Heart Your Home

Whether you're in love, looking for love, or neither of the above, Valentine's Day is almost here, so embrace it! Celebrate the spirit of Valentine's Day by bringing a little extra love into your home through some heartfelt decor. Although decorating with hearts can sometimes feel a bit juvenile, there are also some "grown-up" ways to bring this beautiful little shape into any space.

My personal favorite heart-decorating-idea is to arrange a collection of photos into a heart shape on your wall. Make it as little or as large as you'd like by altering the amount of photos. If you're up for spending a little extra time on this project, try cutting each individual photo in a heart shape before creating one large heart (these would also look adorable in little frames). Before you know it you'll have a unique photo display.

Create homemade heart garland out of fabric, paper, felt, or anything else that you can think of. Cut out hearts of the same size and string them along a piece of yarn, twine, or rope. Hang the finished product from a headboard, mantel, or shelf.

Add personality to a simple mason jar by decorating it with hearts. Back a paper heart with a delicate doily and attach to the outside of a mason jar with string, glue, or double-sided tape. Fill the finished jar with fresh flowers for the perfect Valentine's Day floral arrangement. Make a few extras to give as sweet little gifts!

Spruce up an existing pillow case with a few felt or fabric hearts. Cut out different sized hearts and attach them to a pillow case by sewing the center so that the sides of the heart float above the pillow (see photo below). Or, sew around the edge of each heart so that they lay flat. For a different look experiment with hearts in patterned fabrics.

Although these decor ideas are perfect for Valentine's Day, they may win over your heart and stick around all year long!

Photo: Joanna Goddard

Photo: Faith's Adventure

Photo: Urban Comfort

Photo: The Pleated Poppy

Photo: Etsy

A Dream Craft Room

If you haven't already noticed; I love to do crafts. That being said, my dream home will definitely have a space where I can craft away whenever my heart desires. As any craft-er can probably relate to; you need a functional, efficient space to organize and easily access all of your crafting materials. Whether it's glue, buttons, or lace, each item has to have a neat and tidy home where it can live when it's not in use. This makes the whole crafting process a whole lot easier.

My dream craft space would have to contain the following elements:

• Organization! Labeled shelves, bins, drawers, and jars make organizing little crafty nick-knacks a heck of a lot easier. Tip: use mason jars for the small stuff. You'll see what is in each jar without even having to open them up.
• Make it a "you" space. A craft room should be a fun and inspiring space that you look forward to spending time in. Get creative with it! Paint a pattern or image on the wall, give the ceilings a little color, or keep it calm and simple; figure out what suits you best, and make it happen.
• A great work space. All these crafts have to be done somewhere right? Tip: pick up a used dining table at a local flea market or garage sale and use it as your crafting work space. It'll add character to your craft room and you won't be as worried about it experiencing a little wear and tear.
• Pin-up boards for inspiration. I don't know about you, but I'm constantly tearing pages out of magazines with the thought of, "I'm going to make this someday!" in mind. Or, finding scraps of fabric that I know will inspire some sort of craft in the future. Pin-up all of your inspirational items, because you never know which one will spark your next great idea.

Take a look at the amazing craft rooms below. As soon as I came across these spaces, I knew that I had to have a craft room of my own (someday!).

Photo: Martha Stewart

Photo: Decor8

Photo: Ish and Chi

Photo: Caitlin Creer

Photo: Better Homes and Gardens

Mason Jar Decorating

Who knew that mason jars could be so great for decorating? I do now!

Create a mason jar vase and fill it with flowers for a beautiful yet casual arrangement. Whether it's the focal point of your kitchen counter or the centerpieces for a laid-back outdoor wedding, I promise they'll be perfect.

Add a little mason-jar-beach to your life (my personal fave). Fill a mason jar with sand or sea glass and top it off with a tea light - and "voila" instant beachy home decor. Line them up on your mantel or use them as accents for a party. Don't love the beachy feel as much as I do? Create reusable drink glasses that have a vintage-country feel. Or fill 'em up with branches, pebbles, or acorns for a natural look.

Photo: Wedding Bee

Photo: Pewter and Sage

Photo: Intimate Weddings

Photo: Camilla At Home