How to Create an Understated Valentines Day Mantel

Our mantel is difficult to decorate... the TV gets in the way of anything tall, which poses a challenge for using objects that vary in height.

I also didn't want to go over the top with red and pink hearts everywhere.  I was hoping to make it a little festive for the kids and a little ethereal for me.  The book page garland is a perfect fit for us!

I found an old book that had lost some pages and cut out a bunch of hearts with scissors.  I then fed them through my sewing machine in strings of anywhere from 3 to 11 hearts.  I left a long "tail" of thread at the top so I could secure them with tape to the mantel.  You could always tape the hearts to some string if you don't have access to a sewing machine.

I took this sign from the bedroom and added the glass bottles that I scored from a yard sale. 

 They are patron bottles that I bought from a crazy old tequila-drinking lady who cussed like a sailor.

Anyway, I filled the bottles with salt and made some of these coffee filter flowers from Revamp Homegoods.  My kids made some too so we turned it into a Valentine's Day craft morning!

Super simple and I'm happy with the results.  When there is a fire in the fireplace the hearts lightly sway and flutter... I love it!

What do you think?  Am I Scroogey mean mom for not wanting to cover the house in pink and red?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

{You're a Great Catch} Valentines

These are my son's valentines from last year

I loved how they turned out and they were really easy to do!

The hardest part was getting him to hold the fishing pole in the right place for the picture.

Once I got that, I added some text to the image and had enough prints for everyone in the class printed at Costco in 4" x 6".  I clipped the corners and then glued them to cardstock cut to 6" x 8".

Add the Swedish fish and you're done!  I originally made them with chocolates that I made in the shape of a fish mold, but then remembered that our school is nut-free (the chocolate I used had traces of nuts in it).  Doh!  The Swedish fish saved the day though.

Now I need to start working on this year's valentines!  Maybe I'll blog about them next year.  Do you have any good ideas for valentines this year?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

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This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

Craft Room Desk with Shelves

One of my favorite things about the new house:  I have a room of my own!  Actually, I share it with the kids, but half the room is mine.  I use this desk as a room divider

I couldn't have done it with out the IKEA expedit shelves!

And the IKEA adjustable table legs.  And the IKEA tabletop I picked up used at Goodwill... only $10 for the top!

I painted it with chalkboard paint to cover up what a mess the surface of the tabletop was.  Now I can leave myself notes

A good reminder, right?  We'll see if I follow my own advice in 2013... things are so busy already!

These bins are from IKEA too.  The kids and I can keep all our junk stored away neatly!

And you'll never guess where this chair

and this magnetic strip are from

Yep!  IKEA!  Seriously, I'm not being paid to do this post... I just love all of their stuff for organizing.  This magnetic strip has made grabbing my most-used supplies so much easier!  I love having all my foam brushes in that old can.  They stay up off the work surface but they are still within reach.

The chalkboard is just an old frame painted white.  I painted the wall with chalkboard paint because I was too lazy to get a board to fit inside the frame.  It's perfect for keeping track of my pending orders and other miscellaneous tasks.

For the record, this is the neatest this room has ever been (and probably ever will be).  I really appreciate being able to leave my projects around now that I have my own desk, so I don't mind a little bit of mess in this room.

What do you think?  Do I need treatment for my IKEA addiction?  Do you have any other tips for helping me organize this space?

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

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This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

Chocolate Peppermint Milkshake {Chick Fil-A Knockoff}

Something about December makes me crave all things peppermint!  Candy Cane Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's, peppermint ice cream, candy canes, chocolate peppermint milkshakes from Chick Fil-A... the list goes on and on!

So I had this idea

I just took some of this

source

and added a couple of these

source

put them in a blender with a little milk

and you're done!!!

sooooooooo yummy!

Anyone else out there drawn to peppermint this time of year?  You should try this shake!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Blessings,
Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

Make a Christmas Pillow from an Old Sweater

I knew I was holding on to this old sweater for a reason... I made it into this!

I used the sleeves last winter for this wreath

See the resemblence?

I was starting to think I was nuts for holding onto that cut up sweater... turns out my craft-hoarding paid off!

I was originally inspired by these

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They don't have these pillows anymore (and I wouldn't pay that much for them anyway) so I dug out the old sweater remnant!

This is what it looked like when I pulled it out of my scrap bin.

I cut off all the area above that is shaded gray.

Then I sewed it (inside out) into a square, leaving about 6 inches to stuff the pillow form in.  I stuffed it and sewed up the rest of the seam.

And now for the bow...

I made a long chain by casting 4 sts onto a size 11 knitting needle and knitting a stockinette stitch until it was long enough to wrap around the pillow and tie a bow.

The berries were crocheted from a pattern I found at Petals to Picots.  I made 5 of them and stitched them onto the pillow.  Easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Jamie

This post is linked here:  Today's Creative Blog Blue Cricket Design Kurtz Corner Mommy by Day Crafter by Night Cherished Bliss Lines Across My Face Southern Lovely Bear Rabbit Bear French Country Cottage Craft Junkie Too DIY Home Sweet Home Saved by Love Domestically Speaking Funky Junk Interiors Homemaker on a Dime Eisy Morgan The Answer is Chocolate Making the World Cuter Craft-O-Maniac lolly jane 504 Main I Heart Naptime Singing Three Little Birds mad in crafts House of Hepworths Somewhat Simple Chic on a Shoestring Keeping it Simple Be Different Act Normal Sew Can Do Sew Chatty Pinkapotamus The Girl Creative Flamingo Toes Tatertots and Jello Sisters of the Wild West Reasons to Skip the Housework Giggles Glitz and Glam Tip JunkieThe Trendy Treehouse Ladybug Blessings Night Owl Crafting Tea Rose Home My Girlish Whims Allie Makes Gluesticks Thrifty 101 Momnivores Dilemma A Little Knick Knack Miss Mustard Seed Freckled Laundry kojo designs A vision to remember Primitive and Proper 733 Rook no 17 Home Stories A to Z Naptime Crafters Whipperberry delightful order blissful and domestic elizabeth and co diy by design gingersnap crafts>my repurposed life

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