fun valentine's day garland

After I put my Christmas decorations away a couple weeks ago, my mantel was looking rather sparse so I wanted to add something to it to make it shine...well not shine but cute. Valentine's day is right around the corner so obviously that was going to be the idea behind whatever it was I put there.

At Michaels I saw this really adorable Valentine's garland with several different ribbons tied around a red satin rope along with some other cute Valentine's day related items like hearts and whatnot. I believe the price was around $12 or so and I didn't really want to spend the money on it when I knew it was something I could make myself. So, I used the last bit of a gift card I received for my birthday for JoAnn's and I purchased everything I needed to make it.

That night as I sat on the couch watching The Golden Girls (one of my fav shows!) I cut all the spools of ribbon into about 5-6 in strips and tied them all onto the red satin rope I purchased. I also added some cute red glittered heart ornaments I found at JoAnn's and then hung it up. The total time spent on this craft was maybe 2 hours. Two hours. That's it! Super deduper easy!







If you'd like to whip one of these up for yourself, here's what you'll need:

1. 6-7 different spools of Valentine's Day related ribbon (reds, pinks, whites, hearts, sparkle, love, etc.)
2. 3 yards or so of braided or twisted satin rope in red, pink or white
3. Any other fun Valentine's Day items to hang on it like hearts
4. Scissors
5. A nice comfy couch to sit on
6. Your favorite television show or movie to watch
7. A place to hang your new pretty garland!

Instructions:

1. Cut 5-6 inch strips out of all the spools of ribbon
2. Once you have cut all the strips, begin tying each strip to the satin rope in one easy knot, making sure to mix up the ribbon throughout the length of the rope so there is a variety.

Also, did you notice my new fancy mirror above my fireplace? I got that last Friday at Walmart for a whopping $39! I'm so in love it's not even funny. I'm talking LOVE. I love that it's perfectly square and balances out well on our narrow fireplace. I didn't even hang it on the wall either! I just propped it up on the mantel and secured it to the wall with some left over velcro I had lying around. Me likey!

Oh and that red porcelain jar like thingy on the right side was purchased a week or so ago at Home Goods for $3.50! It has a couple chips on the back side which is why I'm thinking it was marked down so low but I could live with it since the chips were on the same side and could be easily hidden. 

So far, Valentine's Day is shapin' up nicely over here! I also put out my other Valentine's Day decorations and I think the little touches of red here and there look so nice.





Do any of you decorate, even the teesiest bit for Valentine's Day? How about crafts with the kids? I'd love to know!