Days of Wine and Roses

This unit at the end of the kitchen stays pretty much the same all of the time - the only thing that changes is that the doo- dads are specific for each season. I love how the rose bouquet almost mimics the roses in the painting. We picked the painting up at the Fine Arts for Ocala show many years ago and I still love it although it does travel around the house as the season or holiday warrants.


Another display area for past Valentine crafts is this pie safe and shelf area. I use the shelf to hold extra painted plates and the safe holds a small stained glass hurricane and a heart shaped basket that I made and dyed a long time ago. Yes, I was into basket making for awhile. I had baskets everywhere when my house was a bit more country but now that my taste has changed a bit, I seem to only use the holiday themed baskets or the ones made for storage.

This arrangement sits on the corner of the kitchen bar. As it gets closer to Valentine's Day, it will become fresh flowers but for now, I'm O.K. with this. The glittered X & O were made last year for a G.S. Mother's Day tea that was themed "Hugs & Kisses". I made it for a center piece and loving glitter as much as I do, I couldn't bear to throw it away! So, I just stuck it in the vase and it has been there since.

This is a close up of one of the napkin decoupaged plates we have made. I use this technique a lot for any group of kids because you really can't go wrong. Basically you just trim down a single napkin layer and decoupage it on to the back of a clear glass plate. You can also use tissue paper. It is best to try not to have wrinkles but when the younger children do this, wrinkles are almost a given and when the plate dries, it really doesn't seem to matter that much. Pretty fool proof and when filled with goodies, it makes a pretty impressive gift!

Here is a close-up of another one of the photo blocks that we made last year.

These are my two favorite Valentine wine glasses as they were made for me years ago by Hannah & Morgan.

Nothing really exciting about this corner of the kitchen except to note the potholder hanging there. A few years ago, I bought some pot holder looms after reminiscing with my grand daughters about how I went into the pot holder business when I was a little girl. They loved hearing how I spent more than I made because I took special orders and had to buy so many different colored loops. Not to mention how I never even figured out how much it would cost to make a potholder. I sort of just went out with a price and took lots and lots of orders. I guess I know why my "budgeting skills" could still use a little work - you would think I would have learned my lesson but as I remember it, it was my mom's pocket book that took that hit! In any case, they really took to it and were soon producing pot holders for everyone in all of the holiday colors!


The last place I use for decorating in the kitchen is my refrigerator. When I see it like this, I have to admit it is a bit over the top but I love my pictures, so any place to display them is fine with me! Most of the magnets have been gifts from years past, but my favorite is from 2009. We painted wooden hearts with puffy paint to look like cookies and then glued them on to a clothespin and put a strip of magnet down the back. The, we made bags of "Red Hot"popcorn and sealed it off with a clothespin. When the recipient was finished eating, he/she still had the magnet to use.

Behind the girls in this picture are the profile silhouettes we made as gifts that year in G.S.

Boy! I know I said we have made a lot of Valentine gifts over the years, but even I didn't remember how many until I started looking at these pictures. One more room tomorrow - hope you'll come back!