DIY: Giant Papier-Maché Valentine's Heart

Valentine's Day. The air is filled with love and there are red and pink hearts everywhere.

I don't do much for Valentine's day and keep my decoration minimal and simple, just like last year, when i had the Valentine's Tree with tags from hand-made paper. This year i wanted to create something bigger, yet still unobtrusive colorwise.



I spent an entire day trying to get an idea, but nothing inspired me. Then, as soon as i laid down in bed in the evening, the visions started coming to my mind and within a minute i knew exactly what i wanted:
 a giant heart made from papier-maché.

On a sidenote: This happens to me quite often, i cannot think when i am sitting or walking, but as soon as i am cuddled up in my cozy bed in a horizontal position, my brain seems to be exploding with creative visions. And texts. Actually, the majority of my blog posts is "pre-written" mentally while i'm in bed. 
Is this normal? Does that happen to anyone else? If you are, or know, a brain specialist, please leave me a comment to explain the connection between lying down and the function of the creative part of a brain.


Back to the heart.
I already mentioned my love for stripes in my post about the eyeglass case makeover, and my latest obsession are black and white stripes. I want to paint our hallway like this one, or how about a bathroom like that one? And i really want this Oscar de la Renta gown. No idea when or where to i could wear it, but it is fabulous!

So, with this obsession, i knew my Valentine's heart should be black and white, with accents of gold in the form of stripes and my favorite love song titles.

You know i'm frugal, and i did not want to spend one single cent on this project. Now i had to find a way to create a mold or some kind of frame to construct the paper heart, with items i already had.

Cardboard and wire might have worked, but seemed to be too time-consuming. Instead, i ended up with plastic sacks, stuffed with towels and bedsheets. Tadaaaa, there is my heart-shaped base:

This was the biggest obstacle, the rest is easy peasy:
Old newspaper and grocery store ads, egg cartons and homemade glue ( a mixture of water, flour and sugar)

After a drying time of three full days, the papier-maché heart is ready for further processing- a generous coat of white paint.

For the stripes i used black masking tape and golden washi tape, and the song titles are written with an Edding.

Frankly, i am not 100% happy with the result.
My actual plan was to paint the stripes with black and gold acrylic paint, but when i made the first stripe i realized that this method would take too long, and i had only one day to finish the project. Tape was so much faster, but i really dislike how its glossy surface reflects the light.
God, i hate that my stupid day job regulates and limits my time for creative actions!

However, i like how the actual heart turned out ( though i wanted it to be a bit larger)


I spent the last 50 minutes redocorating our bedroom and this is what i came up with so far.

#1: On the dresser with a pink heart

#2: With these male and female sculptures

#3: With a golden sequin table runner

#4: On the radiator with the pink heart, the sculptures and a black paper flower

Now help me decide where to put this thing and let me know which option you think looks best.



This project is linked up to my favorite parties and the Dog Days of Winter Love-It Link Party at Design, Dining + Diapers

8

Eight years ago, on the 8th of January 2005, a young man and woman had their second date. That night, they looked each other deeply into the eyes, and when they kissed for the first time they knew this love would last forever. He moved in the next day.

Three years later, on the 5th of January 2008, the man surprised his girlfriend with a romantic trip to Vienna.
He had secretly arranged a few days off from work for his girl, and boy, did he start to sweat when a few weeks earlier she suggested to buy a bracelet for her sister at Tiffany's. He said "No Sweety, they don't have anything in your price range", and she answered jokingly "Ha, i bet you're afraid they will recognize you because you bought a ring for me". She had absolutely no idea that this was oh so true, and agreed that Tiffany's was not the right place to shop for christmas gifts.
The night in Vienna he went down on one knee and proposed, with the exact same kind of ring she had mentioned in a completely random side note three years ago.

Three years, three months, and three days later, on the 8th of April 2011, they got married at their favorite place: Florida.

And today, on the 8th of January 2012, these two love-birds are celebrating their eight-year anniversary as a couple. This girl is not always easy; she is a grumpy Grinch often times, and yet that man loves her with all his heart and gives her absolutely all and everything he has to give. She is so unspeakably blessed.

Happy 8th, MisterT!
I love you to the moon and back, and to the moon again, and from there as far into the universe as no man has ever been or could ever imagine!
Thank you for being my KPK, my Sweeto and my world!

Tulips

DIY: Sugar Bowl Makeover

I'm not sure if there is an english word to translate the german word "Kaffeekasse": a piggybank for a team to collect the money for their daily coffee. 

Using Folk Art Enamel Paint, Mod Podge and a vintage image via Google, i turned that old flea market sugar bowl into a pretty turquoise "Kaffekasse". Perfect for MisterT's yellow-painted office! 

Isn't the color divine?? I absolutely love it!

And a "before" photo of the bowl:

I should have used more paint, because you can still see some of the floral pattern shimmering through. I guess that's what happens when you work on projects late at night with dimmed light...
But who cares about imperfections? I love the result nonetheless, and so does MisterT. And the color is simply amazing!

This project is linked up to my favorite parties and the Dog Days of Winter Thrift-It Link Party at Crafty, Scrappy, Happy