A Valentine Spark

Hopefully I'm coming out of the January slump I've been in. I spent the day sprucing up the house for Valentine's Day and getting a little crafty. It's a start.

I started with the shelf in the kitchen. I decided to use the heart banner that I made last year and it just kind of went from there.

I find that as I "steal" items from one part of the house, then I work on filling in that empty space. So often it is total chaos as I move things around. For example, I took the ironstone pitcher with greenery in it from off the TV cabinet and moved it to the kitchen shelf. Once I got things how I wanted them on the shelf, I moved back to the living room to work on the TV cabinet.

I spent a little time working on this little chalkboard that I made a couple years ago from a plastic "silver" tray from the Dollar Tree. I kept it simple.

 

 

 



I spent some time making a new banner for the living room. I had a couple banner kits from Target and I just personalized them with my own hugs and kisses.

 

 

 

 

It's very simple, but I have to admit.....I kind of love it.

 

So then I just went around the rest of the room sprinkling some red and some hearts here and there.

 

 

 

 

 



I'm happy for something a little different. You know how I love to change things up around here.

How about you? Do you feel like you're finally breaking out of the January doldrums? Got any Valentine décor going on?

If you'd like to see our house decked out for Valentine's Day last year, you can click HERE.

2014 Christmas Home Tour: In The Kitchen

Happy Monday! As promised, I'm bringing you the second part of my Christmas home tour today.

C'mon in to the kitchen!

 

 

The table is set for Christmas breakfast.....which is really kind of funny. We have never sat down as a family for a big Christmas breakfast....ever! With celebrating our own family Christmas at home and then preparing to make the rounds to both Grandparents', we usually wind up having a quick Christmas cookie or maybe something leftover from our Christmas Eve gathering. But I wanted to set a pretty table for you today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the last couple years I have fallen in love with these Better Homes & Gardens Christmas dishes from WalMart. Each year I've collected a few more pieces. This is the first year that, mixed in with my other china, I have enough to set a whole table. There are several different Christmas-y scenes on the salad plates.

 



 

 

 

 

I have a secret about my "tablecloth." I actually used rolls of Christmas wrapping paper to create my own tablecloth. Who has the money for those pricey ones that you only use once a year? It was a simple project.....well, except for having to wield an unruly roll of paper....and that whole "measure twice, cut once" thing. But really, I just rolled the paper out, taped it down in a couple spots to hold it secure while I traced around the oval shape of my table, and then cut it out. I even made a runner for my table. I loved the script paper I found in the Target Spot.

 

 

For my centerpiece, I used these fun red house lanterns that I got for 80% off at Target after Christmas last year. I surrounded them with some faux greenery and pinecones. Cute!

 

 

 The shelf above our table doesn't look that much different than last year. But a new addition is the platter that is part of the BH&G dishes.

My kitchen cart even got a quick little holiday makeover!

 

 

 

And it's all against the background of our December calendar on the chalkboard wall.

 

 

 

Over on the other side of the kitchen there are some Christmas touches as well....fresh and faux greenery mixed with some ironstone and pretty dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my little tour today. If you missed it, you can also check out Part 1 of this year's Christmas home tour. And last year's home tour is HERE.

 

Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas!



Fall Home Tour

Fall is officially here and the house is decked out in its Autumn glory! I love bringing these colors into my home for the season.

C'mon in and I'll show you around. Someone is taking a little nap, but he won't mind if you come in. Despite how it looks, he LOVES having guests.

Let's head into the kitchen first. I tried to tone down the orange this year, but I just couldn't help myself in the kitchen. I love using these preserved leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some mums in a basket for the table. They are a really inexpensive way to decorate the table for the season.

 



 

 

And some more mums grace the dresser.

 

 

 

 

 

I loved these green pumpkins that I found at Michael's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As usual, I kept the hearth area simple.

 

 

 

 

 

I gave this guy some leaves to play in.

 

 

 

 

 

(Looks like someone decided to move to a more comfy spot.)

 

 









Well, that's about it. I hope you enjoyed our little tour! Next week I'll have some porch décor for you. Stay tuned!

Transitioning To Fall

 

 

 

 

 

Whether we like it or not, Fall will soon be upon us. I'm not trying to hurry it along or anything, but I was just ready for a little change around here. And I'm not ready for colored leaves and pumpkins quite yet. There will be plenty of time for that.

 

I'm calling this "Transitional Fall" décor.

 

 

It started with this chalkboard-look print that I found at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. "Count Your Blessings"....I thought that would be perfect for Fall, all the way through Thanksgiving.

 

I layered it over my window pane and hung it with some burlap ribbon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Hobby Lobby I also found these Fall flameless pillars to put in my lanterns. I'm still on the lookout for a couple simple, black pillar holders to lift the candles up a bit. They're a little short.

 

 

The wood stove was ready for something a little less Summer-y too. I pulled my black and white dishes back out along with these transfer ware teacups I found at Goodwill during the Summer to make a pretty vignette.

 



 

Meanwhile, over on the coffee table....my little owl friend was ready to make an appearance. He makes me smile.

 

As an aside, I love having a tray (or large plate in this case) on the coffee table to corral the TV remote. Then I am able to find it at least half of the time. Ha! 

 

 

So there you go....a little Transitional Fall décor. Nothing overtly Fall....the leaves and pumpkins will make their appearance in due time....just a little more warm and cozy.