Soda-lighted it's Valentine's Day!

Possibly one of my favorite vintage Valentines ever! Found via Pinterest.

PS--The visit with the Project Manager yesterday went well--as I type, there are dudes in my basement building a new subfloor! It's a Valentine's Day Miracle!

Valentine's Day decor

I know it's WAY after the fact, but I did want to post photos of this year's Valentine's Day decor, both for my own records and just to share some fun pictures.

Last week, I posted the window I made and mentioned that I wanted to back it with old book pages. It was a project that took me about five minutes and made a big impact! I simply cut a piece of cardboard box to size, sprayed it with spray adhesive and slapped on some old dictionary pages. It's adhered to the back of the window with blue painter's tape so it is easily removable, but it occurs to me now that I could have also cut it to the size of the glass and just wedged it in, eliminating the need for tape.

The window inspired me to use a red, black and white theme for my decorating this year. I used the red honeycomb medallions that I made last year and stuck them into a red and silver vase. I added my red gumball machine that is half-full of white buttons, a few black thrift-store finial-thingies, and at the last minute added a cute vintage-style Valentine take-out box that has a black beaded handle.

For the top of my little dresser, I used a vintage redwork tablecloth, an old red book, and a vintage candy box from an estate sale last summer. I added a bit of black with a neat cameo pin (thrifted, should get a better photo to show a close-up) and a red, black and white folding ruler used to hold up a vintage Valentine from my collection.

I stayed with the color scheme when filling my muffin tin table. Yup, still my favorite piece of furniture in the house!

Back before Christmas I found this darling vintage chalkboard at an antique store, but I've never showed it on my blog because it's hard to get a good photo with the lighting in the room and because there's a big chip in the navy wall paint that I've been too busy/lazy/distracted to fix. I picked out some Valentines that school kids would have exchanged and hung them with tiny clothespins from a length of baker's twine.

Just for fun, I added an old class photo (dated 1938) that I picked up somewhere and suspended it from little metal clips inside a thrifted frame that looks like it's made from old rulers.

I didn't get things decorated until the Friday before Valentine's Day so I'll probably leave them up for another week while I decide what to put up in their place. I got rid of all my St. Patrick's Day stuff (what little there was) because I just can't get really excited about the holiday, plus kelly green just does not go with the paint on my walls! Easter is late in April this year so I have a good month before I'll want put out the bunnies & eggs, so I'll have to do something non-holiday related. There's never a wrong time for aqua pottery so I think I might go that direction.

Valentine vintage window decor

I love decorating for each holiday, but because I like to make things hard on myself  like new decorating challenges, I usually change things up each year. Here's what my Valentine decor looked like last year:

I really liked how it all looked, but I got tired of the mercury glass candlesticks and gave them all away, and the little vignette on my bench is out of the question this year because of a certain little Master of Disaster so I need to do something different this year.

Changing up my decorations each year means that it takes me a little while to get it all put together and tweaked until it's just right. I don't have this year's decor done so I don't have a photo yet, but I did make something new to be the centerpiece of my display.

I used an old window I bought several years ago at a garage sale. I decorated it for Christmas too but I never got around to showing it on my blog though I suppose now's as good a time as any:

For Christmas, I made a banner using my die-cutting machines. I cut the cute scalloped bases out of old sheet music with my Sizzix Big Shot and edged them with vintage silver glitter. I cut the letters out of red cardstock using my new Cricut machine, and clipped them onto strings of red and white baker's twine using tiny clothespins. The twine was attached to the frame using tiny clear 3M Command hooks.

For my Valentine display I knew I wanted to use my window again and even purchased some pink vinyl to use with my Cricut machine, but I changed my mind at the last minute and used cardstock instead. I've seen a few things around Etsy and blogland using this little phrase and since I'm a big-time Beatles fan, decided I'd use it too.

To get my words all straight and evenly spaced, I used a ruler to divide the window into equal sections, then used a dry-erase marker and drew lines on the back side of the window. From there it was easy to cut out, arrange and adhere my letters in nice straight lines, and then I just used a spritz of Windex to clean the lines off the back of the glass when I was done!

I put my photo background board behind the window so I could get a better picture of it, but I actually really like how it looks and I think I'll make one the correct size to place behind the window for my display. Now I just need to put the rest of the display together...

Happy Valentine's Day!

For the last Valentine, I want to show you the one card that might just be my favorite for now.


I love, love, LOVE this sweet girl with her rosy cheeks, bow-shaped mouth, wayward black curls and jaunty red beret. This card is sweet beyond words; I love everything about it! The flowers around the edge, the lace, the bright colors. It's just perfect. And imagine my surprise when I was surfing around Blogland and found someone who bears a striking resemblance to my Valentine girl! This sweet card is the centerpiece of the clothespin garland hanging on my mirror. I love it so much that I thought it deserved the place of honor.

For my RED item today I had to venture into the depths of my closet. I'm not a terribly sentimental person and I don' t tend to keep objects around for sentimental reasons, but this is one thing I just can't let go.

You already know that red is my favorite color, but you combine red with sequins and my inner 6-year-old takes over and I'm powerless to resist. I made these shoes when I was a senior in high school when I dressed up as Dorothy for Halloween. I painted a pair of Keds with red acrylic paint and then used tacky glue and miles of sequined trim and glued it around and around in a circle. I wore the shoes for Halloween but then decided that I loved them so much that I kept wearing them! I'm sure there were kids at school that thought I was a total weirdo but I didn't care. In fact I found out later that year that a boy I had a HUGE crush on liked my style, my red shoes in particular.

The shoes don't fit anymore, and neither does the Dorothy dress--my feet grew a half size bigger when I was pregnant with Maren, and to say that I'm not the same size as I was in high school would be a gross understatement indeed. However, the shoes will stay in the back of my closet, because they're red and sequined and that alone wins them a place in my heart. But even more so because they're a reminder to me to do my own thing and not worry what other people think. There's always someone out there who appreciates me for ME, and they're the ones who really matter.

Tomorrow DH has the day off because of the holiday on Monday, and this is the first weekend in a long time that I don't have a 'deadline' of some sort. I hardly know what to do with myself! Tomorrow I'll have pictures of our Valentine's Day festivities and I think I'll keep up with the RED week celebration, even though the holiday is over. I'm always happy for an excuse to celebrate my favorite color!

Hanging Heart swap, Red Appliance #2 and Vintage Valentine show & tell #7

Today's Valentines are the same style as the ice skaters I showed a few days ago. I love the style of illustration!
I adore the little boy in the sailor suit, although the verse is not exactly what I'd call romantic.

I received my Sweet Goodness Hanging Heart swap package from my partner, Kim, and I couldn't be happier with what she made for me! Kim made me this darling heart wreath by sewing all the individual hearts and attaching them to a grapevine wreath form with a great big bow at the top.
I love it! I love all the different fabrics she chose. The hearts all have cute pinked edges and button embellishments. I was just thinking the other day that I wished I had a Valentine wreath and -poof!- one showed up! Kim also included some of my favorite chocolates and a sweet little treat for Miss Maren. Thanks again, Kim!

And now for my continued celebration of RED week, I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Ruby:


O Ruby, how I love thee. If I knew how to use Photoshop, I'd have fixed this picture so that a heavenly aura would be encircling my beautiful new KitchenAid, because that's pretty much what I see when I look over in her corner of the kitchen. Wait, wait...what's that I hear? Could that be the heavenly courses of angels singing in praise of my gorgeous mixer? {Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh}

Seriously, I've wanted this mixer for about three years now and finally this past Christmas my wish came true. I've already used it for several batches of cookies and it mixed like a dream. I think it's possible that the cookies actually tasted better because they were made in my snazzy red mixer. If my blender is like the fingernail polish of my kitchen, Ruby is definitely the unapologetically bright red lipstick! Is it wrong to be head-over-heels in love with a kitchen appliance?

Back tomorrow with one last Valentine and more Happy Mail. Don't forget to wear red!

Happy RED week! and Vintage Valentine show & tell #6

Today's Valentine is, well, you guessed it--one of my favorites! LOL It's actually much neater in person, as the scanner didn't pick up the embossing or the bright, glossy color. Somehow I got lucky and I actually have two of this same card!

I thought this week it might be fun to showcase some of my favorite RED things from around my house. Red is my favorite color and so my house has lots of red decor. My kitchen is done in bright red, yellow, aqua and cornflower blue--all colors taken from the vintage printed tablecloths from the 1940s and 50s that I love so much. We recently had the need to purchase a new blender so of course I jumped at the chance to buy something RED.

Oh, isn't she beautiful? She's a classic Osterizer Beehive blender and the base is the most beautiful metallic red! The color combined with the retro styling meant it was pretty much love at first sight for me. And let me tell you--she makes a MEAN smoothie! The motor is very powerful and also very loud; it sounds like you're firing up a 737 when you first hit the switch. There will be no middle-of-the-night milkshake making with this baby, I assure you. The red metallic color reminds me of my favorite OPI nail polish. Do you think it would be too crazy if next time I go for a pedicure, I get my toes done to match my blender? :)

Tomorrow: another Valentine and another red appliance, plus my last Valentine swap package. Tune in for lots of red and lots of hearts!

Vintage Valentine show & tell #5

Today's Valentine is another of my favorites. Okay, I know I keep saying that but I have lots of favorites. :)

I love this sweet, smitten ice skating couple. Do you not love their bright clothes? I love the girl's rosy cheeks and the way her black curls and yellow scarf are blowing in the wind. It's just charming! I have a few more cards that are done in this style that I love so I'll be sharing those in days to come. This Valentine is die-cut around the top--you punch it out and then the outside part folds down to become an easel. Clever!

When I put away my Christmas decorations, I left up the little clothesline & clothespins from this post. I had an inkling I might want to use them in my Valentine's Day decorations. I switched out the green clothespins for red and pink and hung some of my favorite heart-shaped Valentines on the string.
I love the way it looks! I love it so much that I think I might just be doing a variation on this theme for all my holiday decorating in the future. I will probably change out the red & white twine for something more appropriate for Easter, but I like the concept. That wall is very bare except for this mirror which is pretty simple and square itself. I like that the garland adds a little spice. Some more of my favorite Valentines are hanging on the garland so I'll give you a close-up view of those in a few days.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Heart swap #2 and Vintage Valentine show & tell #4

Today's Valentine is one of my very favorites from my collection. My uncle gave me a big frame he'd found somewhere that was full of vintage Valentines that had been glued to the paper backing. I love this Valentine because of the bright colors and the sweet graphics. Doesn't it remind you of Mary Engelbreit? You can tell where she gets her inspiration!
Here's the back. Unfortunately I wasn't able to remove it from the paper it was glued to without doing some damage to the corners.


Oh, how I love that little red and yellow cottage with the smoke curling out of the chimney and the little boy wearing shoes that look like Mary Janes. You know, Valentines aren't nearly as cute these days! Heck, even the inside is charming:
I think you can see why this one is one of my favorites. :)

The mailman has been good to me lately! I participated in ArtsyMama's "For the Love of Supplies" swap and was partnered with the fabulous and charming Dede Warren, who I had the pleasure to meet at Silver Bella last year. I received my swap package from Dede the other day and it is fabulous!Dede went with a very romantic, shabby theme for the box that she decorated. I love the flowered wallpaper, the darling vintage Valentine image, and the big poofy blue flower she used!
The insides were wonderful too:


Dede filled the box with all kinds of wonderful goodies like vintage buttons, ribbons, pompom trim, these amazing feathery wings, gorgeous vintage wallpaper, great chipboard shapes, and much more! What a treat it was to pull each thing out of the box. I can hardly stand to put it all away--it looks so pretty in a pile of goodness on my desk! :) Dede also included a lovely handmade card and this sweet little flowered teacup.


What fun these swaps have been! And now it's back to work for me. I have to speak in church this Sunday as well as prepare a Sunday School lesson for the same day, so I have to get a move on! I've grounded myself from all fun crafty activities until my talk & lesson are done, and I have Valentines to make so I'd best get MOVING!

Heart swap #1 and Vintage Valentine show & tell #3

Today's Valentines are both from the same line, and from the names on the back I think I must have gotten them from the same source. They both feature a gap-toothed boy--one blond, one red-head. I love their outfits: the bellhop uniform with the jaunty cap and the raccoon tail hat and knickers on the other! They both look a little impudent, if you ask me.

I also want to tell you about an amazing swap package I received. I participated in Maria's Sweet Heart Box Swap and my partner was Amy, who unfortunately doesn't have a blog (but she does have some awesome photos of her work up on Flickr!) Amy sent me the most beautiful box decorated in rich pink and brown velvet and glitter. It's so pretty! Rebecca, I know you'll be jealous. ;)
The inside of the box was amazing too!


Amy stuffed the box with all kinds of wonderful treats:

Vintage Valentines for my collection, heart tins filled with gold filigree charms and buttons, cupcake toppers, paper flowers, vintage crepe paper nut cups (how did she know I was just looking at these on eBay last week?)

And a few more of my faves:
Personalized stationery, Almond Roca (yum!), chandelier crystals, little grapevine hearts, ribbons, wee feathered birdies, and more. One item absolutely tickled my fancy: in the bottom center, you can see a little container that looks like a log with a little axe and cherries attached. Inside are cherry chocolates--it's for President's Day! Isn't that the cleverest thing? Now I have a mind to save all my TP tubes and make a whole forest of beribboned stumps. LOL

Tomorrow, yet another lovely swap box and more Valentines!

Vintage Valentine show & tell #2

I'm back with more Valentines from my collection. Some of my favorite cards are those that have moving parts, often attached by a brad. Here are three examples:

This is one of the first vintage Valentines I ever bought, and she's stayed one of my favorites even though my collection has grown. When you move the bottom loop of her blue hair bow she gives you a saucy wink! I just love her beauty mark and the way her hair is colored. The cut at the bottom is a little piece that folds back like an easel so that the card will stand up by itself, a clever feature often found on old Valentines. Note that someone wrote the date on the girl's arm--it looks a little like she has a tattoo!

I can't recall if I got these two cards from the same source, but they are definitely part of the same line. Both of them have moving eyes: for the Indian princess, you move her feather and for the Girl Scout, you move the brim of her hat. Love the Girl Scout's kicky uniform and knee socks.

I'll be back tomorrow with more Valentines and a fabulous swap package that I received!

Vintage Valentine show & tell #1

Well, I did okay on my January Blogging Challenge--up until last week, that is, when I totally pooped out! Oh well, I blogged quite a bit in January and I'm still happy with my progress. It was better than December, that's for sure!

I am just about done with my Valentine's (or Clementine's, as Maren says) decorating and up until the big V-day, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite vintage Valentines from my collection.
I love vintage 1950s and 60s space-themed stuff! I have no idea why it appeals to me so, but I've always said that if we have a son, I'm doing his bedroom in a vintage space/robot theme. I found this Valentine last summer at an estate sale in a pile of papers. I could see there were Valentines in there and that was enough for me--I grabbed the whole pile! I was thrilled to find this one.

Hope you're having a warm and wonderful weekend, wherever you are. We spent today watching funeral services for this amazing man. Like my little brother said, it's not every day that the world loses the best person in it.