Before & Afters and Valentine's Day Ideas
Valentine’s projects, before and afters, and more!
Happy February! We had a delicious snowstorm yesterday, and it is brilliantly blue with more than a foot of snow now. Gorgeous!
A mid-storm shot from yesterday. The raised beds are fully buried in snow. So thankful for the moisture!
And today in the brilliant, cold Colorado sun. These little trees continue to delight!
I left our Christmas decorations up longer than ever this year, but they are all put away at last. And OMG! Remember our Mudroom Makeover last summer? Well, all that work made putting Christmas away SO EASY! It took less than two hours to undo it all, and it all had a dedicated place to go, too. I was a little shocked, actually. I knew it would be better, but I hadn’t realized how much better! Amazing!
If you are new around here (Hey! Welcome!), here’s a little before and after so you can see what I’m talking about:
All of that good storage and organization made putting away the Christmas decorations so much easier! This transformation was part of the Mudroom Makeover. Check out the whole thing here!
If you are organizing at your home right now, or even just thinking about it, I have tons of organizing ideas here.
A Little Before & After
Speaking of Before and Afters! I am in the midst of a little renovation project that is now more than 6 months in the making. But we are close! When we redid the Mudroom, I found two amazing doors at an architectural salvage yard. They are midcentury — taken out of a church. I love them! You can see one of them in the Mudroom Makeover reveal. Well, the other is our new front door. And a new front door meant that everything else around it looked even shabbier than it had before. So… the light fixtures were replaced (after months of waiting for delivery), new house numbers are on order, and here’s the big excitement: the mailbox! Seriously. It doesn’t take much to make me happy!
It’s not new! It’s the same old mailbox which is probably original to our home. There are several other houses in the neighborhood with the same mailbox, so I suspect it was one of the options when these homes were built. It’s lovely — heavy steel with great functionality. But it had been painted several times and was rather sad looking. So I took it to a local shop where they sandblasted the old finishes and rust spots away. Then they powder-coated it in a cherry red. I added a simple chrome handle, and now it’s the as shiny and cool as… well, maybe not a Maserati, but perhaps a vintage Fiat?
Just wait until it is all together! For very little money, we are finally bringing some big changes to the front of our house, and I can’t wait to show you how it has all come together. Just a few finishing touches to go!
Valentine’s Day Ideas
But here we are on the cusp of Galentine’s Day and Valentine’s Day! I have lots of fun DIY ideas and gift ideas, too, for Valentine’s Day including two new budget-friendly gift guides: one for kids and one for anyone. And don’t forget to check out the Galentine’s Day cards, too. I love Galentine’s Day, and these are fun and easy to make, too!
Wherever you are, I hope you are warm and safe and healthy! Happy weekend!
XOXO
Angela
Happy Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is coming, and I have lots of fun Valentine’s projects and DIYs for you to make this cheery holiday even more so! Check them out!
Happy Valentine's Day!
A round-up of simple and inexpensive Valentine’s crafts, ideas, and decorations!
Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us, and I have gathered a few projects to help you celebrate this holiday of love! Enjoy!
I have simple, homemade Valentines to make:
I have ideas for simple Valentine’s decor…
And some easy Valentine’s Day projects using a Cricut, too:
I wish you all the happiest of Valentine’s Days! Love and joy to you!
Happy Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day always makes me a little Romesick. Valentine’s Day has its roots deep in Italy, and so much of what we now associate with this holiday of love is deeply rooted in Roman history.
Happy St. Valentine’s Day!!
Valentine’s Day always makes me a little Romesick. Valentine’s Day has its roots deep in Italy, and so much of what we now associate with this holiday of love is deeply rooted in Roman history. St. Valentine lived in Rome and was martyred about 278 ad. But the iconography of Valentine’s Day is even more ancient.
Take Cupid — the Roman god of love and desire. He is everywhere! And Cupid can easily be confused with putti — naked, winged babies who are all over the place in Italian art and seem to be everywhere on Valentine’s Day. But they are part of an artistic tradition that is more than 2500 years old.
I bought this antique Florentine box from @vintagecollected a few weeks ago. So pretty! The image decoupaged on the top of the box is a print of a fresco from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii. This ancient piece of art shows little putti making perfume. There are three scenes in the actual fresco, but only two appear on my box: putti crushing something to make the oils, and then setting up shop to sell the perfumes. So if you give or receive a bottle of perfume today, it is part of an ancient tradition and a link to the past, too.
However you celebrate Valentine’s Day, may it be a celebration of love! 😘
XOXO
Angela
Originally posted on Instagram. Are we connected on Instagram? If not, follow me! There’s a whole lot going on on IG!
Valentine's Day Decoration Ideas
Vintage-inspired Valentine’s Day decor using milk glass and vintage Italian glass as well as flowers, paper garlands, and DIY mailboxes. Inspiration for simple but elegant Valentine’s Day decor including homemade elements.
Hello! I hope you are doing well — staying warm and cozy! We had lots of snow this week which made for some fun creation time. Our house is all decorated for Valentine’s Day which has been a fun project. I have three Valentine’s Day projects to share with you this week!
First up: our favorite homemade Valentines! Bambino painted these last year, and they were really fun to do — and basically free!
I also have instructions to make this crazy-cute and really easy Heart Garland and Love Bunting! I made this for our mantle, and I love how it turned out! I’ve included files to download in PNG and SVG formats.
And finally for those of you who have a Cricut or a Silhouette, I have free file downloads to make these awesome Valentine’s mailboxes! We love them, and they are the centerpiece of our dining room table this week. Check it out!
And if you just want to peep at our decorations, feel free to check out the photo album…
Wishing you all a great week and a happy Valentine’s Day!
XOXO
Angela
