Valentine's kick-off!!

I've been so anxious to get past January (which I have deemed the 'never-ending month'), so the dawn of the new month made me very, very happy! There's lots of fun things this month to help the weeks move quickly by, something I'm grateful for in the dead of winter. We've got a Superbowl party, a 'someone special' dance with Bryce, a home decor demonstration (that I'm attending, not hosting), planning a 'Household Swap' (more on that in another post), and of course, Valentine's Day. Ahhh...goodbye Dreary January and hellooooo Fun February!!

I love Valentine's Day and had some fun over the past few days getting a few decorations made and placed to celebrate it. If you get past the romantic hype of the holiday (which usually has many women setting high - and somewhat unreasonable - expectations of their men, only to be left cranky and disappointed on February 15!) the month actually provides lots of chances to cultivate true love (ya know, the kind in I Corinthians 13 - patient, kind, etc.!), especially within a home. So, with that in mind, our family tends to 'go all out' with decorating, a Valentine party with friends that includes all kinds of creative, festive red and pink food, games, dancing and just generally taking time to enjoy each other!

Anyway, for my first 'Valentine's' post, I thought I'd give you a peek at some of my little decorations that are getting us in the mindset of 'loving'...

First is the centerpiece on my table. A few weeks ago my friend gave me this pretty white glass piece and said she didn't know what to do with it, and figured maybe I could use it for something. Sure enough, it makes the perfect holder for these three little hearts that remind us all every time we sit at or pass by the table how we are to treat others. (The hearts are actually just styrofoam ones I got for a dollar-something at Michael's. I painted them red and then wrote the words on with puffy paint).
It made for a fun time at the table last night at dinner, where jokes and jabs and the occasional snyde remark fly...each of the boys stopped short at least once and pointed to it!

I'm still pretty obsessed with these DIY hurricane lamp things made from Dollar Store vases and candle holders. The big one (on the shelf) was left from Christmas (remember the cranberries?) and I just switched out the berries for conversation hearts, and I got a few other holders to make another grouping of them. (I already had the glass candle holders for the bases...still using ones of the many we had purchased for our wedding....17 years ago!!). I also found little foam conversation hearts at Michael's to add to the mix...
And probably my favorite for this year...and idea I totally stole from my sister...but think it's so cute (and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I got to have with Bryce while he helped me make it!) a closer shot of the conversational heart wreath. Super easy...foam wreath from, hearts and a hot glue gun, baby!!
And lastly, my other favorite, is this - thought it wasn't anything I made, I bought it on sale (also at Michael's). I just couldn't resist...it was sooo cute!
When I pointed it out to Todd last he said "Did you make it?" When I responded "No" he immediately said "The bottom 'X' is upside down." Nice. Well, hey...at least he thought to ask first if I made it!!

If you'd like to see TONS more projects (not by me, of course) click the button below to head over to Kimba's DIY Day. I'm linking up there. (Warning: If you go there, you may never return...an entire day can quite easily disappear before your very eyes as you drift from one DIY project to the next. I'm just saying...)