Decorating for Valentine's Day

With the passing of January my winter decorations are put away and I pulled out some things for Valentine's Day. I don't own a lot of decorations for this holiday and it is such a short time period so I usually don't do much. I decided to start in the living room this year.

I moved my picture of Paris to the hutch top in the living room; Paris is known as the "City of Love",  after all. I purchased the drawing in 1981 while on a trip to Paris with my parents. We had visited the artist's market a few streets away from Montmartre's Basilica of the Sacre' Coeur and this pen and ink drawing was all I could afford. I have loved this drawing since I bought it and have never regretted the purchase.

I felt the need for some color and thought the bridge needed a garland to dress it up for the holiday.

I went to the hardware store and grabbed a couple pink paint sample papers. Using a paper punch I cut a bunch of dots in different shades of pink and mixed in some red ones. Here is the tedious part... I lined up the itty-bitty dots in the pattern I wanted. When I was happy with that I had to turn them all over... itty-bitty little things are hard to get hold of! I then eye-balled the length of a piece of string and dipped it into glue, saturating the string. Now, stretching the string out, I laid it upon the dots and let it dry. Ta-da! A garland! I secured it to the glass using glue dots from the craft store. I had everything on hand so for me this was a free project! Sweet!

I cut hearts from some of the paint sample cards I picked up and secured them to a piece of twine with tiny clothes-line pins.

And sprinkled hearts in different places as needed.

The kitchen did not escape some Valentine decorating. My chalkboard reclaimed its rightful place after serving me well in the living room during the Christmas holidays.  After finishing my chalk art on the board I realized it was too small and a little off center. I truly contemplated erasing it and starting over... for about 3 seconds. It's only for a couple weeks and then it will be gone so... it''ll be fine... right?

These pretty little flowers are actually magnets I made! Yes, my chalkboard is magnetic. You can see how I managed that at this post: Chalkboard DIY. I will share details on the magnets with you soon. 

The cow I purchased at Vintage Prairie Home got a magnet flower, too!

I'm not crazy overdone for Valentine's Day but enough that we are celebrating the gift of love and family. Mister proposed 22 years ago in honor of Valentine's Day and I will forever connect that gift with the love the Father has shown me; for if he gave his only Son for me would he not also give me everything I need? ... Including a godly man to care for me and lead me?  Of course, I am paraphrasing... this is what it actually says,,

 "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? " Romans 8:32

These decorations will be up only a few short weeks and though I do not know what those weeks will bring I do trust the the Lord knows and that he will give us everything that we need for the journey. 

Next stop is Spring! Who's counting down with me?!

Linking to Parties
French Country Cottage, Chic On A Shoestring, The Cottage Market, Life With Lorelai, The Boondocks Blog, Shabby Art Boutique, Ms Toody Goo Shoes, Pieced Pastimes, One More Time Events, Ducks n a Row, Finding Silver Pennies, DIY Show Off, Life On Lakeshore Drive, Coastal Charm, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Skip To My Lou, Plucky's Second Thought, The Dedicated House, The Stone Gable, Celebrate & Decorate, Our Home Away From Home, Itsy Bits & Pieces, Cupcakes & Crinoline, A Stroll Thru Life, The DIY Dreamer, April J. Harris, Savvy Southern Style, Gingersnap Crafts, DIY By Design, The Vintage Nest, Jann Olson, A Delightsome Life, Katherine's Corner, Imparting Grace, The Pin Junkie, Our Hopeful Home, Up To Date Interiors, Common Ground,  The Charm of Home