Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Image courtesy of the The Graphics Fairy

Thank you for all for your love and support in my life!

Love- Karen

a heart of wood

I have a confession to make.  With all the snow, ice, and frigid temperatures we've had around here I didn't take my Christmas wreath off the front door until last week.  The evergreens were still in good shape but the red holly had long since shriveled into little black balls, so I figured it was time to part ways.

The front door sat lonely and unadorned while I figured out what I wanted to put out there.  I wanted something seasonal for Valentine's Day, but didn't have anything on hand and I really didn't want to buy something.  Then an idea came to me one night as I was laying in bed thinking of all the crafts I want to make.  Why not make a heart out of wood planks?

I just so happened to have a few whitewashed (and dirty) pieces of wood in the basement that have been used in more random projects than I can count. They were a little too long so I cut them in half (using a mitar saw- go me!) and then laid them out on the floor to figure out my design.

I used one side of a plank as an edge, then I traced a line across the other boards. I used the saw to cut along the line, then I brought the wood back inside to put it all together. I ended up fastening the boards together using wood glue and my staple gun, probably not the most long-lasting method but it works for now.

Initially I free handed the heart shape because I wanted something unsymmetrical, but eventually I ended up using a bowl as a template.  I can buy something unsymmetrical but I don't think my hands and brain will let me craft something like that (the OCD is just too strong).

I probably could have cut out the heart mounds (that sounds so weird) myself but I'm not as comfortable with the jigsaw, so I waited a few days until my husband got around to it.

When I first hung the heart on the door it just didn't look quite right (at least on the door).  So I played around with some different materials for awhile before I settled on adding the grapevine.  The grapevine was one long garland so I cut some pieces off and wired them together to form a smaller heart.  I attached that to the wood heart with a few more staples. 

The heart wasn't exactly what I was envisioning but I like it.  It's something unique that I made myself (well, almost).

I've actually been up to a lot of fun projects/ baking this week that I can't wait to share soon.  

What have you been up to?

love is all you need

Valentine's Day cards ready to mail

Every year I make Valentine's Day cards for my family.  It's something I like to do for several reasons.  The first, I LOVE my family and I like to take every opportunity I can to let them know.  The second is that I just love making things, especially cards.  There's just something so relaxing about it. 

For this years cards I used plain red card stock and pages from an old book and dictionary.  I used punches to punch hearts out of the book pages and then used those to make a bunch of different designs on the cards.  I also printed a little saying on the inside of the card too.

Here's an example of one of this years cards (I can't share more because then it wouldn't really be a surprise for the family).

Last year I used a card in a different shade of red and used pure white card stock to make the hearts.

Do you make Valentine's cards for family or friends?

If you want an easy DIY Valentine card check out these cute printable ones from Jones Design Company.

valentine's day approches

Love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching.  I've long ago accepted the fact that my Valentine's Day will never be like the iconic movie scenes.  My husband is wonderful and very thoughtful, but after eleven years of marriage and two kids priorities change.  Flowers and chocolate are fabulous, but I think I'd rather have a few hours all to myself (though I guess that's not very romantic).

I must admit that I love this holiday, it's so fun to decorate for. The reds and pinks are a nice color burst in midst of the monochromatic winter scenery.  Of all the holidays it seems like one that best lends itself to crafts.  This year I'm using a lot of red card stock, pages from an old book, and some heart punches that I had bought at Michael's last year.  Here's a few of the decorations I've been busy with...

I bought these enamel pitchers on my last trip to Ikea.  I reemployed the fake berries I had used in the Christmas greenery and put them into the largest pitcher.  Since we haven't played scrabble lately I used the letters to spell out some valentine's day related words around the house.

Some hearts before being sewn into garlands and made into flowers

The mantel- LOVE sign and heart paper garland.  I stitched the hearts together by hand.  I would have loved to have used my sewing machine but it is currently broken.  It actually didn't take too long to do by hand and was sort of therapeutical. 

I love using cookie cutters as templates when making different crafts.  This year I pressed them into service as decorations by hanging them, along with some smaller paper hearts, from the chandelier in the dining room.

I got these adorable vases and metal holder as a wedding shower favor many years ago. I used some of the extra paper hearts to create flowers to liven up our family room.  I love how they turned out.

How do you like to decorate for Valentine's Day?