Valentine Chaos

I know, it's been two whole months since my last post! Yes, I am still alive and well, just extremely busy! But that's the story of my life!

I just wanted to share a couple pictures of my attempt at a Valentine's celebration at our house. I call it an "attempt" because as I'm writing this, both kids are in bed for the night & the cake has not been touched! So much for trying to save it until everyone was home together!

I hope it tastes good...the cake is from a box (Red Velvet, yum!) but the frosting is home made...the only way to go!

These pictures by the way, are totally UNedited, taken with my new iPhone :) Awesome! Editing would have taken another 10 minutes AT LEAST, and also would have involved getting out my laptop, loading the pictures on, etc. (I'm thinking this Blogger app is going to be a really great thing!)

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day...I promise to try and be a little faster with my next post! (At least before the 4th of July!)

Valentine Wine Printables

Here are some Valentine Wine labels I whipped up yesterday on Picnik for my mom. I don't think I'll be having any wine tonight (going to a church meeting...I doubt if there will be much drinking going on there!) but if you are enjoying some spirits tonight to celebrate, feel free to use one of these!

Valentine Collage

Over the weekend, I made the finishing touches to my Valentine mantel display. Sooooo last minute! I had been thinking about these for more than a week, but just didn't quite have the full idea until Friday.  I do think they turned out pretty well, and were so simple to make. I'm definitely keeping this in mind for other holidays. They would also be a great gift idea!

I started with a two-pack of 8x10 canvases from Hobby Lobby. (Promotional special for $3.99 - SCORE!)

Then I placed a heart shape I cut out from scrapbook paper on the canvas, along with a strip of red & pink scrapbook paper that I had stuck some "Thickers" on (remember those from my Christmas Monogram Art?)

Here's the other one:

Then I got out the good old Mod Podge and put a layer over the whole thing. 

Once it dried, it needed a little something extra, so I painted over everything with a coat of "Metallic Champagne" acrylic paint. Champagne for Valentine's Day - how appropriate!

Extreme close-up:

Next time I might look for a little lighter color paint, I wish the red background for the letters stood out more.  But overall, I really liked how they turned out, and they were such a thrifty project, too!

Here they are on the mantel:

(See what I mean about that orange wall? What was I thinking??)

And here they are alongside some of my favorite Valentine decorations - "sculptures" that my kids made in preschool!

I have one more Valentine's post coming up tomorrow.  And don't forget to check back for my giveaway winner!! Tomorrow is the big day!! You can still enter tonight, just click here.

Linking to:

The Blackberry Vine: Tuesday To Do Party

DebbieDoo's: Newbie Party

Sew Can Do: Craftastic Link Party

Alderberry Hill: Make the Scene Monday

Craft-O-Maniac: Monday Link Party

Michelle Paige: Rockin' Valentine Link Party

I Heart....

The Valentine display on my mantel is (very) slowly but surely coming together! Earlier this week, I put together a little wooden heart "bouquet." I'm not ready to show the whole mantel yet, but I hope to have it finished tomorrow! And I'm quickly realizing that the pukey lovely orange color we painted around our fireplace doesn't really go with red & pink Valentine's decorations (or red & green Christmas decorations, or anything else for that matter!) I loved the color when I first painted it, but now I'm thinking something a little more neutral would have been the way to go! So for now, no mantel pictures! I did take a few of the hearts sitting on my piano - the one thing in the house that always seems to looks good in photos!

I just used some wooden heart shapes I had in my craft stash and glued a wooden shish-ka-bob skewer to the back.

Then painted them with red, pink & white paint from the trusty stash and stuck them in a vase with glass beads...so easy!!

By the way, have I mentioned how bummed I am that Picnik is closing? Does anyone else use another photo editing site that they can recommend? I tried Photobucket but it seems not quite as user-friendly...guess I might just have to learn to deal with it!

Linking to:

Blackberry Vine: Tuesday To Do Party
Ginger Snap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday
A to Zebra Celebrations: Tuesday Craft & Party Linky
It's Overflowing: Overflowing with Creativity

Lil Pink Pocket: Show & Share
Southern Lovely: Show & Share
The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday
Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursdays Temptation Party
The Sasse Life: Crafty Sasse Wednesday
One Arsty Mama: Shine On Friday
Michelle Paige: Rockin' Valentine Link Party

Valentine Polka Dot Wreath

I have to admit - Valentine's Day isn't one of my favorite holidays. I've never really gotten into it that much, and I certainly don't do a lot of decorating. (Maybe because I usually have half my Christmas things still out? LOL.) Anyway, our entire collection of Valentine's decorations are in a shoe box. A kid-sized shoe box. I don't really feel the need for much more, but I have seen a few cute ideas on Pinterest & other blogs, so I decided to make this heart-shaped wreath.

I started with a foam heart from Hobby Lobby (Using the 40% off coupon, of course!)

Then I took some scrapbook paper & cut it into strips:

Added a little Mod Podge:

And wrapped the heart up with the paper strips:

And then I added a cute little fabric flower. 
(If you're new to my blog, I have a tutorial here on how to make the flowers).

I also had a little fun with these photos on Picnik before it's gone. (So sad about that!)

Linking this post to:


Alderberry Hill: Make the Scene Monday
Debbiedoo's: Newbie Party
Life Made Lovely: Life Made Lovely Monday
Keeping it Simple: Motivate Me Monday
Skip to my Lou: Made by You Monday
C.R.A.F.T. : Making Monday Marvelous
Sew Can Do: Craftastic Link Party
Craft-O-Maniac: Monday Party
Sugar & Dots: What I Whipped Up Wednesday
Michelle Paige: Valentine Link Party
The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday
Bacon Time: Crafting & Cooking from the Heart
I Heart Nap Time: Sundae Scoop
Sumo's Sweet Stuff: Market Yourself Monday
Thrifty Decor Chick: February Before & After