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
Easy Linen Closet Organizers
Make your linen closet a thing of beauty and joy! Create these easy DIY linen closet storage dividers which will corral your linens, and make your closet spark joy!
We are working our way through the KonMari process. Are you on this journey, too? Maybe you have done it before. It is exhausting! But it is great, too. And there is joy! This weekend my joy came in the form of my linen closets.
Yes, I know. Linen closets.
We KonMari’d the sheets and towels, but we have little, slightly awkward linen closets. Don’t get me wrong: we have more storage space than EVER before. We just needed to tweak it. So Romano and I designed this nifty DIY linen closet storage system that is cheap, easy, and doesn’t require screws or nails — so it is perfect for renters, too.
So, today my linen closets look like this…
Seriously! Did you hear the angels sing when you looked? They do — every time I open the door!
This video shows how easy these dividers are to install:
And I have all of the details about how to make them at the link below. You could use the same idea to organize clothes, towels… anything you need to corral.
Hope you are having a great day!
XOXO
Angela
And the stockings were hung...
Our Christmas stockings are done, but it took almost six years for them to be completed. That is today’s story…
I finally finished them! A few days ago on Instagram I posted this…
I figured if I declared it publicly, then I really would finish those stockings. And I did. It has taken me six years to get them done, though. Bambino’s stocking was done right away. Don’t worry! That child has not been deprived in any way! But when I started this project, I actually prepared for five stockings. Infertility has its way of making even the simplest projects a little more painful at times.
I made Bambino’s stocking for his second Christmas when he was 18 months old. But I was working at a church when I started this project, so getting one stocking done that Christmas season was an accomplishment.
Every year since then I have had a reminder set on my calendar: “October 15 — finish the Christmas stockings.” And every year I snoozed and then rescheduled that reminder. It made me angry. It made me anxious. And it made me sad.
You see, these Christmas stockings became so much more than decorations for me. Sitting together in a drawer in my office were the embroidered pieces for stockings that are not to be. When I made Bambino’s stocking, I embroidered a few extra pieces in hopes that perhaps lightning would strike twice, and we would have a second miracle baby.
But a few weeks before Bambino’s third Christmas, the doctors told us definitively that it just wouldn’t happen. We were a one-and-done family. That Christmas was one of quiet grief. We clutched Bambino closer, treasured his chatter and his joy all the more, and contemplated a change in our life’s storyline.
The next Christmas we were packing to move across the Bay. The following Christmas we moved across the country. And the next we moved back to California. Each year I snoozed that reminder and reset it for the coming year, hoping that it would be a little less busy, a little less agonizing to finish those stockings.
I’m not sure how it happened, but here we are with three finished stockings — Mama, Daddy, and Bambino — hanging on the mantle. It is done. The other bits of embroidery are tucked away — they won’t ever be stockings, but perhaps some sweet pillows for the window seat.
And my heart is full.
To read a bit about how I created these Christmas stockings, click the link below!
More Christmas links…
Budget-friendly gift suggestions for everyone on your list! Lists include:
My Favorite Gifts | Gifts Under $15 | Gifts for Mid Modern Lovers | Gifts for Children | Books to Give Gifts to Make | Wines to Give | Bubbles for the New Year
Renovating: It's What We Do
As we begin our renovation of the Atomic Ranch, we take a look back at the two homes we renovated in the past: a 1980s Cabin in the City and the 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart.
We are not new to renovating houses. This is our third project house. We always buy unusual homes that need a lot of work. But there’s something — some intangible quality about a house which inspires and captures us. We also have the imagination to look beyond the immediate disaster and to see the potential.
As we begin to remake our Atomic Ranch, updating it and making it more functional, I thought it would be fun to look back on the other two homes we have renovated: the 1980s Cabin in the City and our 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart.
Our 1980s Cabin in the City evolved over 8 years of work, and we did most of that work ourselves. That house was a laboratory — paint colors came and went, the bathroom had several iterations until we found the right combination. We learned a lot as we went, and we loved that snug little home. The 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart, on the other hand, needed too much work to live through — and we had a two year-old at the time. So, we took on a whole house renovation all at once.
I hope you enjoy this peek into our homes from the past. There are many ideas from these two homes which we will use again in one way or another. We fall deeply in love with our homes, and both of these renovations were labors of love.
Enjoy!
XOXO
Angela
Projects & Downloads
New this week: DIY Aspen Branch Chandelier and The Nice List PDF download is available!
Happy Thursday! The snow is gone… but we know there will be more! That’s the joy of living here in Colorado — real seasons and lots of variety. Yesterday I spent an hour at the dentist, but the view of brilliant orange leaves out the window just washed away those reminders about regular flossing… Have I mentioned how much I love autumn?
Anyway… new this week on Mid Modern Mama — an idea and a download.
As winter set in last year, we found our dining room too dark for — well, anything, frankly. So we had to come up with a solution that was cheap, interesting, and easy. We did, and I absolutely LOVE our Aspen Branch Chandelier! It cost us a total of $15 and took an afternoon to make. And here’s the best part: we decorate it for holidays and seasons. You’ll see what Bambino created for Halloween in the post. It is an important part of our holiday decor all year round!
And exciting news! The PDF version of The Nice List is available now for instant download. If you already purchased it, an email came to you earlier this week about this. But if you are still thinking about purchasing The Nice List I have a few print copies available when they arrive SOON or you can purchase the PDF download. I put together some simple printing instructions, too.
I hope you are enjoying a cozy autumn day wherever you are!
Cheers!
Angela
Awesome Halloween Costumes for Kids
Instructions for DIY Halloween costumes including no-sew options as well as a free fall printable
It’s almost here! The day of dress-up and fun for everyone: Halloween! Seriously, even my 90-plus year-old grandmother dresses up each year.
We have been talking about Halloween for months with many, many costume ideas thrown about. We have a plan for this year, but I thought I’d share a few of our favorite costumes from years past just in case you are looking for ideas! Plus I’m sharing my secret weapon for great kids’ costumes! There’s one item that I always buy, because it makes the best foundation for all kinds of costumes and dress-up play — and it is under $30.
Bambino’s Super Hero costume
But if you are a mom, I also want to offer this: your child’s costume does not have to be a project that takes a month of your time or costs more than your mortgage or will win awards on Instagram. Let your child have fun! Let them help you — or even make their own. When Bambino was three, we went to hear the symphony play Fantasia at Halloween. All of the children were invited to come in costume, and this is what he pulled together himself. He was a Super Hero and chose every piece of his outfit himself. Clearly, Marvel has nothing on the madras pants and raccoon hat! Don’t sweat the Halloween costumes! Do something creative — or not! But don’t lose the fun!
I hope you’re having a lovely fall day! If you’re following me on Instagram, you’ll know we had SNOW this morning!
Cheers!
Angela
PS: don’t forget to make your Autumn bunting! You’ll find the free printable below.
There's No Place Like Home
It’s all about home today! Our favorite home book: The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka and a free bunting for your front door. Happy home!
It’s fall! It’s cozy! Finally, it is time to snuggle up and thoughts turn to home…
My husband and I met long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away called Minnesota. As newlyweds, he was a student at the University of Minnesota’s graduate school of Architecture, and we spent many weekends dreaming about designing and building our own home. One day we visited a home designed by then-Minneapolis architect, Sarah Susankah. That home was on a parade of homes, and it was an example of her philosophy: The Not So Big House. It was a revelation. Everything that contemporary American home design said — big, bigger, biggest — is wrong according to Susankah. The big, bigger, biggest attitude consumes more resources, wastes space, and builds homes which create divisions and separation in families rather than bringing them together.
We went home from that home tour and immediately bought Susankah’s book, The Not So Big House. It has been a touchstone for us as we considered which homes to buy (this is number three) and what renovations to consider (this house will be our third major renovation). More than anything, The Not So Big House helped to shape our thinking about quality over quantity, energy efficiency, and sparing resources.
I have more about The Not So Big House today on my website. I hope you’ll check it out! Susankah has written several other books as well as other resources on her website, too.
And don’t forget to check out the Autumn Bunting project I posted last week. Not only is there a longer bunting for a fireplace or doorway, there’s also a cute little one that says “Home” which is perfect for your front door. The downloads are free, and the buntings use items you probably have around your house. Put it up instead of a wreath for the season. Enjoy!
Happy Wednesday!
Angela
The Not So Big House
Sarah Susanka
DIY Autumn Bunting
Free Download!
New Today: Gifts!
Today: two gifts — one to keep and one to give! I have instructions and printables for a darling Autumn Bunting project for your home as well as details on the best baby gift ever!
I have been spending a lot of time thinking about gifts and giving as I am preparing for The Nice List to arrive. Have I mentioned that I can’t wait!
Well, today I have two gifts — one for you to give, and one for you to keep!
To give…
Best Baby Gift Ever
My friends and family seem to be in a baby boom! So many babies have been born in the last month! So today I am sharing my favorite baby gift to give. It isn’t expensive, and it is the best baby advice new parents will get! I’m writing about Me Ra Koh’s amazing book Your Baby in Pictures! Check it out!
This is the best gift we received! Find out why and see some of the pics I took of Bambino.
To make & keep…
Autumn Bunting
This week I pulled out our fall decorations, and welcomed fall into our home. I made this sweet bunting for our fireplace, and I’ve written up instructions for you! You may have the materials needed already at home — paper lunch bags and two kinds of ribbon plus the free printables I’ve provided. It is really simple, and looks very cute on a fireplace, a doorway, or anywhere you need a little boost.
Instructions and printables to make this sweet autumn garland for hearth or door.
And as a bonus I have also included a free printable for this cute garland for your door — or a smaller spot that needs a little touch of hygge. You’ll find it on the Autumn Bunting page, too!
Happy Fall, y’all! Wishing you crispy apples, cool breezes, and crunchy leaves today!
XOXO
Angela
