Be My Valentine

A nice valentine-sy scene. Pillow tutorial here and stenciled chair tutorial here. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Mmm, heart shaped pancakes. These blueberry filled delicacies were my only request for today (that and unwavering love).

T.J. used cookie cutters on the griddle to make perfect little hearts.

My other two valentines made an appearance at the table to do what they do best, beg! I may have indulged them a little this morning.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Vday Cards

Like I mentioned earlier this week, T.J.'s little sister came down for a visit last weekend and we made Valentines! We actually made our Valentines together last year too. I cheated a little this year and used store bought cards, but added my own flair with stamps, stickers, glitter, and decorative tape. Sophie went old school and made hers out of cardstock, then added the deco.

We had quite a spread of supplies. Sophie said she felt like she was in a meeting in a really cool office. :-)

V-Day Quilling

This past weekend I had some guilt free craft time when T.J.'s family came to visit. Last year they must have come around the same time because T.J.'s little sister and I made Valentines together then (see them here). I asked if she wanted to make some again this year and she agreed, we even did a little bonus project.

I had been wanting to try this paper crafting technique called quilling since my mom got Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts from my sister a few years ago. Well I snagged my mom's book with the intention to try it and now I finally have. I think the project turned out cute! And it was easy enough to be fun for kids.

I think quilling hearts is probably the easiest of the things that can be quilled - for example, check out this "H" I pinned awhile back. It is so intricate! But the hearts were fun and simple.

Martha's Instructions

We used kabob sticks and pens for a variety of sizes. 

Here's how Sophie's turned out.

And here is where my quilled paper art is currently living. I am contemplating how much better it would look in a white frame, so I may have to bust out the spray paint next.

I actually have surprisingly little Valentine's Day decorations for how much I love pink and glitter, but my collection is slowly growing! Last year I made this heart pillow. Card post coming next!

Closet Love

Back in November I picked up an interesting chandelier while thrifting with my sister. It was gold metal and had a milk-glass middle section. It was unique and cool (not to mention $4) so even though I had no where to put it, I snatched it up. It also had hideous glass lamp covers which I actually gave back to the thrift store people right at the counter.

Here I have the milk glass taped off.

Then it dawned on me. Obviously I need a chandelier in my closet! I was currently dealing with an awful florescent light strip - like the kind you sit under all day at school - which took a minute to warm up which drove me BONKERS. A chandelier was just what I needed. So predictably, I went with pink. And then went over the top with it and added glitter. Check out the process below - I got to spray paint in my sister's Dexter-esque kill room in her garage where she uses her paint sprayer to refinish furniture (she was painting the chandelier on the left for her office).

Milk glass revealed

 This chandelier also takes unusual fat bottomed bulbs. I think you can see this best in the picture above.

I used Martha Stewart glitter paint (also seen here) to add glitter on top of my spray paint job. It surprisingly stands out pretty well.

So about a month passed - and the glittery chandelier sat in a bag in my closet waiting to go up. I had an adorable pink rug, the perfect size for my closet, under the tree for Christmas (I may have done some of my husband's shopping for him) to complete the look. Or at least make a start at completing the look. I have big plans for new shelving in the future.

So after 2 more months... I finally convinced my husband to put up my chandelier as part of my Valentine's day present. I do feel like I should give him some credit here since we already have 3 chandeliers in the house - one of which he hung by himself (check them out here and here). I love it. It might be hanging a little low depending on how my re-shelving plan goes, but we can always shorten the chain. I also see some dangly beads or crystals in the future.

This picture is more true to color:

An awkward attempt to get the rug and the chandelier in the same shot:

I have also been working on another chandelier related project (my biggest yet) with my dad... details to come in a few days!

Making Valentines

This year I made my Valentines with my sister in-law Sophie. I realize this post is late but I am all for celebrating love the whole month of February. Sophie and I had fun cutting, pasting, glittering, and super gluing (the wire hearts). See more wire art here. We used Martha Stewart glitter and glitter glue pen to trace and glitter the hearts after stamping them. Stamp from Michaels dollar bin.

These two Sophie made for her mom and grandparents. <3

Blue Valentine

I spent the past weekend at my sisters house, working on projects (posts to come later) - and enjoyed her valentines deco this year. Her house is many shades of blue, so her Vday deco should be nothing less. I hardly even miss the pink and sparkle.

We did some stenciling while I was there and she whipped up this blue love sign... complete with a heart lock and key.