Valentine's decor. A little late, I know. Sorry. But better late than never, right? :) So, I love the cutesy stuff that's associated with VDay, but without kids around I kinda wanted to have a more crafty, grown-up, classy look on the mantle rather than stuff that looks like kids made it (or stuff I bought at the dollar tree...which I did...shhh...). It was challenging. I haven't quite achieved the look I want, but it'll have to do for this year. :) AND it cost me under $25. Not too shabby. I went with a pink/red/white/gray color scheme--the gray really classes it up a little, in my opinion. But what do you think? (Ignore the ugly mantle...we rent, so we can't paint it the colors we want!) Let's take a look at some of the pieces up-close. :) First of all, my argyle wreath. This was a Pinterest find that really sort of inspired everything else. (You can find the original link, including the tutorial, from Mine for the Making HERE). My BFF *LOVES* argyle, so it makes me think of her and how much I *love* her, and I thought the hearts instead of diamonds were an extra-special touch. It was really cheap (felt and yarn from my stash, so just had to buy the wreath itself) and pretty easy, just a little time-consuming because I have the cheap, thin gray yarn and had to spend more than 3 hours wrapping it. Still, it was worth it! I placed it strategically over the "family" word art/picture frame this same BFF made me a year ago for a gift, and paired it with little piggy banks from the Dollar Tree (we have a thing for these) and some champagne flutes filled with Dollar Tree necklaces and foam hearts. This part cost me about $8 altogether. In the middle, I had seen some fun word art things on Pinterest and online that inspired me to get a little creative. I used my engagement ring, some scrapbook paper, and Scrabble letters for this photo: Printed it off in an hour, framed it in a cheap gray frame, and paired it with a cute Valentine's teddy bear Paul had given me on our first Valentine's Day together. ;) Made a matching frame with some (kindergarten-inspired) penguin heart art to go on the other side. (Penguin heART? :) Anywho, frames, pictures, paints, and all, this part cost me $4.50. See? I'm already becoming more kiddish by the moment. :) ANYWHO. I had made this "I Love You" hand art for another gift for Paul a while ago--it's hanging in our bedroom usually, but I brought it out and paired it with an *adorable* little rose teapot I found at GoodWill (and scored for $1). So this was another buck to add to the tally. Finally, I was inspired by Craftily Ever After's post (HERE) and tried my hand at my own cute felt rosette balls. The challenge? I couldn't find ANYTHING that looked like those amazing candle holders (or whatever they are), especially not in my price range. Imagine the MIRACULOUS moment when I discovered these two beauties at GoodWill, at 50% off, no less: Yeah, they're completely different materials and weights and were in two different aisles of the store...but they were meant to be together! Right down to the swirly stems and pointed feet. Total of $2.50 for both. Some white paint sponged on (so they have the same color and texture now) and some hours of cutting and hot-gluing felt to styrofoam balls, and we have this for about $5! It really was plenty, but I am a crazy person and hate the white-on-white. So I took a canvas ($3/pc at Walmart) and covered it with some $1.50/yd fabric and some ribbons from my stash: Now I have something in my color scheme to put behind them to really make them pop! And this can stand alone if I choose to rearrange things next year. Bonus! $23 total. I win. :) Just to the right of our mantle is our huge window/sliding door. I made these heart-pillow-ornaments for the blinds a few years ago (one of my few semi-original ideas)...and I still love them. So we used them again. And this is the centerpiece for our table this year. I found the candle holder at GoodWill for $1, and got the candles from Dollar Tree. Everything else is from our stash from previous years, etc. I don't love it, but it worked for now. And that's it! :) Hope your Valentine's Day was amazing and filled with love. Mine was pretty great...we were in Boston (more on that soon!), so I didn't get to do all the cute cooking-related activities and such I'd been planning on, but it was still fun...and there's always next year. ;) Or anniversaries. Or just-because romance.
