Finally!!

I am usually not a procrastinator - as a matter of fact, I am a kind of "do it yesterday" kind of gal. But, for whatever reason, I could not bring myself to take down Christmas - let alone get it all packed away. I bought some new stuff and thought that would do it but I just made a half-hearted attempt. And then, motivation rode in once again in the form of Pinterest!

If you are a reader of this blog, you know that I have become enamored of "pallet" signs. I have made them for Halloween, autumn, 4th of July and Easter. When I saw this, I saw it as my Valentine decorating jumping off spot - and that meant no more Christmas. It took 4 days to take it all down but I think that was because I was dusting and cleaning and then putting Valentines up right in its place. I started doing this a few years ago when I realized that as long as I had all of my red stuff out for Christmas, I might as well avail myself of it for Valentines too.

And so, I headed to Lowes to pick up some wood. I don't know why I didn't check the yard first as I had a few extra dog-ear slats lying around I could have used but these only cost me $2.16 so no big deal. I had almost everything else.

It was truly a matter of a few simple cuts. I knew this was going on my family room mantle so I wanted it tall and thin. I cut some narrow pieces of wood and glued and nailed them crosswise on the back to hold it all together.

Then, a quick coat of a dark stain and it was ready to paint. And boy, I almost felt guilty doing this one. All of the others I have made were so complicated with lots of lettering or patterns. This was one big heart - just as I wanted. I found lots of other ideas that incorporated words but this is the one that spoke to me. It was done in minutes!

I have several skeleton keys and was going to use one of them but have decided to make a quick trip to HL later today to buy one just a bit larger. I will have the finished product for you in my next blog.

But, to prove I really am decorated for the next holiday - no matter how far away it is - let's go through the living room today.

I changed some things up a bit this year but still have mostly my old favorites. I pretty much like red and white for Valentine's Day but will allow some pink and black to creep in here and there. Once again I tried to "cut back" and did leave a few things in the bins but by the time I took these pictures, I have to admit, a lot of it had found a home again. We will be going head first heart day very soon. Ran by my daughter's house the other day and as I was leaving my youngest grand daughter said, "Nana, when can I come to your house to make Valentine cookies - with LOTS of sprinkles?". There's a girl after my own heart. So much more to share. Stay tuned.