Valentine Show and Tell Mantle

Welcome to another Show and Tell !

Today I decided to decorate my mantle and I know you are all on pins and needles to see the pictures!  hahahahaha!  Well, to be honest, this looked better last year cause it was all blinged out with glitzy glam and greenery left over from Christmas - sorry, I wasn't a blogger then :(   .
The walls in this room are not this yellow and the chair doesn't look dirty in real life!  just saying!!

Taa Da!  The above picture shows a multitude of diy projects - not all good!!!!!  As you can see, I dislike this brick wall and have painted it numerous times, I gave up after this last attempt.  What my mind is perceiving my hands are not achieving - it is very frustrating.  Our plan (if life would stop getting in the way) is to panel this entire wall in a random width wainscoting from floor to ceiling - then go around the rest of the room with the same stuff but only 2/3's or 3/4's up - Replace the slate/stone hearth with something more attractive, replace the doors with a wood burning insert - build a mantle and use the little decorative shelves (they have a name but I cannot remember it now), etc., etc., etc.   The chair on the left I painted and reupholstered in the summer and the chair on the right we trash picked from my neighbors bulk pick up a few years ago.  The mercury glass vases were my attempt last year - the window is from my friends back porch that I hastily sprayed with looking glass paint (and because of my haste it did not turn out as well as when my husband does it!)

The mantle scarf is a long piece of fabric that I cinched where I wanted - the hearts are foam cut into shapes and taped up.  I'm a real Martha Stewart, don't be jealous!!!!! hahahahahaha!   My cousin said to me years ago, "Oh, I see you are the dollar store decorator!"  Yes, that would be me, sometimes I don't even spend that much!!!!!  Although I did not have a sense of humor when she said it - rutt row!  I've grown a lot since the days of three kids!!   Now we are up to six and I think my sense of humor is much better!!  

Well, that's all I have for today, thank you so much for your interest!

               Until next time.......................Trisha

I will be joining these parties:

s:
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http://www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com/2014/01/a-bouquet-of-talent-linky-
party-and-top.html

Some Valentine Ideas

Hello one and all.  This is my first post of 2014 - I have been debating on whether to close up shop or what.  I still don't get the whole blog thing - it just feels like a show and tell for grown ups in the new age!!  So I guess that is what I will do..... Here is my show and tell for Valentine's day.  These ideas are tried and true and I have been doing this same thing for umpteen years now.  So when you look at these pictures just remember that I am a busy mother of 6 with two dogs and a German exchange student (who is leaving Super Bowl Sunday).  I do enjoy decorating and playing Martha Stewart - but, life always gets in the way- so  I just get it up (less and less each time) and take it down.  I did decorate my blog for Valentines day, gotta love PicMonkey!!

This is a straw wreath that I covered with white paper twist (those of you my age may remember it from the 90's) that I untwisted and wrapped around the wreath to cover the straw.  Then I used red paper twist and went around - and that was that - then as the years went by and the red faded to pink I came up with the idea to leave well enough alone but add the heart garland from the dollar store - funny - 20 years later and it still costs a dollar!!  Now I just hang it up, as is, every year.

Above is the view from the outside of Lukas' window - My flower boxes have been transformed from Christmas (which I was too busy to post about and take pictures) into Valentines! 

 I simply taped these hearts I cut out of foam onto straws.  I found that they were difficult to install into the frozen window baskets so I used wooden skewers and pushed them in then slipped the straw over that.  I usually decorate through out the "flowers"  with dollar store heart garland but couldn' find it in my house so I just used the white mesh ribbon that was already in place from the Christmas set up.  I also kept the greenery --  I may just put fake geraniums in come spring cause the baskets are so shallow that the soil drys fast and our flowers never make it til July 4!  Boo Hoo -- I dislike when I see other people putting silk flowers in the ground or buckets/baskets -- But, my thumbs are black :( 

so don't judge me like I judge them, ok? hahahaha!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little intro to Valentines, I will be showing my mantle (maybe!) if the mood hits me to decorate it -  

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods - 

                      Until next time.....................Trisha

thanks for popping in!!!!!!

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http://www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com/2014/01/a-bouquet-of-talent-linky-party-and-top.html