Homefront: Valentine's Mantel Decorating

I shopped a 90% off Christmas sale recently and got tons of berry garlands and goodies for next year. So, I thought I would try and use some for my Valentine's mantel. I usually keep them fairly tame, like those from 2011, 2010 and 2009... but I really wanted to throw some pink fluff in this year. 

 

All I bought for this craft was the pink felt heart for $2. Everything else I had around the house, and it became this:

See? All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity, hot glue and random supplies to make something cute. That center heart is just a simple pipe cleaner. You can buy the jewels at craft stores, or order them from me here in silver or an assortment of colors!

This heart I made a few years back was cute, but I wanted to glam it up and pinkify it to match my other heart. I used red nail polish on the black outer edge and pink glitter.

 She's all new and pretty in pink.

 

Yes, my IKEA Expedit bookcase makes a perfect "mantel" for decorating, since I no longer have a fireplace. Hmmm... do you think I should have added more pink or red? (My husband firmly declares, "No.", though men can still like pink.) What is your color of choice for Valentine's Day?

 Here, I used simple flower vases with Valentine's socks pulled over them.

My shabby green candelabra I painted a few years is still going strong, and getting more shabby chic by the year. She has lost some prisms, so I have to do some replacing.

This is a vintage letter/napkin holder I got for .50 cents at a garage sale. I gussied her up with some ivory paint, than dry brushed her with a pinky red, (my tutorial here). Actually, I may have made the paint a little milky by adding water, but basically the same technique.

 Love this print, by The Black Apple.

DIY: Fabric Rag Garland and Pet Rock Valentines Tutorials

Today, I am giving you a SNEAK PEEK into my baby's nursery. I made this rag garland from scraps of colorful new and vintage fabrics, ribbon and pieces of clothing from us for some "personalization". I think it turned out perfect!  This garland is probably about 6 feet long and adds wonderful character to the room.



There are tons of tutorials online how to do it, but basically, you just cut/tear fabric scraps (mine were about 20 inches long and 2 inches wide), and knot them on your string/twine. I use this method for knotting. 

I only had a hodge podge of fabrics, so I made a base of white from the same fabric as the one I made for my window. Really, the garland looked just like that before I started layering more colors onto it. I add one color at a time, so I know I am evenly distributing them, so my garland won't be uneven. I have since added some more pizazz to the wall design, but that will be in another post.

 My previous DIY Pet Rock Valentine tutorial post was picked up by a cute online kids mag that featured 15 no-candy Valentine ideas that are all really cute. So be sure to visit there! Today, I am cleaning (yeah right), makng decorative hearts and stuff for my upcoming Valentine's mantle, going to work, and doing the mom thing... fun stuff! Hope your day is wonderful!