Homemade V-Day.

Valentine's Day is on Monday, and most people celebrate by buying gifts, cards, and candies for their significant other. While a nice gesture can make your day, there is the undeniable feeling that comes with the holiday that is not so touching; the feeling of selling out to commercialism.  Every year, Philip and I try and do something special for each other without "selling out."  I've been scouring the internet looking for ideas and have come across so many cute ideas, I wanted to share them.  All of these ideas are quick and easy DIY projects or something that is handmade that you can buy and support the handmade nation.

 Heart Shaped Tea Bags

Gotta love a Martha Stewart idea!  This is so quick and easy, and so cute, and you can write whatever you want on the heart!

Root Beer Float Cupcake




 This is the cutest thing, EVER.  How romantic!

 Heart Lollipop Bouquet
Instead of cut flowers, which are the obvious choice, you can give your lover bouquets of sweet heart lollipops.  YUM!! 

  I am obsessed with how delicate and sweet these are.  How cute and easy! Thanks again, Martha Stewart.  

Doily Envelopes

 Vintage Ruby Earrings

I don't know any girl who wouldn't love some sparkle on the big V day.  These little earrings are homemade, vintage and only $16!  Men, take note, and get more bang for your buck.

 For the non-believers and bitter singles:  There are cute cards out there for you too!

   This Holiday is BS Card

This card was made by my friend's company, Farewell Paperie!  They have the cutest cards on sale at etsy.com: click here and buy them up! --> Farewell Paperie

 

Can't get enough!  I love these cards more than bacon. 

 So many cute homemade goodies, it kinda makes you want to celebrate Valentine's Day, huh?  It does me!  

Here a little memento from mine and Philip's first Valentine's day.  It was hand drawn picture book of the dialogue from the first time we met at karaoke at Peachtree Tavern.  He's not the best artist, but I don't care because it is the cutest thing I have ever seen.  It was the most memorable Valentine's Day ever, and he didn't spend a dime. 

If you're like me, you'll probably be watching the Grammy's on Monday night, but Happy Valentine's Day anyway! 

I'm tired of Ikea "wood."

Like most college students, while in college, Philip and I acquired a lot of Ikea furniture.  While in this temporary apartment, we don't want to buy all new furniture but I'm so tired of the fake wood color! The Ikea furniture serves it's purpose for now, so I decided to paint it.  Here's what I came up with.  

  Here is the before....

 ....and the after!

I wanted it to look old and antique so I painted it a couple times and then sanded the hell out of it.  Then, I got a "how to use a drill" tutorial from Philip, and I added these super cute knobs (on sale at Hobby Lobby for $2 each!)

 

This is the before of our TV tray.  We use them randomly around the house for whatever is needed.  

Here is the after!  I painted them gray and then painted on a design on the top.  Now they look like a happy matching pair.  

We will probably still use them as an end table and a night stand.  

I hope you like!













Of course I couldn't do this by myself.  My kitty Mable kept me company while I was painting :)

Thrift Store Steals!

I have long been obsessed with thrift stores, but walking into a new one here in Orlando was like walking into a gold mine!  I got 3 pieces of antique looking glass objects, a "sardine" dish, 2 hand painted hot plates, a mirror, a luggage rack, and a lamp for $22!  I couldn't be happier.  

Here is the glass, the hot plates, the sardine dish, and the lamp.  This part was $12. 

These hot plates are perfect for adding some color in the kitchen!

    

 How cute is this little Sardine Factory dish??  It's a great night stand addition.  I changed the lamp shade and distressed the bronze base on the lamp and it's as good as new!

You can never have enough antique glass pieces.  These are cute and light for the bathroom.  

Thanks to Molly Molina (The Nesting Game - My Friends Have Baggage)  I decided my friends have baggage too.  I immediately went on a search for a baggage holder for our spare bedroom and found one!  It's not as cute as Molly's, but I'll work on that another day.  I was just happy to find one the first place I looked.  The mirror was also part of the thrift store shopping spree.  I might do something with that later too..... soooo many projects to work on!