastes just like my wedding cake did.

•  I am going to sit in the shower for as long as I want!

•  I will order a horrible movie on foxtel and watch the whole thing.

• I will cook what I want when I want, hot chocolate and 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter for dinner at 10:30pm yes please.

• I will hop in to bed as soon as I get home and read till 3am in the morning because I am so engrossed in the book and don't need to worry about keeping anyone up.

• I am going to take sunset walks on the beach without whispering a word and just taking everything in.

• Saturday afternoon TV marathon I think so.

• I am going to let the cat sleep on the bed with me!!!

• I will be completely self reliant and look after the garden, the house, the dogs and the cat all without any help.

• I am going to write in my diary as much as possible and talk myself into feeling like I can do anything I put my mind to again and I don't need to rely on anyone.

• But most of all I am going to spend the week enjoying my solitude and focusing on myself.

I know it sounds a little silly and most of these things on the list are silly but these are the things I used to do before I met my husband. These are the things that made me feel safe within myself and feel like I could do anything I put my mind to, I could be the woman that I wanted to be.  I am really looking forward to this week and being self reliant yet still missing my husband and hoping he has a wonderful time away at the same time. Have you ever felt like you lost yourself? What did you do to reclaim who you where? Any tips or advice?

Balancing blogging and working

"Life is a balance of holding on and letting go"

- Rumi

The hardest thing about running a blog and working full time is trying to find balance. I occasionally feel that blogging is cutting into my working time to much or blogging is taking a back seat to work. I am sure that is the same with most bloggers out there, that is why I often take simple steps to keep me organized and make sure I am managing my time between working and blogging correctly.
Book time frames in like you would a business meeting. I get home from work at around 5:30pm so from 5:30pm till 6:30pm my husband knows that this time is blogging time and he doesn't bother me unless there is a emergency. Sunday afternoons from 2:30pm till 5pm are also normally booked out for blogging, this way I can really spend time organizing posts and creating the perfect pictures without feeling rushed.
Use downtime to check emails and social media. In  the mornings I usually have a few minutes before I drag myself out of bed, during that time I jump on my phone and reply to any emails or tweets that I have. Most likely TMI here but I also use bathroom breaks through out the day to also check social media and emails to make sure I haven't missed anything vital whilst working.
Prioritize  I am a slight stress-er, always have been always will be, someday's I can start to feel slightly overwhelmed by it all but normally it is because I have been wasting my time with things that aren't really important or urgent and then suddenly everything that is both important and urgent piles up on me. A good way to stop this happening is to use the Eisenhower Method, dividing your task between 4 different quadrants to evaluate which tasks need to be done and when. These quadrants are divided up into Urgent & Important which are normally time sensitive and to be done immediately, Important & Not Urgent which are usually things that are not time sensitive but need to be done when you get the chance, Urgent & Not Important which are normally task that have to be dealt with but can be delegated to someone else or a later date and finally Not Urgent & Not Important which are tasks that are complete time wasters and should be removed from you daily tasks. Below is a basic overview of task I need to complete with work and my blog and the quadrants they belong too:

Calender  Plan out a month of blog posts in advance, this way you don't have to rack your brain for post ideas. I created my own 2015 printable monthly calender which I keep stuck on my fridge at home so I can see at a glance what each day's post topic is, this way I can check what post I need to write about that day using either my laptop, work computer, ipad or iphone.  Have a set topic theme for certain days of the week ie Wednesday DIY or Thursday Recipes. Colour code each theme to make it easier to read, the colour code I use for my themes is simple Blog Advice are Purple,  Personal Posts are Orange, DIY's are Blue, Recipes are Green, 5 for Friday posts are Yellow and Weekend Roundups are Pink.

2015 Printable Calender
Brain Storm blog idea's Whenever you get a free moment sit down and brainstorm blog idea's, keep note pad by your bed at night and jot down anything that pops into your head. If you are reading a blog post and you think you would like to write about something similar then jot it down, this will help when you are sitting down trying to plan a month's worth of blog post's.
Draft posts On Sunday afternoon's I often sit down with a big cup of tea and start drafting up posts for the week, I write the bones of the each day's blog post so I can come home after work each day fill in the rest of the post and hit publish without spending half my night writing. I also write draft posts and save them for a rainy day when I don't have any inspiration to blog but I still want to post something. Drafting posts is one of the most important parts of blogging.
Schedule Schedule Schedule! Scheduling posts is a life saver when you know that you wont have time to blog that day. To be a successful blogger it is all about consistent reliable posts and scheduling posts can help you maintain this. If you are planning a trip away it is always a good idea to schedule a few posts before you leave, you may notice that your favourite bloggers will go away and yet they will still post new content which are more often then not scheduled posts. If work seems to be piling up on you one week and your really don't have time to write then schedule some of your draft posts to give your viewers something to read.

How do you balance work life and blog life? Do you have some tips that I should use?

Happy Valentine's Day

Thank Goodness It's Friday

//THIS WEEK// I felt...

...busy, I had to get a site management plan completed by Friday afternoon and it took a lot of work.

...out of my depth, I had to re do my first aid course and to pass I had to give CPR for 3 minutes to a dummy that light up green if you were doing it right, it was incredibly hard but I did manage to pass, I just hope I never have to do that in a real life situation.

...naked, I had a bug bite on my ring finger which caused it to swell up and I had to take my wedding rings off for half of the week, it was the weirdest feeling I honestly felt naked.

//THIS WEEK// I learnt...

...if you burn yourself the best thing to put on it is cling wrap, it acts like a air conditioner and traps cool air and water in.

...apparently I have wide feet?!?!?!?! I have super tiny feet and I certainly didn't think they where wide but the man at the Nike store certainly seemed to think so when I went to buy my new nikes, so I couldn't get the colour I wanted!!

//THIS WEEK// I loved...

...my newly coloured red hair! I wanted a drastic change and I certainly got one.

...the movie the kingsman, I saw it Thursday night and it was one of the best movie's I have seen in a while.

//THIS WEEK// I am looking forward to...

...going swimming Saturday at my father's house, the weather is supposed to reach 41 degrees (that's 105.8 degree's Fahrenheit) I really want to stay cool all day.

...Saturday is also Valentine's day and I am making a BBQ pulled pork recipe for Dylan, he loves pulled pork so I hope the recipe tastes okay, as we will be at my fathers house all day I am slow cooking it in our crock pot which I have never done. Fingers crossed it will work out!! If it does I will be posting it next week.

//NEXT WEEK// I will...

...be lonely! Dylan is going to Surfers Paradise with his best friend for a holiday, he had booked to go away with his girlfriend but she broke up with him and he couldn't get a refund he could only change the tickets over so Dylan gets a holiday. I on the other hand have to work!

...work on getting my 10,000 steps in once again, if you have a fitbit let me know I will add you and we can be fitbit friends.

How was this week for you? Did you link up with Oh Hey Friday?

Chocolate Quinoa Cake with Chocolate Avocado Mousse Frosting

This year I wanted to keep our Valentine's Day Celebrations fairly healthy but I had to find a recipe that I thought would trick my husband, he is extremely picky so I would have to find something that is not only healthy but looks delicious and doesn't lack in flavor. I had been scouring Pinterest for healthy yet tasty recipes and saw a few variations of Chocolate Quinoa Cake and thought it might taste nice with a Chocolate Avocado Mousse Frosting.  I rushed home with my ingredients and started baking so that when my husband got home there would be what he thought was a delicious plain chocolate cake ready to be eaten. 

For the Chocolate Quinoa Cake

• 2 cups cooked quinoa**
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk 
• 4 whole eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup melted light butter
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup organic white sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Chocolate Avocado Mousse Frosting

• 56 grams semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt 
• 1 teaspoon Splender
• 1 large avocado, pitted and skin removed

To make the Chocolate Quinoa Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a large round cake pan.
2. In a blender combine the eggs, almond milk and vanilla until fully combined.
3. To the blended mixture then add the cooked and cooled quinoa, the melted butter and coconut oil and blend again until completely smooth.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt into a large bowl.
5. Add the wet ingredients from the blender to the dry ingredients bowl and mix together until well-combined.
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30 minutes. 
7. Check the cake with a toothpick after the 30 minutes, if the toothpick remains clean remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool.

To make the Chocolate Avocado Mousse Frosting

1. Place all ingredients except Splenda in a blender and combine until smooth. 
2. Slowly add the Splender and taste as you go to ensure the mousse doesn't become too sweet.
3. Place in a bowl and chill until ready to ice the cake.

Once the cake has cooled place on a serving tray and ice with the mousse frosting, this cake should make around 16 slices and the recipe could easily be adapted into a Vegan Cake.

**Cook the quinoa according to regular cooking directions, approximately 3/4 cup dry quinoa will yield 2 cups cooked quinoa. 

Chocolate Quinoa Cake

• Servings: 16 Slices
• Calories: 172
• Fat: 10 g 
• Carb: 23 g  
• Fiber: 3 g 
• Protein: 4 g 
• Sugar: 13 g
• Sodium: 337 mg 
• Sugar: 2 g
• Sodium: 5 mg 
• Cholest: 53 mg

Chocolate Avocado Mousse Frosting

• Servings: 16 
• Calories: 37
• Fat: 3 g 
• Carb: 3 g  
• Fiber: 1 g 
• Protein: 1 g 
• Cholest: 1 mg

Are you trying to create a healthy Valentine's Day?

Do you have a picky eater in your house?

Did you try this cake?

Valentine's Day Free Printable Gift Tags

I am all about making home made Valentine's Day gifts, let's be honest it is a bit of a silly holiday and I don't really want to waste money on it but I do want to create a cute and thoughtful gift. This year I created personalized lolly bags for Dylan, I had seen a similar thing floating around and wanted to personalize it specially for him.

These are so adorable I thought why not make a few changes so that I can share the labels with my lovely readers for Valentine's Day.
All you need to buy is: - Some A4 Card to print the labels. - A bunch of lollies - Some clear plastic bags - Hot Glue to glue the labels
To make them all you need to do is: 1- Fill the clear plastic bags with lollies. 2 - Print the printable labels out onto card. 3 - Cut around each label

4 - Fold the middle of each label 5 - Place folded label over open end of lolly bag 6 - Glue lolly bag to label.
Here are the labels to chose from:

 Wild and Sugar Printables

Banana's and Mustache Printables 

Puppy Love and Sweet Heart Printable
What do you think of my Printable Lolly bags? Are you celebrating Valentine's Day? Did you create a Valentine's Day printable?