I'm Seeing "Red"

I am back after a fun few days...but, I must admit, the Christmas tree is still with me. I thought I would take it down yesterday but the weather is just so dreary that I have decided that I am leaving it up until things brighten up a bit around here! Lol

In any case, we had a wonderful family visit for my sister-in-law's birthday and, once again, the Giada DeLaurentis recipe for chicken tetrazzini did not disappoint. I think I have posted that it is a bit of a bear to make because it just has SO many steps but it is so worth every one of them! And then, since most of us really aren't dessert people, I don't have a favorite go-to but as I was looking for ideas I found my very old recipe for a Texas sheet cake. It isn't the prettiest cake as it is made and, unless you cut it up into pieces ahead of time, served in the jelly roll pan in which it is baked. Cutting it up is the way to go if you know most of it would get eaten right then but, as I mentioned, a lot of us are not dessert people, so it was better not to cut it up and try to keep it from getting dry. In any case, with a scoop of either vanilla or mint chip ice-cream on top, it is delicious and I remember why we used to like it so much.

We had a pretty late night on Friday just enjoying visiting and getting caught up again and then my brother and sister-in-law helped me get a lot of things off of my to-do list that I can't do by myself. This time, most of them didn't involve brawn-they were the "brain" things that I am just not all that good with-most involving technology and wires and wiring, etc. I'm always afraid to move something even if I don't think it is being used any more...just my luck I wipe out everything plugged in in my house! Lol

That leaves me starting a new week with not a lot hanging over my head so I thought I would take you into the next room-which is the kitchen. Come on in.

I made this simple basket many years ago but I still love the way it looks just propped up by the cutting boards.

I still use both the wine glass and the coffee mugs that the grand children made a number of years ago.

 

No matter how hard I try, I just can't get a good picture of the baker's rack but the top shelf is different this year and I'm pretty sure you can see how. The board with the vintage Valentines used to be in the LR but, for whatever reason, I just didn't like that any more. And, as often happens, I walked all around the house looking for a new home for it and I just couldn't find one-but, I'm not quite ready to get rid of it just yet so this is where it landed. I definitely think it competes with the "Be Mine" sign I did a few years ago but it is what it is...at least for now.

This jar started with flowers from my garden but then I switched to the tulips and the other jar after my trip to the store.

So, that is the kitchen for this year. I did finally get to the $Tree the other day and I picked up a few things for Valentines, St. Pat's and Easter so I think I will be crafting tomorrow. I don't actually have any ideas so we will see how that goes. Stay safe and stay tuned.

 

On We Go!

 Yesterday's storms have passed and, thankfully, they weren't quite as bad for us as originally predicted...no tornadoes in our area although, the prediction was scary enough that my son-in-law came and picked me up and took me back to their house to ride it out. Although the HUGE oak trees umbrella-ing my house are beautiful, they are a cause of concern when winds up to 70 miles an hour were the prediction. And, my entire neighborhood is full of the same sized trees so even just falling limbs often wipe out our power. Thankfully, none of that even happened (except for a lot of smaller downed limbs to pick up) so it is back to life as usual...which today meant taking pictures and starting our Valentine tour. Once again, I will apologize for the photos. My "much more camera savvy" sister-in-law is coming on Friday and I am going to see if she can tell me what I might have done to a setting on my camera to produce the effect I seem to be getting. Hopefully the next post will be clear as a bell. Lol

The porch still has the poinsettias...they're red so I am sort of OK with them but as soon as I get a chance to get to the nursery, they will be changing as they just shout "Christmas" to me.

I love this image that I downloaded, printed and framed...I use it every year and I think I've told you that I use it because it reminds me of myself and my cousins when we were so much younger. The little girl second from the left looks just like me...I had that haircut at one point and I'm pretty sure I had that coat and those shoes as well. It just speaks to me and makes me happy.

This sequined heart is one of my favorite crafts that I ever did with my grand children. It really is so simple and can't be done wrong but I think it makes the perfect "statement" for the holiday.

And I still love my vintage Valentine wreath that I made.

I don't know if I've ever posted a picture of the doors closed...I had them like this when the dogs were here so they wouldn't race to the front windows every time they heard a sound and I had forgotten how much I actually like them. Of course, I go back and forth between the rooms and the other end of the house so often that it doesn't make sense to keep opening and closing them but when they're needed, I think they're pretty. There wasn't any barrier here when we bought the house and we wanted something we could close off so I went in search of French doors. Of course, the opening isn't the standard size for French doors so even back then, a custom door would have cost a fortune. I remember how happy I was when I found these doors unfinished at the Home Depot. I'm not a bi-fold door fan but with the glass that these doors have, I could kind of be tricked into them being French. I was also into finishing all sorts of unfinished furniture back then so a coat of stain and some finishing wax and we were good to go! I actually came very close to painting them black a year or so ago after falling in love with a room done by Nate Berkus and featuring black windows and doors but I think I'm glad I stopped myself in time. Lol

 So that is the living room and porch for this year. I did change a few things up and I'm hoping that I will come across some new Valentine iseas soon so I can do even more changing.

The rest of my week is pretty much spoken for so I probably won't be back for a few days. Until I see you again, stay safe and stay tuned.

Whew!

 Today was supposed to be the day! It was supposed to be the day that I began my post for Valentine's Day 2024 decor. I am actually ready. The puppers went home on Friday night and I began Christmas take-down bright and early on Saturday morning. Except for a few hours when grandson #1 and grand daughter #5 came by for a visit, I worked pretty non-stop for three full days. I don't ever really think of the Christmas swap out as being as difficult as it always is. There are some "red" things already out that can stay but, I guess because I use so much faux greenery, this one always wears me out more...not to mention that like Halloween, much of this decor goes back up onto the top shelves in the garage and between the ladder, the weight of these things and their bulkiness, it is always a fete if I get them where they belong!

In any case, everything else (except for the sign over my bed which I just realized hasn't been swapped yet-lol), is ready and I was going to take my pictures this morning and get the new year on the road. That is, until I woke up and realized that we are expecting some kind of really rough weather today-apparently lots of rain and high winds-and possibly tornadoes-so much so that our public schools have canceled today-which was to be our first day back after a pretty long break. I'm not looking forward to what might be coming because with all of the huge trees we have around here, high winds usually end up knocking out power...we shall see.

In any case-let's revisit where I last left off. I really didn't like that heart that I made. I wasn't 100% positive but I suspected that the colors in the print I chose had something to do with it...and, I guess I was right because as soon as I printed something more in the traditional colors of Valentine's Day...and figured out a way to take the heart apart just enough to slide in the new picture, I was happy. I added the bow to the top and then made a little tag from a small piece of muslin. I just used my small letter stamps for the XOXO design and fringed the edges just a bit before attaching it under the bow. And then, as I was emptying my Valentine bins as I decorated, I found the small little key on the wire just laying there all by itself. It obviously broke off of something but I honestly have no clue what! Nothing I found was missing a key so this is where it ended up! 

I always joke to my family that I am a purist...even in decorating. As much as I can admire blue Christmas decor or neutral Halloween decor, none of that is for me in my home. It's mostly red for Valentine's Day although a bit of pink can slip in if something is Victorian. And just like that, I love the heart...so much so that I hung it in the entry so it is really about the first thing you see as you enter.

I have a few other snips and snails to share before I sign off and go look for something to do to await this ominous weather.

I almost always start my decor take down in the living room and for Christmas, that means using the blanket chest. My husband and I bought this chest many years ago at an antique auction in High Springs, FL. We used to go up there often and I loved it because it was always full of local antique dealers also bidding. I figured that they all knew so much more than I did so if we were bidding against each other, I figured I had probably found a treasure.

The other thing I had going for me was that they would stop bidding when they got to a point where they didn't think they could make a profit on the item after doubling their price. And, that is exactly what happened with this blanket chest. I absolutely fell in love with it. It is the most beautiful green stained wood. I had no pre-conceived ideas as to how or where I would use it but I knew I really wanted it! In the end, it was not inexpensive but, when as soon as the auction was over, a very well respected antique store owner approached me and asked that if I ever tired of the chest, would I give him the first chance to buy it, I knew I did well!

And so, this beauty came home with us and I can not even tell you how much it actually holds! It holds EVERYTHING from the living room (minus garlands, pillows and candles that get stored in other places) and most of the decor from the kitchen. Just filling that beauty up gives me the most incredible head start on the day.

And, look who knew exactly when to burst out into bloom!

It is a Christmas cactus so I shouldn't be surprised but I always get a kick out of the fact that it sits in front of Valentine decor as well...since it is red, I will give it a "pass". Lol

And, that isn't the only place of confused identity...

Taking down the tree is always a chore but, this year, since I am dealing with my first faux tree-and I really have no idea for sure where it will go to be stored although daughter #3 has offered to store it at her warehouse for me if I can't figure out anything else-I was just too tired to give it a thought. And since it gets so dark so quickly these days, the lights do make the family room feel more cozy at night. I know I can't leave it forever but for now, I am embracing the absurdity of it all!

So that is really all I have for today. If the house is still standing tomorrow, it is supposed to be a lot cooler but the sun should be out and I will start the picture taking process. I'll be back again-until then, stay safe and stay tuned.

Working With Handicaps!

 When last I posted I think I mentioned that I wasn't quite ready to take down Christmas yet...and it was a good thing I made that decision. I knew the grand dogs would be back with me again while daughter #3 and her family were off on another trip before everyone had to head back to school-I just didn't know it would happen so early on January 2! I actually was going to run a bunch of errands that day to be prepared for the week...but those plans changed pretty quickly.

Luckily I didn't start the take-down process as these two dogs follow me like we are attached at the hip! Hazel has always been like that and now we add big Bruno to the mix and that would have been totally impossible. But, I love these dogs so I was good with that. It just gave me another excuse to procrastinate!

I used yesterday to catch up on laundry, watering plants, etc. but today I was ready to tackle something a bit more interesting. I looked over last year's Valentine decor and I think I have decided to change it up a bit...we shall see. One of the ideas that has been hanging over me was the $Tree faux tile Christmas tree that was all over the craft blogs, Pinterest, etc. My plan had been to scout out a wooden tree form from the $Tree as well but I just never had the time to search one out before the holiday. And then it hit me-why not do the same thing with a wooden heart...which I actually had left from a project last year that I never liked or used. And, I have a few of the tiles as well so, happily I was ready to set up shop.

Until I remembered that because of the holiday, not only would my pool guy be here but so would the lawn care service-maybe...they are kind of at the mercy of the weather so service days are never a guarantee. In any case, I would normally be doing this out in the sunroom but, the sunroom not only looks out on the whole backyard but also the pool and Bruno has one bad habit-he goes ballistic if he sees or hears just about anything. And so, to avoid that issue, I decided to attempt to craft in my office near my computer.

And that's where the handicaps come into play. I will apologize right now because the first pictures are in the office where overhead lighting is good for computer work but a nightmare when it comes to trying to take pictures.

In any case, my first job was to take off the lace roses I had glued on the heart last year-way easier said than done this time. Usually, I can peel things like this off of wood but these were not moving so I pulled out the glue gun and used the heat of the tip to melt last year's glue-again, easier said than done. I really had to struggle with these but, in the end, I made it!

 Next came tracing the wood heart onto the tile. Normally I would do this on the back which is flat but because I wanted to make sure that the heart was centered just right for the opening I was going to cut, I traced on the front. The bumps were a bit of a hindrance but it came out just fine.

You would think that the entire back of the faux tile would be "sticky" so you could adhere them securely to a wall but in fact there is only adhesive right around the outside so once you have cut past that, the back just slips off.

Next came the cutting out of the center but here is where I had to "call it" and wait until I could move out to the sunroom. Every time I tried to make a cut, the shadows from the overhead light totally blocked my view.

Once I was in the sunroom with better light, I cut the middle out of the heart. Then I started painting it. I used a cream colored chalk paint base and then added patches of pink and finished with red. I put the chalk paint on very thick so then it was just a waiting game for each layer to dry. My plan is to distress it a bit a hopefully we will see a bit of those bottom colors.

Finding the picture for the middle proved a bit more difficult than I had expected also. I really thought I wanted a Victorian heart but because of the shape and size of the opening that wasn't going to work without needing background paper and I was trying to avoid that. I wanted something vintage looking and I knew I was going to go with the red heart so I found this sweet print and I think I can make it work with all of the colors I'm using.

 I am going to stand the heart in a candle holder and I think I will need something to cover the connection so, while I was waiting for my very thick paint to dry, I made a quick "messy" bow. I'm thinking I might work in some greenery as well as some small faux roses but that will require a trip to HL and that won't happen until my grand dogs return home so we'll have to wait and see how far I get on this before then.

Once all layers of the paint were dry-I actually gave it overnight-I did a bit of a sanding to knock off a bit of the paint. You can't see it in these pictures, but where the paint was so think, it actually chipped off just like a real old tin ceiling tile would do.

Then I hit the edges and the raised parts of the heart with my Waverly antique wax and did some areas of Mod Podge covered in cinnamon and then worked back in with more Mod Podge...and, again we wait for drying time.

Until I make my way to a store to look for the proper holder, I am going to use a candle holder I have. I don't think I am going to adhere the heart to the holder permanently because I do use this candle holder a lot during the year but, its rusty look will pair perfectly with the heart so we shall see.

 As happens many times, I am at a spot where I'm not sure where I'm going next. This seems to happen more often when I don't really have a clear cut idea of what I am doing before I start. If I had found the wood tree, I would have known exactly how I wanted this to come out but now that I'm doing the heart, I'm having trouble. As much as I wanted this in the candle holder, when I put the heart into the holder, I was left with a VERY large decor item. I think if I was totally in love with this, I would be OK with that and it could be the centerpiece of a vignette. But, I have to admit, this is not a favorite...at least not yet. And so, even though I have no idea where it will go, I think it may have to be a hanger. And then, that leaves me with a bow with no place to go and needing a hanger.

I am leaning towards using the pip berries for the hanger because I added a few sprigs to the bow as well. But then, where do I want the bow? On the top?

...or the bottom?

I am still thinking that this NEEDS the roses to tie in the picture. But then that presents another question of where they will go in comparison to the bow. In my mind, I see the small red and pink roses that HL had in their Valentine section last year-no idea if they have them this year but I definitely need to add some pink because those roses in the picture are reading way more pink than they were before I added the image behind the very red heart. And, the ribbon that has a cream background is reading white to me and stands out like a sore thumb!

And so, try as I might, there will be no answers today and, if I am being completely honest, you may have just witnessed another epic fail. I'm really not sure how this will end...but you'll be the first to know. I'm actually starting to get antsy about taking down Christmas so as soon as the puppers go home, that is what I will be doing. Maybe in putting out the Valentine's decor, I will come upon the perfect place for this project and my questions will all be answered...we can only hope. Lol Stay safe and stay tuned.