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NESTED HEARTS–PART II

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Hi again everyone! Welcome back to Part II of my nested hearts post. I have a folder of Valentine project ideas that I have been compiling since my kids were in grade school. I pulled it out recently, and it was in looking through the file that I ran across these nested hearts. The original instructions showed attaching a Tootsie Pop up the middle of the heart to give as a Valentine. Gone are the days where my kids need class valentines, but it’s kind of a cool idea nonetheless.

I ended up using the nested hearts for something entirely different. I love to give my kids a little something for Valentine’s Day, and so I had decorated the fronts of plain white gift bags to use for their gifts. The bags were definitely “valentine-y”, but they lacked that extra pizzaz to make them special. When I saw the instructions for the nested hearts, I knew I had found my pizzaz!

These next few pictures will show you my step-by-step process for decorating one of the bags:

Heart stencil

Decorative paper

Ruffled ribbon trim for the finish ( I definitely have been watching way too much of the Olympics!) As I said earlier, the bag front was OK, but it lacked personality and pizzaz. So I added a nested heart to the bag, and look at the transformation:

Talk about pizzaz! The nested heart was exactly what this bag needed–it brought the bag to life! I was so excited, I could hardly wait to put the heart on the other bag!

Here is a side-by-side picture of both of the bags, along with the coordinating Valentines I made. I couldn’t be happier with how these bags turned out, and I am so glad that I saved and came across these nested heart instructions!

Riding high on the success of the gift bag decorations, I decided to make a larger version to use as a table decoration for our Valentine’s Day dinner.

The original nested heart is in the middle, so you can see that the others are quite a bit bigger. I followed the same steps, but I started out with 8″, 9 1/2″, and 11″ strips of paper.

I love setting the table for holidays and special occasions, and I think the nested hearts are the perfect addition to the place settings for our Valentine’s Day dinner.

Speaking of Valentine’s Day dinner, I found a recipe for what I think will be the perfect dessert that I wanted to share with you. We will be having a mini chocolate cream pie and I will link the recipe at the end of the post. It uses a 6″ pie plate instead of a regular sized one. Here is a comparison of the two pie plates side by side:

The 6″ pie plate is the cutest thing ever, and I think it will make the perfect amount of dessert for my husband and I. I am hoping that it will take away the age old battle of not wanting to eat an entire pie but not wanting it to go to waste either. With a mini pie, there won’t be a lot left over.

Thank you for stopping in again today. Have a good rest of your week, Happy Valentine’s Day, and, as always, remember:

“May the waves kiss your feet, / the sand be your seat, / and your friends out-number the stars.”

-C-

Recipe: http://www.dessertfortwo.com/chocolate-cream-pie-2/

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Pumpkin of Twine

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I have been enjoying changing the color palette of some of the fall decorations I made several years ago to reflect the coastal theme of this house. I have kept the traditional fall colors for the outside decorations:

fall side porch_1

but wanted more grays and blue-greens for the inside decorations. I have been able to buy some pumpkins and floral sprays in blues and greens, but I wanted to add in some of my own decorations as well. One of the best parts about handmade decorations is that you can make them in any color you want, and today, I am going to do just that!

old pumpkin_1

I saw twine pumpkins similar to this on Pinterest several years ago, and I knew I had to make one. This pumpkin is right up my alley with it’s rustic, vintage charm. I have several areas that would be perfect for this pumpkin, but it needs to be updated before it can be put on display. Let’s go up to my studio and I’ll show you my process, so that you can make one too.

twine pumpkin supplies_1

Besides the ball of twine, you will need some stuffing material, patterned paper for the leaves, ribbon, buttons, and something for the stem. I am going to be using a wooden spool, but you could also use a wine cork, twigs or cinnamon sticks.

I started by filling in the hole with my stuffing, and laying out and attaching the buttons to the dark gray ribbon with glue dots.

buttons on ribbon_1

ribbon on pumpkin_1

I attached the ribbon to the twine with straight pins. I loved the lace band I used on my original pumpkin, but this house isn’t a doily and lace kind of house. The satin, dark gray ribbon is more fitting for this house, and the cream buttons help tone down the strong color and bring in the vintage charm I like.

The next stamp is to die cut the leaves from the patterned paper I chose. Once I was happy with the arrangement, I adhered the leaves together with glue dots and attached them to the ball of twine with straight pins. The pumpkin just wasn’t full enough with the three leaves, so I added in a couple of copper foil leaves I had left over from another project. What a difference that made!

first set of leaves_1

I am pretty sure that on my own I wouldn’t have chosen to mix copper with gray, but I’m so glad I took a chance and added the foil leaves in because they add some much needed bling and pizazz.

While I was pleased with the addition of the copper leaves, I wasn’t happy with the gray patterned paper I had chosen. It certainly fit in with the other two patterns in that there was a white pattern on a colored background, but it just wasn’t dark and rustic enough for my liking. Back to my paper stash! I ended up finding a wood-textured pattern in gray and die-cut another leaf from that to try.

Leaves added_1

That did the trick for me. The other gray paper was too feminine and just didn’t command enough presence and have enough weight to it. This paper is much better. Creating anything handmade is all about trial and error, and it’s worth the time it takes to try different options to ensure you’re happy with the end result.

The only thing missing is the stem. I tied a bow around the wooden spool with the gray gingham ribbon, attached a button to the bow with a glue dot, and hot glued the spool to the stuffing in the center. I also added a small tag to bring in a little more charm, and my pumpkin is now updated and ready to report to duty.

twine pumpkin_1

pumpkin close-up_1

Here are the two pumpkins side by side, and the comparison really highlights how I have grown and expanded as a crafter.

old and new together_1

There was a time that the old pumpkin would have been enough for me, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the updated version. I am so happy with the way this turned out–the colors work well together and the additional leaves just take the whole project up a notch. The cream buttons and gray gingham ribbon add some much needed softness and vintage charm that I love. Isn’t it amazing how some leaf die-cuts, patterned paper, ribbon, and buttons can transform a ball of twine into a rustic but charming pumpkin!

Let me show you the two spots I was thinking about putting this pumpkin, and you can help me decide where it looks better.

pumpkin on table_1

The first option is on this table at the bottom of the stairs, or

pumpkin in pantry_1

on top of the dishes in the pantry. I’m open to suggestions, so leave me a comment with your thoughts.

Well, we did it my friends–a job well done! Thank you for keeping me company this afternoon as I have missed our time together. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend, and, as always, remember:

“May the waves kiss your feet; the sand be your seat; and your friends out-number the stars”.

-C-