Whimsical Valentine’s Day Mantel

I have to be honest, I really didn’t have a vision for a Valentine’s Day mantel this year.  I just knew I wanted it to be simpler than last year’s Valentine’s Day mantel mantel which ended up being a bit too fussy for my liking.

The more home photos I view in the blogosphere, the more I am realizing that I LOVE simplicity in decorating. I tend to be a bit of an over-decorator(is that a real word?).  It’s amazing how much I am learning about my decorating style through blogging.

It’s funny, when you put photos of your home out there for all the world to see, you start to notice (and critique) things you never realized before.  One common adjective I’d use to describe my approach to nearly all my spaces and projects is ‘whimsical’.  But with whimsical decorating, its easy to get carried away sometimes – and I’m guilty of that!  The trick, I think, is knowing when to stop. {I. must. work. on. that.}

Anyway, back to my Valentine’s Day mantel!

I think I ended up somewhere in the middle of ‘simple’ and ‘whimsical’ with this one.

I started by making this simple heart canvas, and the rest came together from there.  I sprayed a square canvas a shade of tiffany blue, and then I mod- podged a big pink heart on it that I cut from scrap paper with pinking shears. Easy peaesy, lemon squeezy.

  

 

I found those little heart frames in the buck fifty bin at Michaels (gotta love those bins!).  I added the polka dot scrapbook paper, and then each my little sweeties’ initials with chipboard letters.

 

For the garland, I started with a string of *pink!!* (yes, pink!) mini-lights, which was a super-lucky find at Michael’s two Christmases ago.  Then I added whimsical shapes that I cut with my Silhouette (like hearts, mod flowers, and love birds) with twine.  (P.S. You don’t have to have a Silhouette to make a garland like this…just use punches, or buy a package of die-cut shapes at a craft store!)

I think it looks extra pretty when it’s lit up.

In addition to the photos of our children and a wedding picture, I also included my little chalkboard with the saying “Love you to the moon…and back” which is one of the sweetest kids’ books ever.

Truth be told, I probably could have left out the little birds in the snow-filled glass urns (…says the wannabe ‘simple decorator’ on my right shoulder).  But I liked them so I didn’t (…says the chronic ‘over-decorator’ on my left).  BTW, is arguing with one’s self over decorating a sign of insanity?!? Probably, right? Anyway, the  silver birds add some extra reflection and sparkle, so it’s all good.

I like how it turned out…

Even more importantly, my kiddies like it too.!

The boys (who are 2 now) really like it because it’s a game to see who can pull the paper shapes off the mini-lights (yikes).  Miss G likes it because, well, it’s pink…and because she’s front and center (not one to shy away from attention, that G).

So are you decorating for Valentine’s Day too?  Do tell!

Until next time,

Kerri

P.S.  You can find a link to this post and other Valentine’s day mantels at