To start off the week, I shared a perfect dessert for your Valentine, Pink Lemonade Pie. Then yesterday, Gina shared her Valentine Mantel. And of course, giveaways on both days too!

Today it’s all about crafts! Kellie made some darling Valentine Envelopes! I think I might just dust off my sewing machine to make a few!  Oh and don’t miss out on the giveaway from The Shabby Creek Cottage Etsy Shop!

I have made several Heart Garlands over the last couple years, one using a cookie cutter and sewing it to a ribbon {sorry about the pictures, I’ve come a long way},then another one using a paper quilling technique, but I this one is definitely my favorite!

These kitchen cabinets were in need of a little pick-me-up after the holidays, so I gathered all my Valentine sprinkles, a few extra decorations and pulled it all together.

The hearts are cut from Lifestyle Crafts die cuts. They have a super cute Valentine selection with lots to choose from. You may remember the snowflakes, paper lanterns and most recently the cupcake wrappers I also made with their die cuts!

I just love these hearts, they come in a couple different styles, I used the nesting eyelet die cut.

To make the Heart Garland, you will need…

• Scrapbook paper
• Heart die cuts
• Glue stick
• Twine or ribbon
• Mini clothes pins or another way to hang them

Directions:

1. Cut out hearts in different sizes
2. Fold heart in half, right sides together
3. Spread glue along the folded edge and add to larger size heart
4. Measure and add twine to the area you are hanging the garland
5. Add hearts with mini clothes pins or you could hang them with thread or fishing line

The rest of the cabinet has some fun little Valentine decorations I thought you might also like.

I’m ready to decorate lots of cupcakes and cookies for Valentine’s Day with the jars full of sprinkles. In the upper left photo, you can see Valentine cupcake liners in a clear tall jar, and scattered throughout are some vintage Valentine cards that I’ve had for years. On the bottom shelf, I filled a red heart shaped basket with cookie cutters, and added a Scentsy candle warmer too. Watch for a giveaway next week for one of these cuties!

And then I couldn’t stop at the cabinet, I just had to add some hearts to my ladder that hangs above the kitchen sink.

Let’s take a closer look…it’s kind of hard to see with the window behind it. We took down the curtain in preparation for the Kitchen Remodel…remember, it’s on our Home Goals list?

Cuteness!! The hearts just make me smile! The letter “L” was left from Christmas decorating, and I simply changed the little chalkboard tags to read “Be Mine.”

We wrap up our Valentine Week tomorrow with Amy from The Idea Room, she will be sharing a fun Valentine gift idea, and of course a giveaway. I will be back with Love Buckets too!

On Friday, it’s YOUR turn to share! Link up your Valentine recipes, crafts, decorating, pretty much any love filled idea you have to the Valentine Party and it will show up on ALL four blogs at the same time! Pretty cool huh?

AND you won’t want to miss the Valentine Printable from The Paper Cupcake! She sent it to me a little bit ago and you are going to FLIP out over it!!

I also created a Pinterest Board for Valentine’s Week, and will be pinning your awesome ideas! So follow along and gather some ideas!

Photo credit – Positively Splendid

Interested in these cool products from Lifestyle Crafts? Head on over and be sure to use Promo Code…HOOSIER to receive 20% off your order!

And don’t forget to enter their giveaway…it’s HUGE!

Yup…that’s some pretty cool stuff! Learn all about the giveaway!

Disclosure: I received some products to try from Lifestyle Crafts and as always, the opinions are my own.

Linking to…Show & Tell Friday, Weekend Wrap Up Party, Made by you Monday

First, let me show you how to cut the snowflakes, then I will share with you the snowflakes I ended up decorating with.

There are lots of websites that offer free snowflake templates, including where I found these, Marcel’s Kids Crafts. The first thing you will need to do is find the pattern or patterns you would like to use and print them off on either copy paper or cardstock. I would suggest copy paper, as the folding and cutting is difficult, at least it was for me.

Before we get started, I need to tell you the mistake I made. I printed and cut out all the paper snowflakes, and then later realized that if I wanted to hang them in the window, there was going to be a line on the back. So, if you don’t want a line on yours, you will either need to trace the template or fold the paper and then lay the design triangle {see it at the bottom of the pattern?} on top and then cut.

For the purpose of showing you how to fold and cut the snowflakes, I left the lines on this one.

Step 1:

• Print out snowflake pattern and cut it out

Step 2:

• Fold in half on the diagonal

Step 3:

• Fold again to form a triangle

Step 4:

• Fold in thirds. You will have 2 little wings on the bottom

Step 5:

• Cut the wings off so you end up with a skinny triangle. This is where you would lay the pattern on top or trace it on

Step 6:

• Cut away all of the shaded area. This step was difficult for me, I did have small sharp scisscors, until they broke that is.

Step 7:

• Open up the snowflake and see how you did. Mine, clearly isn’t perfect, but that’s okay. You will want to lay the snowflakes under heavy books for at least overnight to flatten them.

This is how the back looks, which is fine if you aren’t going to hang them up in a window. I also tried cutting them from a coffee filter, which was MUCH easier to cut, but not thick enough to hang in the window.

So…here’s what I ended up doing…

Do you remember the Paper Lanterns that I shared at Christmas? I should have thought about the die cuts in the beginning, but I really wanted to cut the snowflakes for the window. I’m REALLY happy with how it turned out though.

I used my Epic Die Cut Machine and Snowflake Die Cut from Lifestyle Crafts, super easy…and lots easier on my hand.

I added a few Aqua Mason Jars filled with Epsom Salt and a battery operated tea light. In the end, it was an easy Winter Decorating project.

Interested in these cool products from Lifestyle Crafts? Head on over and be sure to use Promo Code…HOOSIER to receive 20% off your order!

Disclosure: I received some products to try from Lifestyle Crafts and as always, the opinions are my own.

Do you have any helpful hints for paper snowflake making?

Linking to…Saturday Night Special, Saturday Seven Party, Sundae Scoop, Made By You Monday, Tip Me Tuesday, Get Your Craft On, Transformation Thursday

But enough of all that, you want to see how I decorated the Hoosier for Winter…don’t you?

My original thought was to add lots of my white vases, pots and dishes and then just scatter in a few snowmen, but that didn’t turn out so well. So then I tried mostly snowmen, with a few added dishes for interest…that was much better.

I’ll have to say, I think the top is my favorite part. I REALLY loved how the Chalkboard turned out on the Winter Mantel, and I had this small Chalkboard hanging in the kitchen, that quite honestly was neglected most of the time. I started with some grey wool fabric {leftover from the Winter Mantel} and added a string of white lights. For some height, I added a framed snowman on the right side, and then the tall vase on the left. But it needed a little something…Doug to the rescue…out to the yard he went with his clippers.

I filled the bottom of the vase with floral foam, then added the sticks. I used a variety of sizes and textures of snowflakes and a few icicles too. A couple of them are paper snowflakes that I cut by hand, in an attempt to make them for the Dining Room window. You can see more of them under the Snowflake Cupcakes, but needless to say, I didn’t get enough cut for the window. Stop back on Friday though, and I’ll show you what I ended up making.

Then the rest of the top was filled in with a vase, a carafe, snowman, an aqua mason jar filled with small snowball candles and a large snowball candle sits on top of a pedestal plate {small plate added to a candle stick}

Lots of snowmen gathered together in the middle, with a few snowball candles, a white pitcher and another aqua mason jar.

Then another fun area…the Hot Cocoa Station is ready to warm us all up! More aqua mason jars, this time filled with hot cocoa mix and mini marshmallows. Some of my snowman mugs and a cool tea pot we found at the thrift store last Fall.

And on the front, some vintage black skates and old mittens to add a little whimsy.

I love how it similar to the Winter Mantel {see it in the background?}, but yet, it’s different. Now while this is on my Hoosier Cabinet, you could certainly apply these ideas to any area in your home.

Have you been decorating for Winter? Share with us what you have been doing!

Linking to…Transformation Thursday, Show & Tell Friday, Frugal Friday, Saturday Night Special, Saturday Seven Party, Sundae Scoop

After sharing some 2012 blogging announcements, I realized we haven’t ever really shared our Home Goals. I thought this would be a good time to share with you, the not so pretty things around our home that are on the Home Goals List for 2012!

Our to-do list is pretty large, but hopefully we can tackle at least one job per month, and get things finished up quickly. Nick will be graduating in June and we are planning a pretty big party. It would be wonderful to have at least the main living area done. Oh and the back yard…a MUST!

We have a couple rooms, the bathroom and Andrew’s room that need the finishing touches on. And in early September, we painted the Office, and…that’s it! Nothing else has been done to finish it up.

Office To-Do List:

• Command center
• Desk – still looking for a great desk design for Doug to build for me, any suggestions?
• Credenza – we have plans to build an area for files and to keep supplies organized, it will be under the command center. I saw this amazing Sofa Table last night on Pinterest, that I think will be perfect. Take the Side Street made the table and Knock Off Decor posted it. I LOVE it!

Photo Credit

While our Living Room looks beautiful with our Mantel decorated, if you look closely, it is in terrible need of a coat of paint. And the walls are wallpapered white and they are in bad shape too.

Living Room To-Do List:

• Strip wallpaper and paint walls
• Paint Mantel

I’ve had several readers comment on the green stripe wallpaper in the Dining Room. Everyone seems to love it, me…not so much!

Dining Room To-Do List:

• Strip wallpaper and paint walls
• Chair seats recovered
• Table, chairs and buffet refinished – Doug wants to refinish them, I don’t think it’s necessary and a HUGE undertaking, we shall see

Our Kitchen is very dark, although we have a great window plus a huge bay window, it’s simply not bright enough to even take pictures in. The wallpaper is black with flowers and there is a huge curtain that matches the wallpaper that darkens the room as well.

Kitchen To-Do List:

• Strip wallpaper and paint walls – I’m thinking a butter yellow color
• Paint a chalkboard command center on the wall near the pantry
• Sew curtains for the cabinets below the countertops – all the cabinets are open with no doors which I love, but the ones on the bottom need some protection from dust and dirt

While we have done quite a bit to the front yard, our back yard is in TERRIBLE shape. And with the upcoming graduation party, it’s a perfect time to light the fire under Doug.

I LOVE this Fire Pit that was built for the HGTV Dream Home. The part in the middle has like a zen garden, but I think making it into a real fire pit would be great.

Back Yard To-Do List:

• Clear out stone and lay grass
• Build Fire Pit
• Small area for raised vegetable garden
• Paint fence
• Build deck

Because that won’t keep us busy enough, here are a few more things to tackle…

• Back porch – Paint and build a bench for coats, shoes, etc
• Basement – Laundry Room and shelves

And even though we would LOVE a new studio, I’m not sure it will get done this year. Unless of course, DIY Network wants to come on over and help us out! We are planning to make the garage into a work studio, which would include cutting out a huge window in the side of the garage and totally remodeling it. I know…I’m crazy!

What’s on your Home Goals List for 2012?

Linking to…Home Goals, Transformation Thursday

]]> http://hoosierhomemade.com/home-goals-for-2012-2/feed/ 10 http://hoosierhomemade.com/winter-mantel-decorations/ http://hoosierhomemade.com/winter-mantel-decorations/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:54:23 +0000 CupcakeLady http://hoosierhomemade.com/?p=25946 [Continue Reading]]]> I’m so excited to share my Winter Mantel with you! Like I mentioned the other day, I love cleaning up after Christmas and getting the house back under control, but I still want it to look warm and cozy for Winter.

This year’s Winter Mantel was inspired by the large chalkboard that I put out near the Christmas Tree and wrote the Night Before Christmas poem on. When Doug’s sister gave it to us, we had every intention of mounting it on the wall in the office for a command center. But I loved it with inspirational sayings written on it so much that I decided to put it above the Mantel and change the sayings every so often to fit the season or holiday.

After Doug put the Chalkboard on the Mantel, I then had to come up with what I wanted to add to it. I searched the internet for fun Winter quotes, but came up with only serious ones. So then I took a look at one of my favorite artists, Susan Branch, for inspiration. Then it hit me…Winter Love! What are some things we love about Winter? Hot Cocoa…Snowflakes…Cozy Fire…Fuzzy Slippers…A Warm Blanket…YES! We love them all!

I used just a regular box of Crayola chalk, in white and colored, and used a little tip that Gina gave me to make the chalk look like a chalk pen {which by the way, we saw one at Michael’s and it was $12}. Make sure the Chalkboard is damp and the chalk is damp. I wrapped the chalk in a wet paper towel and let it set for a few minutes, then with a very damp, but not dripping wet, dish towel, I wet down the board, a section at a time. I do also need to tell you that this Chalkboard, isn’t actually a Chalkboard, it’s a VERY old {probably 30+ years} piece of slate, which is why you can see some imperfections on the board. Which I think adds character and makes it even better.

After my first attempt at drawing a mug of Hot Cocoa, I quickly decided that my artist skills are very lacking, so I called in my oldest son, who is an amazing artist, to save the day. I think he did a wonderful job! Thanks, Andrew!

After the Chalkboard was done, then it was time to start pulling in all the other decorations.

1. The Twig Trees from the Christmas Mantel stayed up on either end
2. Then a long piece of wool fabric went down and I kind of bunched it up to look like a warm blanket
3. A large snowman, some vintage black skates and the antique shovel that I had on the front porch were added
4. I used my small cupcake plate and added some of the snowball ornaments from the Winter Wonderland Tree, and another favorite Snowman
5. I couldn’t help but add some of my favorite Aqua Mason Jars, one is filled all the way with Epsom Salt, the other almost full and I added a battery operated tea light
6. Then to finish up the Winter Mantel, I added another Aqua Jar filled with mini marshmallows, some pinecones and a couple snowflakes

And because I couldn’t help myself…a little more eye candy for you!

Have you decorated for Winter yet?

Linking to…Weekend Wrap-up Party, Saturday Night Special, Saturday Sevens, Sundae Scoop, Made By You Monday, Show Me How

We decided to take down the Snowman Tree that was in the Dining Room, since it was so big, but I still wanted a small tree with some Winter decorations on it somewhere in the house.

You may remember the Woodland Trees that were in the Foyer. I decided to leave up one of them, and add some simple Winter decorations to it. I loved the decorations from last year, when I created a Mr. Snowman Tree with some items we already had.

An old hat and a scarf cut from wool fabric for the scarf, a few snowflakes and Mr. Snowman was done.

I placed an old sled and a wire basket filled with pinecones next to the tree.

In about 5 minutes time, we have a fun and simple Winter decoration to greet our guests.

Have you taken down your Christmas decorations yet?

Linking to…Transformation Thursday

The cute little table top stands about 4 feet tall. The white tree used to be in the boys room with baseball ornaments, but they decided it was fine for me to use it. I love all the new color combinations that are popping up lately. The bright pink and blue are so fun and really brighten up my office.

The addition of the pinwheels from the Pinwheel Garland adds a lot of whimsy. The clear ornaments, that we found at Michael’s, were filled with candy and what else…cupcake sprinkles.

Another bright pinwheel and some pink sprinkles this time.

For the topper, we cut 22 – 1 inch wide strips of scrapbook paper, looped and glued to form a flower and a leftover snowflake from the Paper Lanterns was added to the middle.

And in case you missed the rest of the Christmas Tree Tour…here’s a look back at them…

1. Family Tree {in the middle}
2. Vintage Tree in the Foyer
3. Vintage Tree in the Kitchen
4. Woodland Trees
5. Bird Tree from Splendidly Homemade Magazine
6. Kitchen Tree from Splendidly Homemade Magazine
7. Winter Wonderland Tree
8. Christmas Photo Card Tree
9. Pez Tree – the boys put this one up by themselves, it’s upstairs on the landing
10. Glam Tree
11. Snowman Tree
12. Cupcake Tree
13. Ladder Tree

Whew! We made it…a FULL dozen {plus one}

I have one more little surprise for you…stay tuned!

Do you put up Themed Christmas Trees? Share with us!

Linking to …Saturday Night Special