We have a brick mantle behind our wood stove. It's a nice little place to add decorations for holidays. Lately I've been slow getting to the decorating, and the kids ask over and over when we can put up decorations.
Early in February I retrieved my box of Valentine's and St. Patrick's Day decorations from storage. I was hosting the book club for lunch and I wanted to have the decorations up in time. And the kids would certainly appreciate it as well.
It's a small box. I opened the box and pulled out what I had with hearts on it. Here's what I got:
The mantle scarf was made to fit our old house's mantle, so it's a bit small for this one. And the little bear vase is a bit lost in this space. (The clock doesn't work, but it's heavy enough to keep the scarf from falling off, so it stays there for now.)
Then we decorated a table for our High Priests social, and I brought home the leftover decorations:
Better, but still not enough. That's how it was when the book club came.
Then I found an idea I liked on the internet, but I knew I could do it myself for less. I started with some lumber that we bought for 50 cents from the cull bin at Home Depot. It's been sitting in the shop without a purpose. I took my black cardstock to my friend's house and used her Cricut machine to cut out the letters. Then I moved it all to my kitchen counter because we all know that's the best place for crafting.
One day, I laid out the letters to be sure I cut the wood the right size. Another day I'm in the shop cutting and sanding the wood. A few more days pass, and I add the paint. Another day, I found the printed paper. Still another day, I cut the paper into the right size and shape. Valentine's Day came and went and the project was still in pieces on the kitchen counter.
Finally, I decided it had to get done so I could reclaim my counter. I opened the mod podge and went to work. Most of the day later, here's what I had:
And I like it.
Here's the saving grace, though:
The blocks are reversible! (So is my mantle scarf.) And now the St. Patty's Day decorations are up with two whole weeks to spare! (I still need to add the daffodils to make it just right.)
Many thanks to everyone who helped me finally get there: the blog post with the original idea, Lorraine with her Cricut and sharing ways, David with the wood shop and patience for the mess on the kitchen counter, and my kids for not messing with the mess on the kitchen counter. I couldn't have done it without any of you!
