So This Is Love....

So this is Love hmm, hmm, hmm, so this oh this is love!

As I was preparing things this week to begin to incorporate some valentines decorations into my home. 

That song instantly popped into my head! Played while the beautiful Cinderella danced with her Prince.

Valentine's Day is a day for couples to celebrate their love! For my home, this celebration is celebrated in different ways! 

The best thing about it, is I have a reason to craft!

I am always looking for ways to change things up without spending a lot!
I am a Lupus Queen who battles her way through each day!

When I set out to craft, I feel more like the woman who is being long gone! Crafting makes me feel like me, and it brings out all the good things I love about me

So join me on this adventure! As I make handmade valentine's decor to rise to the occasion of the holiday!

I have been trying to get my King Charming to allow me to keep our Christmas tree up all year! He finally gave in, after 27 years of marriage he said yes!

So I immediately knew I wanted to take all the Christmas ornaments 

off and replace them with hearts. Hearts of different shapes and textures! 

But I don't want to only redecorate the tree but add hearts to different parts of the house! 

So it was time to come up with a game plan! 

I would make a batch of applesauce, cinnamon, and glue ornaments. Also, a batch of white salt dough ornaments. 

Because of Lupus, my hands can hurt so bad at times. It makes it very hard for me to use them. Sometimes the best medicine for that is to force them to move! These two doughs were just what the Dr ordered! Now, the cinnamon ornaments make a smaller batch than the salt dough! They may be a smaller batch! However, the smell makes up for it!

Be sure to go ahead and preheat your oven to around 200.

Overlook my dirty stove! However, I live in this house it's not museum clean lol! I want you to see me and know me for who I am!

Not for whom you see a staged picture to be!

Gather your ingredients and get started! 

Once you have your dough rolled out, choose your cutters! I found the fondant rolling pin worked best! The dough didn't stick to it as easily

Cut them out and place them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and use a straw to put a hole for a  ribbon for a hanger!

Keep repeating the process until all the dough is done! 

I was able to make enough hearts to fill the cookie sheet! I hadn't even stuck them in the oven and they smelled so amazing!

Repeat the same steps to make your salt dough! Now this one will have paint don't it if you use the recipe I provide below. So please protect your workspace with parchment paper! Also, I would wear an apron or a shirt you don't mind maybe getting messed up!

Oh, well, wouldn't you know that the rest of the salt dough pictures are gone! Grrr...

Well, the process is the same, just make sure to cover your workspace! The next morning, I realized the salt dough ornaments were gooey still, and I placed them back in the oven for another hour!

While I made sure they cooked till they were done. I cut strips of fabric and ribbon to make hangers for these cute hearts.

The end result was amazing, although I tried to use some things to press doilies into the hearts before baking to make pretty patterns. I could not get to work, I loved them just the same.

I knew once I began, these would not be enough to deed my creative appetite for the day!

So off to the craft room I went! I had ordered some red primitive fat quarters. I went straight to the computer to look for heart patterns to use! Not only that, but I would cut out different size hearts and do different things with them! I would stuff some, not others. My mind was working like a projector popping up different things I could do with these hearts, although I knew this project would be time-consuming it would so worth it

in the end.

So I grabbed my scissors, fabric, and patterns and went to work!

Lupus sometimes causes insomnia, so I stayed up till, ya know, around 3 in the morning sewing these cute things! The more I sewed them, the more things I thought I needed to transform our home from a Christmas wonderland to a home with romantic undertones to its shabby chic feel.

The next day I stuffed the hearts! They look so great, the loss of sleep and pushing through pain was well worth it.

They are all different sizes and patterns.

I told you this would be a two-part blog, mainly because my body decided to flare before the weekend, requiring some much needed rest!

Here is a hint of one of the ideas for the big hearts!

Make plans to come back and check out what else I have in-store! See how I use the hearts and see a few more things I have a plan to create!

Creating for me is a way to decompress and to feel like the person I was before lupus! One of my lifelong passions has always been decorating my house with things I just have lying around or repurposed things! Then those rare moments I splurge for new things, there is always something to be made to accent it!

See you again soon, until then what can you dream of creating! 

That would make your castle feel more magical!

 Wishing upon a heart with you,

Snow aka Shellie

Applesauce, cinnamon, glue ornaments

you need:

mixing bowl

rubber spatula 

parchment paper

rolling pin

cookie cutters

drinking straw

cooling rack

or a safe place to leave pans

ribbon, twine, or strips of fabric to hang ornaments

Ingredients

1 cup of mixed spices of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg

1/2 cup of cinnamon applesauce or one of the snack cups

1/2 cup of white glue

mix all together and roll out on a piece of parchment paper. 

Using cookie cutters to cut them out, Gently place them on a lined cookie sheet. When the pan is full, place it in the oven at 200*for two hours.

Make sure your family knows these are not for eating. They smell good enough to eat, but I am sure they will make you sick!

I let my ornaments cure overnight, just making sure they were

completely dry. 

When I knew they were, I placed my hangers through them.

Use them to make the home smell amazing and feel magical.

White Salt Dough Ornaments

 you need:

mixing bowl

rubber spatula 

parchment paper

rolling pin

cookie cutters

drinking straw

cooling rack

or a safe place to leave pans

ribbon, twine, or strips of fabric to hang ornaments

Ingredients

3/4 cups white acrylic paint 

1/2 cup of water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup salt

I added gold glitter into mine, so they would glisten when the light hit them!

Cover workspace with parchment paper to protect work surfaces from paint.

Mix all together and roll out on a piece of parchment paper. 

Using cookie cutters to cut them out, Gently place them on a lined cookie sheet. When the pan is full, place it in the oven at 200*for two hours.

Make sure your family knows these are not for eating as well! 

The next morning, I realized that these were still kinda gummy. So I placed them in the oven again on 150 this time and that did the trick

I let my ornaments cure overnight, just making sure they were

completely dry. 

When I knew they were cured, I placed my hangers through them.

Use them to make the home smell incredible and feel magical.