Simple Valentine's Day Gifts

Have a group of girlfriends or co-workers that you want to recognize on Valentine's Day but aren't quite sure what to do? Here's an idea!

Who doesn't love a cute pair of holiday socks?! I found a variety at Meijer's (only store I looked!), and I picked a bunch of different styles. I then headed over to Michael's and bought some take out boxes on clearance, and of course, had to add some conversation hearts. I just added a piece of white tissue paper into each box, the socks, and the hearts. I was a little pressed for time, so I had to buy some already made tags rather than make my own (I know, I'm terrible!).

I made these for the ladies on my leadership team to pass out at our meeting tonight. I always enjoy shopping for little gifts for them! Here are some other ideas I had that could be used for your girlfriends, teachers, sisters, or co-workers:

- nail file or manicure set and some pink or red nail polish
- foot scrub and some socks
- mini valentine loaf pan with your favorite bread recipe (even better if you bake them a mini loaf IN it!)
- it's winter, so who doesn't appreciate some mini lotion from Bath and Body Works? wrap it up in a take out box or cute ribbon to personalize it, and you're good to go 

Also, if you spend over $5 on any of these, you're doing it wrong! Let me know if you need some tips on where to shop ;)

Cupid Wreath

It's hard to believe it's been two years since my dear friend Laci asked me to make this wreath for her! Time sure does fly when you're having fun. 

I used a heart straw wreath form and wrapped it in gray yarn. I then used a dowel rod, snapped it- actually- and stuck it into the wreath. (It is in three different pieces.) It worked out great that it was a straw wreath because the broken ends of the dowel rod made it stick really well in the wreath. I then used pink and red felt to create the accents in the arrow. I hand-stitched some edging to give it more of a homemade look.

I then shipped it off to Charlotte, North Carolina for my friend Laci to enjoy! The check I received from Laci and Brandon is the first official dollar I have ever made from selling my crafts :)

Valentine's Day Cake Pops

Happy Valentine's Day!

Okay, well, it's still a week away. 

However, I went to the craft store today, and it was so hard to find what I was looking for to assemble some simple gifts! So I guess I'm a little behind the game here, but I still have some super cute things to share. 

These are some cake pops the bestie and I made for our co-workers a couple years ago. We had just gotten really into cake pops and decided these were the ones we wanted to tackle. I think they turned out great!

For the cupcakes, we started with a small flower cookie cutter and molded the cake and frosting mixture into it, leaving a round piece sticking out of the top of the cutter. We dipped the lower half into the dipping chocolate, waited for it to dry, and then dipped the top part into the white melts and added the sprinkles and M&M while it was still wet. 

We used a small heart cookie cutter for the hearts and dipped them. We tried making them conversation hearts by using edible pens, but as I've said before, I've never had success with those darn things! So, we added a dab of melted dipping chocolate and attached real conversation hearts! I think they turned out well, and I like the 3D effect of the hearts. 

Stay tuned! I still have a new Valentine's Day wreath and some simple gifts to share.

Who's ready for Valentine's Day?

Even though I'll be house/cat sitting for the next month and won't be home much to enjoy them, I just had to get some decorations out for Valentine's Day. They're just too cute!

Besides the $5 I spent on ribbon for the garland and the $1 I paid for pink felt for the wreath, I didn't spend a dime! Just used things I had around the house. (Red hots were left over from 4th Week of July Party- yeah, I wouldn't recommend eating them either.)

I took my purple vases down and placed them in other parts of my living room, keeping their winter stems in them. I used the black candle holders I had on my Christmas table with their white candles. I then replaced the white, silver, and gold pine cones with red hots in my mason jars and added a tea light candle. The garland is serving as a runner over the burlap, and the wreath makes a nice focal piece for the table.
(Did you see that? I didn't even complain about not having a mantel.)

I also couldn't help putting up this month's free printable. It's just so cute!

Get yours here.

What's your favorite Valentine printable?

Valentine's Day Argyle Heart Wreath

Some days I'm okay with imperfect. Not frequently, but it does happen. Especially if I'm not making it to sell or for a gift!

Today my friend texted me a picture of a cute wreath she pinned on Pinterest. I laughed because I had also posted a similar pin! I got home from work, had some free time before my volleyball game, and decided I was going to see if I could replicate it. I only had to run to the store for one missing supply, everything else I had on hand! Fortunately, I already had a smaller grey wreath that I needed to upcycle. I removed the previous decorations very carefully, cute some cute pink and red hearts-no template, just free-handed, hence the imperfections ;), and got to work hot gluing them to the wreath! I then wrapped some sparkly white yarn I had leftover from a Christmas wreath to create the argyle look. Overall, since the wreath was already wrapped, I think it only took me about a half hour and my only cost was the pink felt I had to run to the store to pick up. 

Not bad for under $1!

And here it is on my front door.

Valentine's Day Garland

The bestie asked me to join her to run errands today. I've limited my budget for the month of January, so when she asked me to join her at Michael's and Hobby Lobby, I knew I was pushing my luck ;)

I saw this adorable garland at Michael's made out of scraps of ribbon, felt, and fabric. I immediately fell in love with it! It was $14.99, and I could've used a 40% off coupon, but I decided against it. We then traveled to Hobby Lobby and I found the cutest wired, checkered burlap ribbon. It was 50% off, so I paid $5 and some change for it. 

I got home and found plenty of materials to make my garland. Here it is!

Not bad for $5 and some change!

(and time...quite some time, actually)

A little closer look at the pieces I used.

Decorating for January.

Happy New Year! 

I'm excited for what this year may hold, 

and I'm excited to continue sharing more and more with you all. 

So remember how I said I was going to come up with some decorations for January that I love? Well, I did! But first, I had some sad news. The shelf I hung back in the fall to make up for my "lack of mantel" was terrible. The wall it hung on in my ever so humble place of living was too bowed for the shelf, so it was learning forward to the point that nothing would stay on it! I literally had to sticky tack my Christmas decorations to it. I decided that was too much of a hassle because I also couldn't put any thing with significant weight on it. I decided to take the shelf down (sniff sniff), and just leave the table I brought in for Christmas decorating in the room.

I covered the wall then with two upcycled canvases covered with a pretty, grey damask fabric I found. They conveniently covered all the holes in the wall that the shelf left ;)

I scored those white candleholders at Target in their after-Christmas clearance for 50% off. (I'd been eying them all season!) I also scored the gold and snow-covered branches in Michael's 70% off Christmas clearance. The cute printable in the middle was part of a set I downloaded from here. It says "It's a good day to have a good day." A good reminder for those of us in the cold Midwest!

As you'll notice in the second picture, those white candles had to go. I replaced then with cuter, silver pillar candles. I just didn't like the white ones. 

Enjoy!