Clay Hearts

What I was going for and what I got were two different things! Heh, not everything can go wondrously ;-)

I used a different recipe than the normal salt dough I typically use. While I do really like it better than the salt dough, it took a little working with to get it the right consistency - which took up a lot of my time I wasn't prepared to give. Anyway, I used a recipe calling for baking soda and cornstarch rather than salt and flour. I found it at Tips From a Typical Mom blog. I decided to try this new recipe for two reasons:

1) It just looked nicer in the photos, and...
2) I'm allergic to gluten and have to wear gloves when working with salt dough

Just makes sense to use the cornstarch recipe instead.

I think I baked them a little too long, rather than allowing the final cooling stage to completely dry them out. Some warped and cracked during the final baking phase I put them through - an hour longer than called for in the recipe. Even at the end of that hour, when I flipped them over there were "not completely dried spots." I decided at that point to let them air dry. Three cracked so badly they broke right there on the pan without me ever picking them up! I was so careful when handling the rest of them!!

As it was, I had wanted to make conversation hearts out of these, but didn't realize I didn't have enough cornstarch to make multiple batches. See, you add color to the water if you want to tint the dough. Makes me glad I used red first so that I at least had pink hearts instead of all orange or green!

I have seen these adorable hanging works of art where green ornaments are hung in a manner that they fall into the shape of a Christmas tree. I love the concept - a lot! So I thought, why not hang the hearts in the shape of a heart?? Cute in idea concept, not so cute in actuality when I don't really have the proper way to hang said hearts. I had wanted them to hang from my chandelier as seen in this photo on Pinterest. The idea comes from an article on SheKnows. In the past couple of years, I had been hanging these little paper doily hearts via ornament hooks on the chandelier. It was kinda cute the first year, but not so much the second. Hence, why I wanted to find something else to do this third year. I probably should have stuck to simply hanging them instead of getting all cutesy with a 3D, floating shape!!

The center heart has an XO stamped in the center of it. I had done that when I thought I was going to be making a bunch of conversation hearts. Perhaps next year!

 

Did you notice my un-paper towels laying beside the stove?

Blast From the Past: Love Garland

A little history:

I really can't stand Valentine's Day. I couldn't stand it so much that I threatened my husband that I would break up with him if he even recognized the holiday. He complied and has respected my disdain for the money-making scheme of a Hallmark holiday. I've been perfectly content in him getting small somethings for the children and nothing for me. I loved how he respected me so much that he didn't celebrate it with me.

So then, how did I start making these Valentine crafts you see in these last several posts, you ask????

I found a few years ago that my husband really loves the holiday. He enjoys doing things for the ones he loves. I sort of took that away from him. Granted, by not celebrating with me, he was doing something for me - he wanted to do more. BUT he was willing to never do anything for me and "waste his hardearned money on V-day crap" (as I have been known spew in the past) in order for me to be happy.

When I found this out, my heart changed toward him. I decided right then and there that I would surprise the mess out of him! The first year I did this (2 years ago) I laid out everything I wanted to make and do (fancy menu included) and waited for him to go to work. I set out making craft after craft and cooking and baking all day long.

His face lit up like a child on Christmas morning when he walked into our home. He just couldn't understand what made me, Mrs. Bah-humbug of Valentine's, decorate the house in all things Valentine's! AND to come home to a cute and delicious meal with dessert to boot was nearly too much for his little heart to bear.

Now don't get me wrong, I still don't want presents, but I will let him take me out to dinner if he wants to do so. We've had a tradition of celebrating the 13th of every month ever since we met (which just so happened to be a Friday the 13th)... and it was his doing! The romantic that he is :-D  We were also married on the 13th of the month (a different month than when we met). So rather than fight the crowds on the 14th, we've been setting out the night before celebrating our own little version of Valentine's :)

So, that first year, I made this little love banner. I've since lost where I got the idea from ... perhaps I shall run across it one day and then I'll post it. The first year that I strung it up, it was at our bar but I think I like it across the small bannister of our stairs so that you can see it right as you come in the front door.

I had to do a little repair work on it this year so I truly hope that it lasts for several more years to come, as it is my favorite and I didn't realize how much it meant to me to have it until I had to repair it! It is the only surviving original decoration that I made that first year. There is a portion of another decoration that is surviving which is my second favorite. When I redo the whole thing, I will post it under another Blast From the Past post.

The hearts are a gold toned scrapbook paper that has lots of love words written in darker gold tones. The smaller hearts are white tissue paper with a thin smattering of red glitter glue to set it apart. The red letters are of a red scrapbook paper using a stencil I had. They are all connected with a burgundy and gold rope/twine. Hmmm, I think I need close ups ......

So here are some close up shots ....

 

 

Framed Hearts

I have a small affinity for framed work - not all framed work, mind you - very specific types of framed art. I saw a similar piece, again, on Pinterest. I just had to try my hand at it. This idea is found at Scrapstudio. I had no newspaper so I used an old book that I never planned on reading again. I chose 5 pages in which there was talk of love - not physical love, but real heartfelt love - my favorite being about a son who sat down to have a serious conversation with his dad in which the son simply wanted to make sure his dad knew that he really loved him.

Then I sat down with a bunch of scraps, that I normally would have thrown away, from making other crafts and cut hearts of different shapes and sizes. As I began placing the hearts, I realized I needed more as I wanted to connect them all just a little bit. I think it turned out pretty good. If I could change the polka dot hearts to have at least the merest of outlines I would, but I'm not sure how to do so without ruining them. I'll think on it or run across an idea eventually and then *maybe* I'll attempt to change them!

For now, this my framed work. I think it turned out decently, even if I do think the idea I ran across is much better!

The First Footprint Flower in the Garden

I saw an idea on Pinterest and wanted to use it for something a little different. The idea at Tippy Toe Crafts is for a daughter to give to her mother. (It's about 1/3 of the way down the page.) Obviously, this is not appropriate for me considering I'm the grandmother! However, when I saw these adorable little footprint flowers I had a vision of a "garden" of footprints on my bar :-D Thus begins my "collection" of grandbaby footprints for the express purpose of making flowers! I've already determined that I will make each grandchild's footprint different in scope of background and ink color ... possibly even in positioning to make different "flowers." That portion is yet to be determined, though.

The only thing missing is the sign I haven't made yet. It will say "Mimi's Garden."

Without further delay here is the first flower in the garden!

Mind not, the dying plant behind my newly bloomed flower. It is left from my mom's funeral and I just can't quite throw it out yet.

Potted Scripture Hearts

So I took a couple of ideas I found on Pinterest and combined them to make my own creation. One was scripture hearts from Simply Home and another was some hearts in a pot found over at HGTV. When I do things I want them to be more than just decoration - I like them to have a little purpose, such as reflecting on my faith... my love for God and His love for me and mine.

So each heart represents someone in our family though the scripture on each heart does not necessarily relate directly to that person in some special way, other than that God loves them and gives each of commands to love one another :)

I used scrapbooking paper that I've had lying around for years - literally afraid to use it for fear that I would find something else even better to use it for on down the road. I'm done being like that! I am going to use the things I have and if I need "it" for something else then I'll make a trip to the store!
The vase is a vase that held flowers at my mom's funeral.

Perhaps one year I'll learn how to print within the confines of shape and make these look even better but for now, I'm just going to rearrange these a bit!