Our Home Valentine Wrap-Up

Wow!  I can't believe it is nearly Valentine's Day!  I don't normally go all out for Valentine's Day.. or any holiday, other than Christmas, I suppose.. but something about bringing a few dashes of color into the house during this gloomy month seemed so appealing to me!  Plus, dare I say, I may finally be in a groove with our newborn who is hardly a newborn anymore since he will be 8 months old!

Anyway, back to how Cupid hit a few arrows into by butt and convinced me to decorate a little around here.  I've missed having a few crafts around the house that make me smile each time I walk past them.

First up, our family room mantle.  I used two Christmas stocking hooks to hold up a curtain rod.  Then I tied pieces of card stock that I placed back to back since both sides would be seen.  On one side, I left it blank.  On the other, I printed out pictures of my *loves*.  I just love walking past it and catching a glimpse of one of my sweet little babies.  Better yet, is when we have guests and I catch them walking up to examine and fawn over those adorable faces.  I even through in a few of Bryan and I.

Next up, is my kitchen mantle.  I cut out some card stock hearts and sewed them together.  Boom!  Easy Peasy Banner!  And It makes me so happy!  It was so easy, that I was able to hold my baby in one arm, feed the hearts through my sewing machine with my other hand.. and even sip some coffee. It was such a peaceful morning since the older kiddos and Bryan were playing out in the snow.  Once the banner was done, it was nap time for the little man and I was finally able to join them out there!  So worth it!

Finally, in the dining room, I made some paper mason jars to fill up my frames.  Whoop whoop! Loving all of these touches of love!

Speaking of chocolate.. I mean, what?  Yes! My mom made me and brought me this!  Does she know the way to my heart or what?  Can I tell you something kinda funny?  When I'm pregnant, I have very few cravings.  In fact, I have more food aversions than I do cravings!  But wham-bam! Once that baby is out, I NEED CHOCOLATE.  Maybe it's because I need caffeine to keep me moving?  Honestly, that's my only theory.  Anybody who has some scientific documents, I'd love to see them!  Maybe then, I could curb this addiction?  ha!  Who am I kidding!  Just keep giving me chocolate!  Thanks mom!  You did a wonderful job and it's almost too cute to eat.  Almost. 

Goodness!  How long after Valentine's Day is it acceptable to keep these hearts hanging around the house?  I just love all the love going around here!  Whether you're spending Saturday alone or with someone you're smitten with, I hope your day is fill with chocolate!  

2013 Fall Mantles

I have not one fall mantle, but two for you today!  Although one is basically how I like to decorate a mantle that has a giant TV hung above it leaving just a few inches on either side to add a touch of fall.

I was so inspired by Ella Claire's Autumn Sign that I knew I wanted to make that the center of my Fall mantle in the kitchen.  It seems perfect for our area since Lynd Fruit Farm is practically just around the corner and all of those things couldn't scream Fall more than that!

Besides the DIY Chalkboard, my favorite part of this mantle is the giant burlap leaves.  I found this garland at Hobby Lobby and when I saw it, I so badly wanted to make it myself.  This could definitely be a do it yourself kinda garland, but I was realistic and knew that by the time I got around to making it, there would be snow flying.

I struggled figuring out how I would hang the garland but finally realized that I need to find my stocking holders from Christmas time!

Big Girl Room Collage Wall

So many times I do a project around the house but never take the time to blog about it.  Today, I'm gonna turn back time and show you something I did in my daughter's big girl room.



I had a lot of black frames laying around that I converted to white with a couple cans of spray paint.  I picked up a bunch of other frames from a trip to Ikea.

Turning a Picture Frame into a Chalkboard

I feel silly even calling this a tutorial.  It's not really.  I had this old picture & frame that I purchased on clearance at Ikea about 4 years ago.  It has been sitting in the basement with no purpose or home since we moved to this home so I finally decided to put it to work! Can you guess what I'm going to do?  Yup!  I tried to tell you that it wasn't much of a tutorial!

First, you'll want to take apart the picture frame.  You can set that aside. I happened to like the black frame (for now) but if you wanted to change it up, you could easily put a few very thin, even coats of whatever color tickles your fancy.