Gettin' Crafty

All right, so I don't normally do this -- share what I've made -- but I've just gotta, partly because I find these things pretty cute, partly because it's appropriate to the season, and partly because Brad gives me an "oh nice" when I show him what I've created and, quite frankly, I need more. ;)

Just being honest, people.

If you haven't caught on to some of my other posts, I do a lot of blog hopping and let me tell you...there's a world of inspiration out there! Like, a lot, people. A lot. Too much, actually. It's really a shame that my body requires sleep, cuz I could do a lot of crafting if it weren't for those eight hours I need. (Did I just say eight hours? Huh. I guess my body doesn't need eight because I can't tell you the last time I actually got eight...)

So, for the love of sharing, and of all things crafty, here goes!

My first, and most favorite, Valentine's decor item. Isn't it beautiful?!?! I saw it here on The Idea Room. I lost all feeling in my thumbs from pushing in all those pins, but golly, it was totally worth it! :)

I was inspired by Just a Girl's framed red heart and then created my own with a heart template, red jewelry beads, cardstock and spray adhesive. The frame is new, and I plan to make more seasonal specific decor to rotate through. The small vases were found in Target's dollar spot and I topped them off with a few floral stems.

There is a ton of free printable art that designers provide on their blogs. I printed just a few for this year: the subway art is from the girls at Eighteen25, and the red hearts print is from Less Cake More Frosting. The frames I had, and again, will rotate through more free printables specific to the season/holiday.

I made this Valentine's tree after I saw this one via Skip to My Lou. Cheapest decor ever, and fun to make.

I also tried making these, but it was a disaster. And super time-consuming. Maybe I'll attempt it again when I have more time on my hands. (HA!)

I've also tucked away a few ideas for next year. :)

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I'm a big fan of Ali Edwards. She's brilliant. Her style, her designs, her insight, her talent. It's all good. Great, actually. Anyway, I saw this Valentine's mini-album idea here on her blog, and I did my best to replicate it. I knew I didn't have the same supplies or tools at my disposal, so I used what I had on hand. {Of note: I bought nothing new to make this. I had it all in my stash.}

"Be Mine" Mini Album/Valentine's Day Card for My Three Boys!

You can buy many different kinds of actual albums to make these sorts of cute books, but I had seen in an idea book (I don't remember which one) how to use household items to create your own. So this little beauty is made from CDs. Pretty cool, huh? I cut my paper to size, and adhered it with spray adhesive. The CDs are bound together using a jump ring.

The first page: my three boys.

Each of my boys have their own page, where I wrote down some of the things I love about them.

I used some of the pictures from our at-home photo shoot.

I really want to work on more little albums like these. I would love to have a basket in our living room filled to the brim with these little beauties, for all of us to grab to thumb through and enjoy. They just make me really happy. :)

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And although these are not Valentine's themed, this is some of what I worked on at the 14-hour scrapbook crop I was at on Saturday. Again...if I didn't need sleep...

(None of these are complete yet...still need to add a little bling here and there.) :)

Thanks for indulging me. I appreciate it! :)

(Sheesh...so many smileys in this post...this stuff really does make me happy.)

:)