LOVE Valentine's Day!

I have to say that my most FAVORITE holiday to decorate for is Valentine's Day.  I think it could be because red is my favorite color.  Or it could be that after the Christmas decorations come down, everything looks so sad and bare and the Valentine decorations really make it look festive again.  OR, it could be because the bright pops of color help me through the dreary, gray days of January and February.  Whatever the reason, I thought I'd share some decorating ideas with you from this year.

 I keep this vintage "office" vignette in my bay window year-round but it always gets "tweaked" depending on the season.

 This little "nook" in my living room wall is always changing (even DURING a season!)  It's kind of like my "dress up doll" that I constantly rotate new and old things in and out of.

One of my favorite finds last year was thing vintage Josef ceramic angel.

My antique ladder is another one of my "dress up dolls".  

And finally, gratuitous photo of what I think is the cutest, little fur ball on the planet, Ava.

So as the snow is STILL falling here in the Midwest, I will turn on my Valentine lights and dream of seeing the grass again some day (I DID see a Robin today -- I'm thinking she was looking at the wrong month on her calendar though!)

How are YOU passing these dreadful, winter months?  Do you have an area that you change up with the seasons in your home?

 

Cheesy Mashed Potato Pancakes

 Leftover mashed potatoes from your holiday meal?  Here's a great way to use them . . . make potato pancakes!  These are simple and quick to make and can be enjoyed as a side dish or in a light meal all by themselves.

Combine your mashed potatoes (in my case they were garlic mashed potatoes . . . even better!) with a few simple ingredients, shape into patties and fry.  You don't need a lot of oil so don't be put off by this step.

Once you've removed them to a platter, you can lightly salt them if you prefer and serve up warm with a dollop of sour cream (fat free in my case) and a sprinkle of chopped chives or scallions.

Cheesy Mashed Potato Pancakes

Combine:  3 cups cold, mashed potatoes; 2 T flour; 1 egg; 2 T chopped scallions or chives; 2/3 c shredded cheddar cheese.  Mixture should be dry enough to form into golf ball-sized balls.  If too sticky, gradually add more flour.  If too dry, add an additional egg.  After you form into balls, roll in additional flour and flatten to about 1/2" thick.  Heat a few tablespoons of oil (I used canola) and fry approximately 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.  Remove to serving platter and sprinkle with salt.  Serve with sour cream and extra chives or scallions.  Enjoy!

Grad Tassel Ornaments

While doing some cleaning and reorganizing, I came across several of my kids' graduation tassels and decided to put them to use as Christmas ornaments.

 Originally I wanted to put the year charm inside the ornament but these were too big to fit through the opening.

 Instead I removed the year charm to hang on the outside.  Getting the tassel INSIDE the ornament proved to be the most tricky - go figure.  But by twisting it first, it seemed to make it easier.  I already had jump rings and these jewelry clips/clamps.  

 The year charm was then attached to the jump ring and the jump ring attached to the clamp and the clamp attached to the cord.  

 You could cut the cord off but I wanted to keep the entire tassel intact.  I think this is a great way to preserve the graduation memory!

Boxed In

 

 I love boxes and these were some great garage sale finds that I was able to make over using just chalk paint and my tissue paper transfer method.

These are all for sale in my Etsy Shop.

I used Duck Egg Blue chalk paint on some and Paris Gray on others then distressed using my portable sander.

Some of them were lined with coordinating papers.  In my opinion, one can NEVER have too many boxes to hold precious treasures, right?

Save the Mice - Mousetraps Repurposed

I don't REALLY want to save the mice (sorry mouse lovers) but using the traps to hang pictures seems a bit kinder anyway.

 A few drawer fronts from the ReStore and some mousetraps create a fun way to display photos or your children's artwork.  I spaced the mousetraps so that you can hang pieces as large as 8X10 as seen here.  (These are prints I created for my son's apartment since he loves Billiards and Frisbee Golf)

 A coat of flat, black paint was followed by using graphite paper to transfer the numbers onto the traps.  I distressed them a little more after painting the numbers on.

 These are refrigerator magnets.  Tiny, high-powered magnets were attached to the backs using E-6000 glue.

 I'll be selling all of these at an upcoming show I'm doing.  I think they'd make great stocking stuffers too, don't you?