I'm Seeing Red-Finally!

 So half of January is already gone and I am just starting to post my Valentine decor. I feel like I am starting the new year as I ended up the old one-running behind. I still have four weeks for this decor to be out before the green for St. Pat's invades so that's really plenty of time but I am already finding myself looking ahead to that day and even on to Easter. I've got to stop wishing my life away but I do get excited when I think about finding new decor and crafts and, with the addition of the new living room shelf, each month's decor will need to be a bit changed up so that is exciting too.

In any case, let's get started on the porch-again, poinsettias are not my favorites for after Christmas but they're red so they get a pass until I find something better.

I didn't use the silver mercury glass candle holders that I usually put here. I was looking for something different and have never really liked this area-I guess I was blaming the addition of the silver but, now that they're gone, I'm finding that I don't like it any better. Maybe its time for a total change-next year. Lol

I do still like this hanging heart that I made last year.

I really love that big space filled in with a picture. Not sure what I will do next month but we shall see.

Lol

I still absolutely love the sequin heart that my grand children and I made as gifts a number of years ago!

I have been having second-and third-thoughts about this corner cabinet. It is from Disharoon Valley Furniture and started out as pine. Then, when I was going through my "paint everything black" phase, it succumbed to my whim. As I look at it in the picture from the front door, I think it may be time for it to "go". I think the scale is off and I'm just not feeling it any more. But then, the symmetrical me takes over and knows I would have an issue because the chest on the wall is centered with the couch...not on the whole wall. If that cabinet wasn't there to fill the space and make the symmetry make sense, I know I would go crazy and just start looking for something else to put there. Not to mention, look how many of my favorite pictures it holds. I'm not leaning more one way than the other right now but I do think I will be pondering a solution before long. Lol

And, just when I thought I was done with Valentine crafts, this happened.

Yes, that's toilet paper! I saw a blogger do some paper molds the other day and I remembered that I actually did the same things probably 40+ years ago except when I did it, I put small pieces of paper in a blender and made a kind of paper "sludge". Then, that was pressed into a candy or cookie mold. I also filled them with beeswax one year. In any case, they turned out beautifully and I embellished them and gave them as gifts. Fast forward to now and I no longer have any of them left. If I remember correctly. I used a spray release in the mold and over time, the paper heart turned yellow and ugly.

This blogger used toilet paper and it looked easier to me so I thought I would give it a try. Of course, my Charmin' TP rips into pieces that were too small to fit the mold and I didn't want the "tear line" showing so I switched to tissues. The blogger used 6 2ply layers so 12 layers. Since my TP is 3ply, I went with 4 layers so the same 12 layers. But, that didn't look thick enough for me so I added another-now I have 15 layers. You just lay in the paper, spritz with water and push into the mold. It is taking forever to dry even after hitting it with the heat gun a bit so I am just leaving it for now and I will let you know how it turns out. The only thing I can see that might be an issue is that with the sludge, the whole mold was filled in. This one will be open at the back and, I'm assuming more susceptible to flattening. I'll let you know.

Here's what my Charmin' looked like.

My first thought was to make a bunch and use on cards but at the rate that its drying, it will be next year before I could get enough done. Lol

So that is it for now. I made another big pot of my Martha Stewart soup so I'm off to heat some of that up and then I promised Rory yet another fetch session outside-the third of the day so far. At least she's worn out when she gets done so she usually just looks for a comfy place to nestle in and she's done for a bit. Stay safe and stay tuned...and stay warm!