This year my Valentine's day mantel is a collection of vintage and repurposed items that I already had on hand. It was really easy to put together now that our storage locker is empty and I happen to have enough spare house parts and bins of craft supplies lining the walls of the garage to darned near build a second home and make seasonally appropriate decor to with it.
If you're wondering why, you're not alone.
I have a soft spot in my heart for old, wood window frames....and balusters. I'll readily admit that one of the things that makes me most excited about getting new windows at the farmhouse this spring is that I'll have an entire house of old windows to repurpose!
Amazingly, when I casually mentioned this fact (along with my plans for the 20 pane window that's currently a part of the bay in the living room) as we were unloading the third truck full of pieces of barn wood, corbels and vintage gable end fretwork last weekend, it wasn't met with quite the degree of enthusiasm that I had hoped for.
Instead, I was quickly reminded of the storage limitations of a standard two car garage and that my new studio would need to contain all of my art and craft supplies as well as any projects that I may be working on.At this point, I thought, "Okay, that shouldn't be a problem."
As we continued to unload (and stack chairs on top of each other to the ceiling along both sides of the breezeway), it slowly became clear that , "projects" also includes the three sets of dining chairs, four armoires, two dressers, and desk that were in storage locker truckload number two.
At this point, I began to consider the decorating merits of a row of shaker style pegs along the top of three walls of the studio with chairs artfully hanging from them and whether or not an entire wall of vintage mirrors was appropriate in a space where I'll regularly be cutting wood and sanding.
As the final pieces were unloaded, I thought to myself,
"Hey, I'm creative...I'm a problem solver...I can make this work!" But then it dawned on me that sewing probably also falls into the category of projects.
Personally, I don't see any issue with having the sewing machine permanently set up on the dining room table but I guess that it could prove problematic for some people. Now that Christmas is over, it's my belief that there shouldn't be a problem....at least not until Easter.
Resources:
Heart Garland and Heart decorations: Paper lace doily hearts from Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Dollar Tree with punched paper hearts glued in the center strung on cotton crochet flossCardboard houses and mailbox: Hobby Lobby. Painted with white craft paint.
Repurposed window frames and baluster: Purchased from Diane Passi
Red Ribbon and Felt Garland: Made years ago. I found some that are similar this year at Michaels.
Love Grows Best Canvas Art: Made by me. Link to Free Printable and directions (HERE)
Once the weather warms up and I don't need to actually park my car in the garage, my storage issues should be solved (until October). In the mean time, I've
I'm hoping that this buys me enough time to find a new home for the sewing machine before April 20th!
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It All Started with Paint
