Not Exactly Where I Was Going

Many things about me have changed as I have gotten older but perhaps the most appreciated is my ability to be a bit more flexible. I will admit to "the need to be in control" but, as I have aged, I have mellowed a bit. And, this project, while not being anywhere near important in the scheme of things, is a good example! When I started, I was heading to a very soft, shabby chic feel. But, that being said, I guess I kind of quashed that idea when I decided that instead of the soft pinks and fuchsias that I was going to go with, I would stick to my "purist gut" and go red and white. I love red and white for Valentine's Day but I will admit that it may be a bit too harsh for the real shabby chic look I had envisioned.

Or, maybe it was just the finish that I ended up with. Even though I put on a light spray of satin finish (mostly to be sure the paint wouldn't peel off), it still gave the jar enough of a shine that it lost its shabby label.

Even after playing around with the embellishments, I wasn't sold on these things but once I filled mine with flowers and the jar wasn't the main focus, I became O.K. with them.

It seems that whenever I need skeleton keys, I have a hard time finding them. So, a number of months ago when I saw these keys in the dollar bins at Michaels, I bought a bunch of them - actually wish I had bought more! I knew I would probably use them for Valentine's Day gifts - just wasn't sure how. When these jars started giving me "trouble", I knew some major embellishing was all that was going to save them so I started by using my Cricut machine and cutting out 1 1/2 inch hearts from different Valentine colored papers. I punched in holes and threaded them on twine and hung them from the rim. I still wasn't happy with them so, even though I still feel I could have used them in a better way, I broke down and hung the keys on a piece of twine and added them to the mix and I was better with it all!

My intent had been to add some white tulips - and I still will when I find them - but there was not a tulip of ANY color yesterday in either Fresh Market or Trader Joes so I settled for some yummy scented stock. Even though they are not in my traditional Valentine color scheme, the smell is so intoxicating that I can make an exception. See, I told you I am nothing if not flexible these days!!

So, that is one gift down and hopefully tomorrow will see me completing the second. And, we still have a few more rooms to visit. Stay tuned.