DIY Decor.. "LOVE"

I had the best week last week with my sister and her family!! The cousins had a grand time together!!  And Oh MY! When they left.. It was February!  How did that happen??  

I had a plan for a Valentine's mantle.. Simple. Pink. Soft. 

& that's exactly how it turned out.  LOVE!

Speaking of {LOVE} .. my favorite part of the mantle turned out to be a sign, with LOVE on it.  

Garrett had been collecting treasures (read also: dumpster diving) and found some great pieces of pressed wood.  He claimed the larger one for the fort (of course!) but said I could have the other piece.

I should probably interject that the dumpster is next door.. a site of new construction..mostly full of pallets and other home materials that 8 year old boys find amazing and essential to build a fort! ;)

Here's the finished sign.

the awesome wood Garrett found

<------------- before

after --------------->

painted with a sample of "Hot Stone"

by Valspar

I stenciled LOVE with Benjamen Moore - Pink Moire

pallet table.. not quite ready to completely share. <in progress>

Coffee beans make the perfect vase filler for Valentine's

 dot dot dot... in sparkle.

Here s the mantle (rather, my faux one above the TV). 

a little tule for a soft look

old halloween candy (pink nerds) also make a good filler

LOVE ... XOX

I am enjoying this mantle.. Simple. Pink. Soft.

and I love the gray walls!!

Do you do a Valentine's Theme in your home?

Linking:

Power of Paint Party 
Transformation Thursday

BELIEVE

These turned out cute .. if i do say so myself.  

 I have liked the "block words" idea for a few years now.. and it has never made the cut of things i could find time to make.  This year, however, was the year!  ...basically because it was done for me!  While Matt and I took apart some pallets for other projects.. I saw these cute- perfect sized- cubes.  So like any crafting wife... I asked him to take apart more of the pallet to get enough cubes.  (I realize I recently claimed that the crow bar is mine.. and it is.. but these cubes were a little tough so I enlisted help.)

Thanks Hun!

So I said they were done for me.. the cubes "appeared" as part of another project. check

                                                   silver spray paint (i had it of course). check

                                                   BELIEVE letters... I got those at Micheal's - already painted, glittered,

                                                   and on clearance. Check!                                    
    

A few things found new life.. as silver :)

Just glued the letters on and .. BELIEVE it or not.. I got it done so quickly!

The next photo was supposed to be one of the blocks on my mantle.  They looked so pretty. (and they will again.)  If you follow me on Instagram.. you saw my sad fallen mantel.  My wreath, made of glass beads on a styrofoam wreath form, fell and broke in a few pieces.  :(   Just after I had finished the mantel yesterday too.. finally locating the red glitter trees I was hunting for.  I didn't get a pic.. that was on the plans for today... but nothing goes as planned sometimes.  My baby has an ear infection...

sad boy

... and after the doctor visit we found this (made me sick!)

See the blocks?

so tonight i relaxed with a glass of wine.. my poor wreath!  (Micah is feeling a little better already with the medicine... I'm not really more upset over the wreath!)

not sure what i'm going to do in place of the wreath... my goal was to be done with the house by the 15th! and i was oh so close!   ... stay tuned!

Fall Mantel (or mantel like..)

Today is: Day 25 of Pass IT On!

I am enjoying everything about our new home so much.  Everything.. but one thing.  NO Mantel.  I actually had never had a mantel until our last home, in Nevada.  And with the cold winter months in full gear I challenged myself to change it at least monthly.  Loved it.  A friend once told me "I don't think I have ever come to your house with your mantel looking exactly the same as the last time I was here."  Ultimate compliment!!   So I am not sure how I over looked  the fact that this house doesn't have a fireplace.. and thus no mantel.  In fact, I swore it did!  After we got back to Nevada from our house hunting trip to Florida we were out to eat with some friends and we were telling them about the house.  It was there that I learned we in fact, did not have a mantel.  It was quite traumatic for me.. and knowing me so well, my friend Jessie realized immediately this was going to be a moment to remember.  She whipped out her phone and took a series of pictures of my facial expressions as I realized I was going to be "mantelless".  (oh i wish i had those pics now.. funny!)  I believe I took a long sip of my margarita .... sigh.

Fast forward to today in said no mantel home.  Luckily (?) for me we needed a new entertainment center for the tv and knowing my desire for a central decor spot.. my husband found the perfect one.  Drawers for some storage under the tv and above is a mantel replacement.  There.. happy wife.. happy life ;)  lol.

So for fall I was ready to make something fun and colorful (the entertainment center is white and the wall behind it is still the boring light beige .. and it is driving me crazy!).  I'm happy to say I think I accomplished my goal.   I sometimes find my self looking at it instead of the tv!!

fall mantel

These pumpkins were so easy and turned out really great.

***Mod Podge Alert!!!  It's so fun :)
I had some fallish fabrics that i wanted to do something with.  So I went to the Dollar Tree to find some really cheap hideous pumpkins.   I didn't want to use real ones in case they turned out fabulous so I could save them.  And if they weren't a hit, at least I didn't pay a lot for them.  Check out these bright things!

I took my fabric and cut it into strips that would fit from stem to bottom of the really ugly pumpkins. Then I brushed on the Mod Podge.  That's it.  Totally simple After it dried I filled in a few spots and painted the stems brown.

The Autumn Blessings was a gift from a sweet friend... it made me smile.

 And How Bout Those CUTE OWLS?!

 Another Total dollar store find.. transformed!  I knew the kids would like to paint them.

Cute Owls and added a glittered curly thing (technical craft term) to the pumpkin

 So these little friends started out maybe more hideous than the sad pumpkins... but lucky for them, I saw something more.  I buffed them with a sander so the paint would adhere better and buffed them again after they were dry to dull them.

Here's something funny.. last night I was checking out some links to the craft parties where I linked my Halloween Mesh wreath

and i stumbled upon another cute little owl!  Great minds think alike...check out Katie's cute little green owl at The Crafty Blog Stalker

Love that it's finally looking a little like fall here.. even if my mums aren't taking the heat so well out front :(

Passing it on at:
Do something Crafty
Categorically Crafting
The 36th Avenue
Cherished Bliss
Today's Creative Blog
Someday Crafts

Easter mantle

i was so good about getting this mantle done .. right after micah's birthday.. and before i left for Jacksonville. just wasn't so good about sharing.

so for today... Happy Easter!
Happy Pastels!
Happy Eggs and Candy!

and Above All.. Be Happy About The Resurrection!


i didn't use the ribbon and tulle tied to yarn like this... but thought it was cute for garland!

yep.. that's all i did... tie ribbon and tulle to yarn!! cute, right?
here's a quick how i made the wreath...
*i found this wreath at a thrift store for .99 :) thought it was great b/c it's oval.. EGG!
*it needed color.... found that i had 6 .. yes 6 pink tanks of various fabrics, sizes and length of time owned. i could spare one.


* i cut strips of the tank and wrapped it around, using hot glue to secure it.

*I tied the yarn around the wreath and wrapped it loosely around.

* tied some pearly eggs ...

* Just Love It!*

* i also Glittered some large eggs .. you can sort of see in this pic. They look pretty :)


HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

march mantle

i realized i never shared my March Mantle ... it's not really flashy, just some green :)

































i love my little blue pin flower! it was so easy.
can't remember where i got this printable from, it's been months ago. sorry!















i added a family collage and the cute little shamrock printable... my bad! i don't remember where i got that from. sorry.



i took a plain white G that i have and wrapped it with the same yarn i used for my st. patty's wreath.

love the lines!














added a little st. patrick's flair

i will probably just take this and the shamrock down and leave the rest up for the rest of march.