happenings of our home: xo

Jared & I finally, just last night, sat down & listed out the projects we want to get busy working on in our new home--a few things we want to spruce up & change to make this house a little more ours. Brighter, fresher paint colors throughout, a new master bedroom makeover, granite counter tops in the kitchen, a switcheroo that will move our laundry room upstairs & make the existing one a walk in pantry.

Problem is, all of these jobs-- they're big--& they aren't going to just happen overnight. They're going to take lots of time & lots of money until we actually see them one by one, get checked off the list. And that's okay. I like to work towards results. I like long term goals. I like the feeling of seeing our hard work pay off in the end. I'm good with that.

But I was needing a little something to get me out of my This-doesn't-feel-like-"home" funk. I was needing immediate gratification.

So I did what I always do when I need some right now results.

I got my craft on.

X & O style, baby.

Valentine mantle:

The X is from Hobby Lobby--It came unfinished & I painted it white--took about five minutes. Close enough to immediate for me!

The O is one of those straw wreaths that is covered in plastic {found in the greenery section at Hobby Lobby}. I found the cheapest red yarn I could & wrapped & wrapped & wrapped until it was completely covered. Ta-da!

I made the banner with burlap {I swear the stuff breeds. I have an unending pile of burlap in my craft room & I have no idea how it keeps growing}, red paint, jute string & hot glue. No sewing necessary. Right now results--that's what I'm talkin' about.

The mailboxes were inspiration from The Anderson Family Crew. I had the mailboxes from last year--they came from the Target dollar section--I bought a whole bunch of them...not sure if I thought at the time I'd be having like thirteen kids or something, but I bought a whole crapload of them. Four of them came in handy, anyways. I picked up the candle holders at Goodwill & Hobby Lobby & brought em' home & gave them a couple coats of black spray paint {Don't worry if you suck at spray painting--I do too. You can't tell unless you look really close}. I used my Cricut to cut out the letters, but you could easily use stickers, too.

Our annual Valentine tree. I love this little tree. It's pink. It's dripping in hearts. It makes me smile.

That husband of mine--he's still in the business of leaving love notes everyday. And he's just recently started doing it for Jett, too. Oh goodness, talk about an excited little boy come morning time. Jett searches around until he finds his yellow post it & proceeds to have me read it to him--again--& again--& again. By evening, he can recite word for word what it had said. It is so incredibly sweet.

So since we're all about love notes around here, I figured we needed a love note station--a place where we can write back & forth to one another. I took an old frame that wasn't being used, sanded it down, painted it a pretty pop of color & there ya go--a little love note waiting to happen. It's already been used every single day since I put it out. I quite like it. {And don't ask me where in the world I got January 20th. I took this photo two days ago--on the 16th. Whatever. Leave me alone.}

Remember this guy? What a meatball! And remember that xo shirt I made for him to wear?

Well, I'm at it again. I had felt stashed in a drawer, a spool of yarn, some leftover fabric-- I figured surely there is something I can whip up. We shall see...

Whatta ya know...my little craft session worked like a charm. I'm out of my funk. And now, I think I'll just sit right here in my cozy chair, with my festive feet kicked up & enjoy the view of the fruits of my labor.