Enough!

I know I have posted before that I have trouble crafting for Valentine's Day. I'm not actually sure why but I just know that this seems to happen every year for this holiday. I love Valentine's Day and I love celebrating it but I just can't seem to find any craft ideas that I am passionate about. And so, I was excited yesterday to start two Valentine crafts. But now I'm wondering if I wasn't just excited to be crafting...no matter what. Because when I left you yesterday, I wasn't happy with yesterday's project and the one I did today isn't a favorite either. 

I did go back to those roses last night and at first I tried to do a dry brush of antique wax on the petals but that was a bit of a disaster...lots of blotches and dark spots. I ended up cutting some of those petals off and then using the distressing ink and the blender. I hit up most of the flowers and I am liking it a little better.

And then today I played around with the wood covered with the $Tree faux tile and came up with a leaner. Again, NOT a favorite but for today it has found a place...and I have lots to clean up before calling it a day.

Daughters #1and 3 are due home tomorrow from the Atlanta Market and it's supposed to get cold so I am planning on making another big pot of the Martha Stewart vegetable vermicelli soup and then visiting with them to hear all about all of the wonderful new trends they saw and all of the things they found for clients. Then, barring a tornado, I AM going to get my Christmas tree down on Sunday-at least fingers crossed that I will. But I'll be back soon. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Feast or Famine!

For a few weeks I have been wanting to craft but I was just not seeing anything that gave me any kind of inspiration. I had a hair appointment yesterday so after that I headed out to a few stores to pick up anything that struck my fancy. I really didn't have any ideas but I grabbed stuff I thought I might be able to use-eventually.

 This is a bit of what I got. And then I gathered up some stuff that I already had and looked at that carefully and all of a sudden, inspiration struck. So much so, in fact, that the first Valentine craft I made is almost exactly like something I discovered I had pinned on Pinterest. I had fun doing it because I hadn't crafted in awhile and was ready to get back to it but, it is again not going to go on my list of favorites. Let me show you the process and then I'll tell you why it's not entirely moving me.

I started with a heart from $Tree and cut a piece of paper to cover most of it. Then I played around with the flowers I bought at HL and the "love" word. Once I was OK with that, I ModPodged on the paper and then found a piece of handmade paper that I had from years ago when we made paper with my grand daughter's G.S. troop. We actually made that paper for a Valentine craft we were doing at the time and they had fun adding small fibers and glitter to it. That piece got added to the wood heart so it is now all covered and "love" got painted pink.

 Then I used one of my new ink blenders to grunge the edges. I also found a "keyhole" and "key" in my Tim Holtz stuff so I painted them up as well. I think it was at this point that I decided that I didn't want this to hang so I took the candle holder I got from $Tree-that I thought I might use for Easter-and spray painted it a taupe color and then "smushed" some floral foam into the opening.

I glued on two small pieces of dowel and glued it on the back of the heart and then inserted it into the foam. The picture is horrible but it will give you the idea...it's too late to go back for another picture now. Lol

At that point it was obvious that a messy bow was necessary to cover the connection. I just used lace ribbon, strips of muslin, pink ribbons and some dark pink cord. Then, I broke a small heart off of the heart skewers I had picked up in $Tree and glued it on.

And, because I never really liked the way the top shelf of the baker's rack was looking, that is where this ended up.

And now for why it will never be a favorite. First, I had to use the wrong kind of flowers...at least for my liking. I would have so rather have used the paper flowers found in the scrapbooking section of HL. Unfortunately, they were not on sale this week and, quite honestly at $6.99 a package and knowing that I would need 4-5 packages, I'm not sure I would have gotten them even if they were on sale.

And next, you know I am just not that into the pastels. I did want this to have more of the romantic Valentine feel so softer colors were definitely called for but, again, I'm not loving the flowers I had to go with. I found these flowers in the bridal section of HL-also not on sale but SO much less expensive. I went with them because they are much smaller than the regular flowers but I think they're still a bit too imposing. Hmmmm, maybe I'll go back and hit them with some distressing ink or wax. We shall see. 

I just started Valentine project #2...

...and then I'll be on to St. Pat's. I'll be back tomorrow to show you what comes next. Stay safe and stay tuned.

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.