The Easter Wreath

 The other day I showed you how I made some crosses from parts of an old chair. I put two of them in the shop, but kept one for myself to use on my Easter wreath.

I put it together with my old grapevine wreath and a few soft embellishments. 

I'm anxious to pretty up the rest of my tiny porch, but the weather isn't on board yet : )

I pray this Good Friday finds you with hearts full of gratitude, my friends!

Blessings-
                Jeanette 


Sharing over at:
Be Inspired at Common Ground






Power of Pinterest at Debbiedoo's 
and Fox Hollow Cottage  
Party Junk Easter Projects at Funky Junk Interiors
Fabulously Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo 
Creative Bloggers Party at Homemaker on a Dime 
Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill 
Budget Decorating at Creative Cain Cabin 
Welcome Home Wednesday at Vintage on a Dime  

Simple & Sentimental Valentine Mantel

I mentioned the other day that I was going to do mostly neutrals for my Valentine decor this year. I finally got my mantel area together! 

I will be setting up a little "love note station" for the kids that will be much more colorful, but here I'm going for a lighter look. 

This room is always challenging as far as lighting for photos, but I'm not a photographer and I just do the best I can with editing. Sometimes things come out a little fuzzy, but let's just go with it, ok? Thanks for understanding : )

Sometimes the simplest thing ends up getting the most attention. My Recycled Paper Heart Wreath was featured on Funky Junk's I Love That Junk site {thanks again, Donna!} and has had hundreds of views on my Hometalk page since I posted it yesterday. If you have some cardboard (I used a cereal box) and shredded paper, you can put one of these together in no time at all!



 Even though I chose to keep my mantel area simple and calm this year, I do LOVE looking at all the cheerful and colorful decorations out there on Pinterest and other blogs! 





I am blessed to have lots of beautiful old buttons that belonged to my grandmother. I simply put a handful in a cute little glass.

I just love the soft, time-worn look of vintage buttons, don't you?
Knowing my grandma collected these over many years makes them extra special to me. 



Simple little piece of slate I also used on my Winter mantel.
I used a piece of vintage sheet music to wrap a dollar store candle and added a little twine and a brown paper heart. 






Little cherub was also used in my Christmas decor.

Over here I showed you how I made Valentine Love Potion bottles using free printables from Knick of Time. Angie always has tons of inspiration, so be sure and check it out when you have a minute!



 This stamped fabric scrap ribbon and handmade lace rose were used on the unity candle at my daughter's wedding. I attached them to a charming little basket and filled it with vintage sheet music love songs.

The Valentine in the white frame has some special significance to me. Perhaps I'll share about that in another post...

Just a little detail here. If you're hanging something that will have the nail exposed, why not use something a little prettier? 
These upholstery tacks are easy to find and they just add a tiny spot of charm. This tack was dark metal and I wanted it to tie in with the white backdrop so I just swiped my finger across it with a spot of white paint.

Under the mantel shelf I hung the Simple LOVE Banner  I shared this week. 
 


This is another simple no-sew project using fabric scraps and glue!

 

 

A little bit handmade, a little bit vintage and a little bit sentimental. That's my idea of a charming Valentine's Day vignette. 

Sunday blessings to you, my friends!

Jeanette

Sharing over at:

Alderberry Hill-Make the Scene Monday 
The Dedicated House-Make It Pretty Monday
Liz Marie-"Love It" Link Party  
Cozy Little House-Tweak It Tuesday 
Cedar Hill Ranch-Cowgirl Up! 
Homemaker On a Dime-Creative Bloggers Party 
twelveOeight-Pretty Things Link Party
Creative Cain Cabin-Budget Decorating Party
Homa Style-Valentine Link Party   
Knick of Time Tuesday 
Coastal Charm-Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 
Savvy Southern Style-Wow Us Wednesdays 
Vintage On A Dime-Welcome Home Wednesday
Timewashed-Blissful Whites Wednesday 
StoneGable-Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits  
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson-Share Your Cup Thursday 
Embracing Change-Creative Inspirations 
The Style Sisters-Centerpiece Wednesday 
The Charm of Home-Home Sweet Home 
French Country Cottage-Feathered Nest Friday 

Recycled Paper Heart Wreath

I think my family has a cereal addiction. Really if I would let them, there are certain kids around here that would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! This is just a small amount of the cereal boxes that I save for art and craft projects (and I put alot out in the recycling bin to be picked up!)

I wanted to come up with a Valentine project using a recycled cereal box, since we have so darn many of them.

 I tore it open along the seams and cut out a heart shape from one side.

I folded the cardboard in half and cut out a half-heart shape and opened it up. I'm just no good at drawing a heart shape freehand, but you could do this any way you like.

Then I folded the heart in half and cut the center section out of it, leaving the wreath form. (save the solid heart for another project) The edges don't need to be perfect because it's all getting covered up anyway.

I was doing this very quickly on the kitchen counter last night, so my photos aren't the greatest. 

 I punched a hole at the top center of the heart form to put a hanger through.

Now I grabbed a pile of paper packing shreds  (came in a box of coffee someone sent me as a gift!)  and started gluing them to the heart shape. I covered a small section at a time with hot glue and just squashed a handful of paper into the glue.

  
Once it was all covered I checked for thin areas and just glued more bunches of paper in where needed. 

{At this point I decided to double the cardboard heart for extra stability, and reinforced the folded areas by hot gluing another small piece of the box to those spots (punching a hole in the top piece). If you were using a stronger piece of cardboard for the heart shape, I don't think it would be necessary.}

Wide fabric ribbon? Yarn? I decided to use a torn piece of cotton fabric for my hanging loop. 

 I think it turned out kinda cute for an old cereal box and some packing paper!

Now I just need to decide if I want it hung with or without the vintage hanger. What do you think?

I'll show you where I'm using this soon! 

Sharing at:
Diana Rambles-Pin Me! 
Fox Hollow Cottage-Power of Pinterest 
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Savvy Southern Style-Wow Us Wednesdays 
The Style Sisters-Centerpiece Wednesday 

Permission to Nest: The Winter Living Room

     

We moved into our current home two years ago during a really rough time for our family. I was separated and headed for a divorce and I needed to get out from under the family home we had owned for six years. I was ready for the move, and grateful to find a comfortable and safe place for me and four kids to "land" for awhile, but I guess I felt for a long time that this home would be temporary. While I love decorating, I didn't know what was coming next and I just wasn't capable of investing myself in decorating a home I would just have to leave. I just didn't have it in me. 

Images:The Graphics Fairy

In the past several months I'm feeling a bit of a shift. I still don't know what's going to happen next, or how long we'll be in this home, but as I have more emotional healing from the divorce, I'm finding I have more of a desire to "nest" in this home. I'm quite sure blogging and Pinterest have helped to revive my desire to decorate!
Since moving in, the living room has been a mostly neglected space that I tend to avoid. In our home the entire main floor is one room, the living room-dining area-kitchen. It's a small, awkward space and tends to be taken over by kid stuff, school stuff, etc. 
I had made some half-hearted attempts to hang things on the walls, etc, but never really tried to pull it together. My room is more comfortable and tends to be where we all end up in the evening to watch movies and read, etc.

So last week I decided that when all the Christmas stuff was out I was ready to invest some effort into making our living room a place where I might actually want to sit down and stay for awhile. I'm giving myself : Permission to Nest.

 

This is how it looked getting ready for Christmas

This is how it looked taking Christmas down : )

This is how it looked on Saturday-possibilities!

Keeping in mind my decorating budget is ZERO, I had to "shop" my own house to pull the room together. I brought the electric fireplace and faux mantel backdrop down from the master bedroom, along with a few other pieces.

Upstairs I used a black shelf as the faux mantel, but here I wanted it to be all white. I created this mantel shelf using an old drawer front and some shelf brackets I already had.

Candles on the ottoman tray? Not likely in everyday life in this room, but I was fantasizing about being ALL ALONE in this room (ha!) with my tea....a book....some soft music, maybe? A girl can dream...

The same side-of-the-road crib I used for the mantel backdrop also became this chalkboard several months back.

 

 

 

Oh, awkward PIECE of brown SECTIONAL, how I loathe thee! Alas, we must try to make this relationship work for now! : )

I was inspired by Karianne at Thistlewood Farms to freshen up a twig wreath I had put together before Christmas. I sprayed it white (including the vintage sheet music leaves that weren't coming off). Added one of my snowy owls and a vintage hanger.

I tucked some nature inspired postcards and photocopies into these rustic frames and tacked them onto a white painted rough board, creating one larger piece.

My nearly 9-year-old Amelia is a prolific artist (and animal lover), and since she tends to spread out her supplies everywhere she goes, I thought I'd try to give her a little corner of her own here.



I used an old headboard to create a little backboard for the table. I won't mind if she tapes or tacks things onto it, and I thought the vintage hangers were kind of a charming addition.

This spot will certainly not contain all of her creative pursuits, but at least she'll have her own space to draw when we're together in this room.

I made this hotel sign several years ago from an old kitchen cabinet door.




Checkers and cards are more realistic than candles : )

This white crate has been one of the most versatile things I own. It has held firewood and toys, been a wall shelf, a book shelf and right now it's perfect for holding extra pillows and cozy winter blankets.

This hobnail glass mug from Target was a Christmas gift from my daughter. I love it!!

Totally charming antique Stickley settee on loan from my generous friends in China!

 

    I think I'm ready to spend some time in this room now. Movie, 

     popcorn, blankets, yep. Nesting success!

                                                                          

     

          If I end up having to leave this place soon and unexpectedly, 

     I'm going to need some hand holding, friends, ok? 

   Come join me over at: 

Farmhouse Porch-Cowgirl Up! 
The Dedicated House-Make It Pretty Monday 

Debbiedoo's Newbie with a Twist Party
Thistlewood Farms
Homemaker on a Dime 
Knick of Time Tuesday 
Vintage On A Dime-Welcome Home Wednesday
House on the Way-Twirl & Take a Bow 
Savvy Southern Style-Wow Us Wednesdays 
twelveOeight-Pretty Things Link Party! 
Timewashed-Blissful Whites Wednesday 
Coastal Charm-Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 
Embracing Change-Creative Inspirations Party 
StoneGable-Tutorial Tips and Tidbits 
French Country Cottage-Feathered Nest Friday 
Common Ground-Be Inspired! 
The Charm of Home-Home Sweet Home 
Funky Junk Interiors-SNS 
Homemaker On a Dime-Creative Bloggers Party Hop 
Diana Rambles-Pin Me! 
Creative Cain Cabin-Budget Decorating Party