Friday, February 12, 2010

 Dress Up Valentines

I adore decorating for holidays.  Valentines is no exception.

Most of the valentines decor I already had. (Or is stuff I temporarily borrowed from other rooms in the house). 


This year I added 2 things...
The L.O.V.E. letters hung to an old door above the TV armoire.

But really I only added the letter V. It said NOEL for christmas (I bought those letters years ago) and suddenly it dawned on me that if I simply buy a V, take down the N and rearrange the letters I've got LOVE. And only for $5.39, I used a coupon. (Those letters came from JoAnns)

And then I added all those fabulous pom pom flowers.

They are super easy and darn cheap. They are made of coffee filters.  There is a link of a great video tutorial on how to make them at the end of this post.  But I added a twist of my own, which I'll explain first.

When I went to pick up the filters they only had white.  I also wanted to get them in that lovely tan color.  I had my kids with me. I did not want to take 3 kids into another grocery store.  Does anyone else leave grocery shopping on the verge of tears?  It's not my girls.... it's the BOY.  Who hates hates HATES being buckled into the cart.  He wiggles and worms until he gets loose. No matter how tight I make that darn strap.  And throws a mighty fit until he accomplishes his mission.
So looking at my son, I knew I was seconds away from disaster.  And a light bulb appears.  Blessed blessed light bulb.  What if I dyed them?  So I hightailed it down to the laundry detergent aisle and picked myself up some dye.  Taupe and pink.
Here is how I did it...
I started with the pink. I followed the directions for the stovetop (I was worried the washer would destroy them).  I also halved everything.  So I still have half a packet of color for some other project.  Then after I rinsed them I skipped the "wash them with detergent" step and stuck them in the dryer... look how pretty.

For the taupe I tried something different.  I wanted different shades of taupe.  So I put a few in at beginning. Then I waited 5 minutes and added more and repeated this until I only had 15 minutes left on the timer.

Sooo super thrilled with the outcome.  I wish I had done that on the pink. Oh well.
  
Then I made some out of news paper.  Simply trace circles onto the paper (don't use a red marker... I did that so you could see it... you'll want a pencil). Now just pretend they are coffee filters and follow the same instructions as in the video.

While I was doing all this Ride and Scooter were creating there own masterpieces...

Cool huh?
Apparently Ride learned this in preschool.  I asked her for help and made one of my own.  Take a marker (kids washable marker is what we used) color around the edges of the circle.  Add a little water and watch the colors bleed.  I then used a hair dryer to dry them.  I did't want them as crinkly as the filters I tossed in the dryer.
(Ride showing me how it's done)


 Here is the result.

It looks like a giant carnation.
Perfect.

Now to make this... 

I simply tied a knot at the end of a string. a
Added a dab of hot glue to it.  Then with a needle I strung the filters, newspaper circles, cupcake liners, and even a couple of spools of ribbon (that were down to the end, so not to waist ribbon) on to the string.  I'd then end a section with another knot and dab of glue and start a new one about a foot away.
  
This year J and his brothers started a new company.  Does anyone need anything shipped?;)
Because of this we have been pinching our pennies.  It's been good for both of us.  Here is the break down on the cost of all those fun flower pom poms...
Large coffee filters...$1.18
Small coffee filters...$1.12
Rit dye pink...$2.99
Rit dye taupe...$2.49
Newspaper... free (from the neighbor) 
Ribbon & String... already had loads, so no additional cost there
Grand total to take my meh valentines decorations to... I live in anthropologie decorations (ok, so that's wishful thinking)... 
$7.78
(of course I'd need to add tax too)
So fun!  So thrifty!  So easy-peasy!

Here is the video tutorial link 
She has some other great tutorials as well.  I'm love love loving her Lollies.

Wouldn't these pom poms be great for a baby shower or birthday?
So many possibilities.
HAPPY HEARTS DAY!

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous2/13/2010

    umm...why haven't I seen your blog in so long? You are amazing! My big aspirations for Vday is decorating cookies! when are we getting together?!
    Adrienne

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  2. Geez, I wish I hadn't seen your valentines, they made Audrey's look blah! You're house looks amazing as always!

    P.S. Love the new blog look too...

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  3. Adrienne... Let's get together soon! Maybe we could go out and visit Matt & Steff so we could meet baby Lucy.

    Rach-You're sweet. I'm sure Audrey's valentines were darling.

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  4. I am loving your blog and learning so much!!
    Daisy~

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  5. Do the coffee filter pom poms last to reuse? Can you fluff them and use them the next year? Just wondering... by the way... you have mad mantel decorating skills!

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  6. What a Fabulous tutorial, I ♥ it! TFS!

    ~Stacey~
    CreatingACraftyLife.blogspot.com

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  7. I follow you on FB but you have so many fabulous ideas I had to follow you here too!! Thanks for all the inspiration!
    smilin2.blogspot.com

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  8. I love this idea! Wish I had seen it a few months ago! I wonder if you could use kool aid to dye the filters? seems like it could work...? THANKS!!

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  9. Love your heart and creative spirit! Thanks so much for sharing this idea. Really excited to try it!

    Lisa
    www.josties.com

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  10. My kids and I used to do something similar at Easter. We would use the leftover Easter egg dye to paint the coffee filters with watercolor brushes ,then make them into brightly colored flowers to give to their grandmothers.

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  11. Hilarious-…..I made those poms for Christmas and left the 3M stickers on the wall for the Valentine version which will be made this weekend. You can see mine here http://www.rainingjellybeans.blogspot.com/2011/12/joyeux-noel-again-and-star.html. Did you see the great tutorial rhonna posted today? Divine.

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  12. So glad you shared this! Although I totally ended up not dyeing mine I really love your idea & will have to the next go around! I had to share the link on my blog: http://diy4mommies.blogspot.com/2012/04/vintage-theme-bridal-shower.html

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Comments are like a giant blog tip jar. Not necessary, but they sure make me feel good. Thanks for your thoughts!