Valentine's Decor

Well kids, I've wanted to post this for a while but I've had a headache for the last seven days. I've had enough lucid hours in the day to enable me to keep up around the house but not much more. I still feel terrible but I really hate getting so far behind on my blog. So here are some pictures of the decor in place. I still have a couple more crafts that I am going to attempt but those are projects for tomorrow. I am going to a Girl's Night tomorrow and I plan to do a cute wreath that I saw on another blog. (I WILL go. I will NOT have a headache!) I'll keep you posted...

So right before Christmas we did a craft at church where we painted wooden blocks and applied cute paper and vinyl numbers to create countdown blocks. I made these as a Christmas gift for my sister-in-law. Here is a picture that I stole from her blog.

So fast forward a week or two and I find myself at Costco. They have these sets of wooden blocks for Christmas.

In this particular set there were 9 blocks of varying sizes. A box was just over $3. I freaked out. I'm sure I could get raw lumber for less than that but we don't have tools or a proper workspace. So, I bought 4 boxes. Chance was skeptical but even if I never looked at them again it was only like $12!!

So I experimented with sanding and painting the blocks. I learned that I need a power sander because I sanded until my hand burned and not a lot happened. So I used an old bottle of cream colored paint as "primer."

You can see how careful I am. :)

After I got the blocks painted I used Mod Podge (some people call it Modge Podge) to glue Valentine's paper to the blocks. I used my Cricut to cut out letters that I then glued to the blocks. Finally, you use the MP again as a finisher.

**Tip: I've heard some people complain that the paper will bubble during the process. I found that to be true when I got impatient and tried to do the finishing step before the first step was fully dry. When I left adequate time between each step I didn't have those problems.

Here is a beautiful picture Chance took of the finished product. For those of you who don't know or don't remember S.W.A.K. stands for Sealed With A Kiss.

Here's my version that was taken earlier that day. You probably can't tell but the mailbox didn't have a post. So I painted one of my blocks brown. These things are really multi-purpose!

So I previously blogged about my shopping spree at Target (if you haven't read that post don't worry but if anything is confusing it's because I am writing under the assumption that you're familiar with my story.)
So I bought this cute little mail box. I have this "Love Note" station set up on our little bureau (technically it's called a Low Boy). Anyway, the mailbox is what inspired the SWAK theme. After I got everything all set up I opened the mailbox and found that Chance had already written me a love note. He wanted me to find it when I finally put up the Valentine's decor. It was so fun and exciting to find a little note from my honey. My interactive decor has already worked!!

Chance took a close-up shot of the block I decorated to look like an envelope. I put on my darkest lipstick and kissed a piece of paper. I then cut out my lip prints and glued them right onto the block. Since I used MP to finish over the top the lipstick won't smudge!

Here are the other bits of decor that I bought at Target now that they are up around the house. I already owned all the fabric you'll see. The picture frame was one of the cheapies from Wal-Mart. I bought it to try a craft I saw on TDC but I didn't get the supplies in time. In desperation I just cut some scrapbooking paper and stuck it in the frame. I took the glass and the matte out of the frame so there wouldn't be a glare. I love it! First of all, I have already gotten so many different uses out of that paper! Secondly, I'm already excited about the endless possibilities of this frame idea.

So, we have this great bookshelf on Chance's side of the couch. I actually like this thing so much it is going to get it's own blog post tomorrow. Anyway, it's right by the front door so the Basket O' Mail is always on it. It has 6 cubes that I have filled with stuff we love. I put a nice blue micro-suede on top and, to insure that it stays in place, I...oh man...I stapled it down. I can't believe I just admitted that! Anyway, I never decorate it because I don't want to remove the blue fabric. This month I decided to put fabric over the top. If you come by, feel free to let me know if you think I'm pulling it off. I genuinely want to know!

I also used the little wreath I bought as a stand of sorts for the lamp. I intended to put a candle holder in the middle but Chance's lamp fit so nicely I just left it.

Then there is my side table.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I spent another $1 and bought a roll of tulle at JoAnn's. It helped finish everything off.

Share the LOVE by letting me know what you think and what kind of fun things you have up around your place!

You're my inspiration! Thrifty Decor Chick

I follow a blog called Thrifty Decor Chick. The blogger, Sarah, is a super cool girl who finds and shares clever ways to inexpensively spice up the decor in your home. She is the master of replicating Pottery Barn on the cheap. I have already used a couple of her ideas around my house. This post, though, is not how I used her ideas but how her blog inspired me to try to become my own Thrifty Decor Chick.
I went to Target today. If you're not already chuckling then you must have more self-control than I do.
Target has a Dollar section that I scour thoroughly every time I go to there. They are awesome about having very inexpensive holiday items, kids stuff (like coloring books and stickers), and paper products like planners and cards. I spent WAY more today than I normally do in that section but I am so danged excited about my purchases. Enough suspense, here's what we got.
I have almost no Valentine's Day decor. I usually don't like the style of store-bought Valentine items. I got all four of these items for around my house. The words are about 2" thick and will stand on their own. They are glittery but they aren't frilly. The font is still classic. Can you believe I found each of these items for $2.50?! I spent $10 and I have cute stuff to add all over my living room.

Next, I found this adorable, tiny mailbox. It came in white, red, or pink. How much? $1.00. Yup. ONE DOLLAR. For the record it came completely plain but it has a working flag!

So I decided I would add an interactive decor feature this year. I used stickers to write "Love Notes" on the side of the mailbox. Then, I put scrapbook paper, stationary, markers, stickers, and scissors into a box that I wrapped in Valentine type wrapping paper. Anyone who feels so inclined can write a note and leave it in the tiny mailbox. I think it will be a fun way for Chance and I to send little love notes around the holiday. I already owned the scissors and the markers but everything else was purchased at Target today.
It cost me a total of $9. It contains 9 items from that dollar section including the mailbox. There are 2 sets of heart stickers, 3 sets of alphabet stickers, 1 container of brads, an 8 pk of small cards with envelopes, and Valentine's Day paper. The paper came in 16 pre-cut 5x7 sheets.

Finally, I got some scrapbooking supplies. I got 2 sets of really cute 12x12 paper (8 sheets each, half are embossed), 3 sets of 7x7 metallic sheen paper, and two more sets of alphabet stickers.

Here are some pictures of the individual items:
All the papers:

The alphabet stickers:

The embellishments:

Finally, the little cards and the wrapping paper. I'm really excited about the wrapping paper. The dollar section sells these rolls that are shorter than normal. They have 40 sq feet of paper and it only cost $1!! I am certain I can use this paper for a number of things besides Valentine's. What a great find!

So, total I spent $27 on new Valentine's Day stuff. If you're not a scrapbooker but you liked everything else you would really only be looking at spending $20.
So, thank you TDC for helping me look at the world a little differently. I can't wait until February so I can show you how these items look in the house.