Meaningful Valentine's Day Home Decor
Well, the halls are no longer decked with Christmas cheer - boo hoo! I finally got around to taking down my decor a few weeks ago, only to find myself a bit saddened by the drab feeling now in my home. Usually this time of year, I just push through it and wait until about mid-march to start decorating for Spring. This year however, I couldn't wait, so I decided to try something new - decorating for Valentines Day. Although I am a huge fan of love, of course, I can't say this holiday evokes big warm fuzzy's for me. I think this is because it can be kinda cheesy and its just an excuse for retailers to sell more cards and candy (I'm still trying to lose the extra pounds from Christmas!) That said, I thought of some creative and tasteful ways to decorate for this holiday in a way that brings new meaning to it for me and my family. Here's how I did it...
Love Never Fails & J+H Sign: So... I have to admit I'm a bit of an Offer Up junkie and over the holiday, I scored a brand new, basic Cricut machine for just $25! I love this thing so much that I'm already making plans to buy the super duper, big one. Can't wait! This little machine, though, still packs a punch, and I was able to use it to make up this super special valentine day sign. Now, I could have just written "Happy Valentines Day", but in the spirit of my home, my business and this blog, I wanted it to mean something special to me. To that end, I decided to look through the Bible at the most popular verses on love, and after doing so, I decided to choose these three very important words from I Corinthians 13:8 - "love never fails". I chose this because it was a good reminder to me that God's love (not human love) never fails us. Never. It is with us through everything we go through in life, whether good or bad, and I can always count on God's love to be there for me. I, like many of you, have been let down by love through divorce, estranged relationships or broken friendships. This isn't true love or at least isn't love in all of its completeness. True love, love that doesn't fail, only comes from a loving God who would willingly give his own life for ours. Now, THAT is love that doesn't fail! Now that you know why I chose his sign, feel free to use it to or choose a phrase that most speaks to you about the meaning of love in your life.
To make this sign, I simply grabbed a larger piece of pallet wood, painted it white and then distressed it by sanding down the edges with an orbital sander and 120 grit sandpaper. I then used my new Cricut machine to cut out the phrase on black and red cardstock in different fonts and used modge-podge to glue it on the sign. After drying it for 30 minutes, I modge-podged the top of the letters, covering the whole sign. Let dry and voila!
To make the J+H sign, I bought this wood heart from Hobby Lobby and spray painted it in colonial red spray paint from Rustoleum. I then used my cricut machine again to cut out the initials for my husband and I. I then modge podged them in the same manner as above.
Love Notes and Mail Box: I just LOVE this idea! To get my little guy involved in this fun season and to let him know just how much I LOVE him, I came up with the idea of creating a special mail box with little love notes to encourage him every day of the month of February. I found these great Bible based Love Notes for Kids at Hobby Lobby, but you can also get them on Amazon. They make them for grown ups too!
To make the mailbox, I got purchased a brown paper mache mailbox at Hobby Lobby and found some french script tissue paper. I cut the paper into pieces and modge-podged it on the cardboard. I also used red and black acrylic paint to paint the the inside and flag of the mailbox. Now every morning, my son runs downstairs to read the "love note" I've left for him. For a cute twist, you can tell you child that "cupid" or "St. Valentine" comes at night and leaves a special note for them.
Heart Tree: Finally, I added some cute dimension to my entry table to making a simple heart tree. I simply cut out some small hearts on red glitter cardstock using a Heart Craft Lever Punch and attached them to the branches with scotch tape. You could also glue them on, although I didn't because I wanted to use the branches again during a different season. I loved the look of this so much, I did it twice as you can see here in the pics of my entry and living room!
Frames & Heart Swag: To get this look, I found two old frames in my attic and spray painted them with chalk paint. I know that you usually don't have to use a primer or sand before using chalk paint, but because the surface of these frames were so slick and dark, I decided to give it a quick sand with 80 grit sand paper and a coat of Kilz primer. I find that if I don't use primer, the stain from the frame can seep into and come through the chalk paint. Once that was done, I used my favorite new product (and no I'm not a paid rep): Rustoleum's Chalked Paint and Spray Paint. You can get it on line or at Home Depot.
After painting the frames, I bought this great heart shaped wood banner from Hobby Lobby, but you can get them here at Amazon too. I then modge-podged some fantastic old love song sheet music that I picked up from a local thrift store. If you cant find any sheet music yourself, check out Pinterest to download and print some of your own. This way you can choose songs that mean something to you! Once you have your hearts completed, I hung them between the two signs with some tape.
Now, I must add that I was lucky enough to find some sheet music of the song "No Greater Love" set to the score of Tschaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto. This has very special meaning for me. As a child, I played classical piano for many years, but please don't ask me to play now because I can't, which is a whole other story for another time. Anyway... I remember having my dad play this song for me on his old vinyl LP's. I loved it so much, I bought the sheet music in 8th grade and learned this song by heart. To this day, my fingers still strum to the notes every time I hear it, and it brings back very special memories of my dad. I am excited to tell you that this spring, my dad and I will be reliving this song together at the Seattle Symphony. I can't wait!!!
And that's a wrap for now. Check back for a few more Valentines Day tips in part 2 of this blog post. Also remember to focus on the true meaning of love for you and your family this season rather than the world's imposed expectations and pressures of love. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for his friends" - John 15:13
XOXO,
Heidi
