Day 7: Elegant Decor, Little Cost
Today I'm going to share with you a few Valentine's decorating ideas that you can use in your own home for very little cost.
Chalkboards
Chalkboards seem to be all the rage on Pinterest, design magazines, home decor catalogues, etc. A couple of years ago I discovered the beauty of chalkboard spray paint! It's amazing and I love it. The number one way I like to use chalkboard spray paint is by turning a picture frame into a chalkboard. I simply spray paint the glass, return it to the frame, and Voila! I have a chalkboard! I have done this with a picture frame by my kitchen sink, and I like to write different Bible verses, motivational thoughts, or holiday greetings on it. I also have a picture frame - turned chalkboard on display in our guest bedroom. Most recently, I was browsing the local Goodwill and ran across an unfinished wooden heart. It was $3.00. No way was I going to pass it up. So, I brought it home and turned it into a chalkboard, too! Lovin the spray paint, people! You can buy it at Hobby Lobby and Walmart. One can will last a very long time. Be sure to follow the directions on the back of the can and keep away from children. Also, I highly recommend purchasing chalkboard markers. They are worlds better than regular chalk. They are a bit pricey, so use a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby.
Heart-shaped Garland
I had seen similar ideas on Pinterest, and thought how easy it would be to make my own heart garland to hang from my mantel. Here's how I did it:
I bought several sheets of stiff, red felt at Hobby Lobby. I then found a large heart-shaped cookie cutter amongst my collection to use as a stencil. After stenciling the hearts with a sharpie marker, I cut them all out and headed to my sewing machine. I found some red ribbon that I already had on hand, and began sewing the hearts onto the ribbon, in a straight line. I'm sure you should probably pin all of the hearts onto the ribbon before you begin sewing, but I'm just being honest...I did not do that. I just started sewing. Once I had a pretty long heart garland and thought it would be long enough for my mantel, I quit sewing. BUT, I did not cut the ribbon. I held the garland up at my mantel, determined that yes, it was long enough, so I then cut the ribbon. I have it hung on my mantel with a couple of pieces of tape. This craft cost me about $4.00 and 20 minutes of my time. Easy, inexpensive, and elegant!
Note: This picture was taken before we made our Valentine Love Sacks, so that's why you don't see them on my red sled. But, they are currently perched on the sled and getting fuller every day. My kiddos, husband, and I have all enjoyed writing valentines to each other.
Table Decor
On Saturday, I will be hosting a Valentine Luncheon here at my house for the ladies of our congregation. I have 9 other wonderful hostesses helping me out, and I'm so grateful. We are going to have a delicious lunch followed by a Valentine gift exchange. This afternoon, I went ahead and decorated my dining room table for the luncheon. When Jamie and I got married, the main color I used for decorating was red. Not much has changed in my life. I love red. I gravitate to all things red. It's a sickness, but I don't want a cure. Anyway, we had artificial rose petals on all of the reception tables along with floating red rose candles. After almost 10 years, I still have all that stuff. I have used it for multiple Valentine parties and I'm glad to be recycling it year after year.
So, I used the rose petals to make a runner down the middle of my dining table. I then added 6 little glass bowls (picked up recently for $1 each) to use for floating the rose candles. A few weeks ago, I got the idea to head over to one of the big antique stores in town and look for vintage valentines. Jackpot!!! I found a bunch of cute valentines to decorate with, for .50 - $1. I added those to the table, along with some scrabble tiles. I love how the table turned out.
I have really enjoyed sharing some Valentine ideas with you over the past 7 days. I hope they have inspired you like they have me. Emily will be taking over from here by bringing the next 7 posts in our 14 Days of Valentines Series, and I can't wait to see what she has in store for us!
~ Jennifer
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