Easy Love Sketch Valentines Day Decor

This year I haven't really felt like decorating for Valentines Day.  I really liked my winter decorative shelves I put up for Christmas and since they are not super "Christmasy" I decided to keep them around for awhile.  However, I did make a few Valentines Day projects this year and this one is by far the simplest but I really like it! It is a more subtle project that I can keep up well past Valentines Day without being tacky.


One of the coolest things about this little frame is that it ALMOST looks like I just sketched it out with a blue ballpoint pen. ALMOST. But not at all because even though I am crafty I have 0% of drawing ability in my body.

But luckily I've got some crafting machines that will do the drawing for me! I got this cute little Love sketch from the Silhouette store and set it to use a sketch pen in the Silhouette studio.


I picked a light blue paper and bright blue sketch pen to match my family room decor and to give a more non-traditional feel to this Valentines Day art. 

Here it is all sketched out! This was my first time using the Silouette sketch pens and I was impressed! Pretty awesome how well they worked. 
I added my frame to a bookshelf in my family room:

It makes me smile when I walk by since it was so easy and cute :)

Now if only planning our actual plans for Valentines Day would be this easy.  Hubby is of the mindset that going out ON Valentines Day is a terrible idea since every restaurant will be super packed since Valentines Day is on Friday this year. I'd rather just suck it up and enjoy the cheesy holiday lovey doveyness and go out and enjoy ourselves :) We might compromise and go out on Saturday or Sunday instead.  At least if we stay in on Friday my house will be just a tiny bit festive!

Your Whims Wednesday #148 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday


Here are some of my favorites from last week:

 Rustic Nursery Pallet Art by Atkinson Drive
 Rustic Nursery Pallet Art | Atkinson Drive

Upcycled Color Block Bracelet by So Here's My Life


DIY Vintage Earring Necklace by Everyday Bijoux


Wedding Chalkboard Sign by The Life of a Craft Crazed Mom


Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)

Valentines Day Heart Bead Bunting

 

This month the project for the Cousin Creative Circle for Cousin Corp was to create a project with a Valentines Day theme! We had the option of making jewelry or a non-jewelry craft. I made two projects and both of them were not jewelry!! Seems funny to me...I post so many jewelry tutorials here on the blog and then I get a project FOR a jewelry supplies company and I do something that's not jewelry!!

Oh well, I still think this project turned out adorable and I hope it brings some diversity to the other projects. I decided to make a cute little bunting for Valentines Day that features some heart beads!


I love how girly and feminine it is - perfect for Valentines Day or to just decorate a baby shower or little girls room!

Supplies:
To make this project you will need a couple sheets of scrapbook paper, doilies, bakers twine, Heart Beads, string and hot glue. 

Steps:
We'll start by making the paper fans. Cut the scrapbook paper into four square pieces.   

Fold two of them up accordion style

Bend each in half in the middle and run a line of hot glue down the edge of one

Attach the other onto the hot glue

Use a matching color thread to tie a knot around the center to keep the center gathered

Depending on the size of your doilies, you might have to trim your fan down. Bend the fan onto itself and trim off any extra length 

This is how it should look after it's trimmed:

Hot glue each side together and you have yourself a cute little fan!

Next, use a couple strands of hot glue to attach the fan to the doilies.
(At this point I would like you all to pause and take a moment to admire my beautifully french manicured thumb. This is a very rare thing so me. May this photo ever document it)

Use a little more glue to attach a heart bead to the center of the fan

Repeat until you have enough fans to make a banner.  String bakers twine through the tops of the doilies to attach them into a bunting. 

And here's the finished product:

It looks pretty cute hanging up in my craft room above my magnetic bead board

It would also make a great back-drop for a cute little Valentines Day set-up!

Such a cute little decoration for super cheap: the doilies were from the dollar store, my paper was $3 at Target, the beads were $4 (and you will have a lot left over!) and I already had the bakers twine on hand. Simple, affordable, and adorable!

Instead of stringing each little doilie bundle onto a bunting you could attach it to a stripped straw to make a cupcake topper too!

But I like it best as a bunting, and the pretty pink and purple heart beads add the perfect touch to make this a great decoration for Valentines Day!

I'm linking up with these parties:
Thursdays: Catch a Glimpse

Top Diamond Jewelry Picks under $400


Whenever our anniversary and/or Valentines day rolls around, I always have a little bit of a predicament on my hands.  I love my husband to death but he is not one who will pick out a lovely surprise gift for me.  If I want something, I better tell him what it is and more than just a general category. I can't just say "jewelry." I can't just say "earrings." I really have to send him examples of something I would like or put it on my wish list if I want to have any hope of getting a nice present :)

In the past I've tried suggesting "diamond jewelry" but that has only been met by huffs and gruffs and "yeah rights." Haha. I know diamonds are expensive but they are a girls best friend after all!!! I'm not the kind of girl who expects big and expensive presents every anniversary or every valentines day, but I wouldn't mind something a little nicer every now again!

So I recently came across the diamond jewelry website Anjolee which has TONS of eye candy that the diamond lover in all of us will love.  Anjolee is a high end diamond jewelry manufacturer and retailer that offers customers the ability to customize any jewelry design to your own taste! The customization can be anything from metal type, diamond size, gemstone type, diamond quality, and can be used to customize earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or even a wedding ring set that is beautiful but unique all at the same time! While certain diamond items will always be a little more pricey like wedding rings (as they should be!) surprisingly there were some more affordable options as well!

So, in honor of Valentines day coming up I thought I would round up a couple of beautiful diamond jewelry options that won't break the bank...too much!  All pieces listed below start at under $400 and the cheapest starts at $190! 

Here are some of my favorite more affordable finds:

 
Classic Diamond Hoop Earrings starting at $189.68
 
Offset Square Diamond Pendant Starting at $327.91

 

Diamond Dangle Earrings Starting at $263.51
 
 
Diamond Centered Square Studs Starting at $341.00
 Vintage Beauty Diamond Band Starting at $217.07
 
Classic Diamond Journey Necklace Starting at $306.29
 
 

 

So HINT HINT hubby - this Valentines Day I would be ok with any of these options showing up in a little gift box :) What about you ladies - any hope of some diamonds coming your way next month??


This post is sponsored by Anjolee but all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

How to Get Rid of Knotty Shower Hair

Note: This is not a sponsored post but affiliate links are included.

I used to HATE combing my hair because it took SO LONG.  I didn't understand why it was so difficult either! I'm sure we all have memories of being kids and having our mothers yank through our hair TRYING to get all of the knots out. But I'm not a kid who runs around all day playing and never combs her hair, and I think that I take pretty decent care of my hair! I wear it straight most days and comb it periodically throughout the day to get most of the tangles out.  I don't use much heat on it, I use shampoo and GOBS of conditioner, but after my shower it always took forever to comb my hair out. 

I always had to factor in a solid 10 minutes of my morning routine just to comb through my wet hair.  I'm sure that that is normal for some of you who have SUPER long or SUPER thick hair, but my hair isn't crazy long and it's definitely not crazy thick. Why was this such a big problem for me?? Combing my hair HURT and I had to clean my hairbrush out way too often for all the hair that was getting pulled out. 

So, I decided it was about time to do something about it.  I ventured into Walmart to see if I could find some kind of detangling spray. Now, when I think of detangling spray I think of THIS or something similar with an equally childish critter on the front: 

I didn't even know if they made detangling spray for adults! And I didn't really want to use something with an octopus on the packaging or shaped like a fish haha.  But guess what? Turns out they DO make detangling spray for adults! I found this spray made from Pantene:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EH1Y88/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003EH1Y88&linkCode=as2&tag=mygirwhi-20
I found Pantene Pro-V® Normal-Thick Hair Solutions Silkening Hair Detangler  right in with all the other hair sprays and mousses in the walmart aisle (you can also buy it from amazon). Let me say: using it for the first time the next morning was HEAVENLY.  It made my combing a lot easier...but it still wasn't perfect. 

 A few days later though I saw a facebook friend post about how awesome the "Wet Brush" is for getting tangles out of her little girls hair. Still desparate to fix my hair issues, I looked it up online and found out it got REALLY good reviews on amazon and was only 9 bucks so I bought the puppy right then and there.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WWQXB6/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005WWQXB6&linkCode=as2&tag=mygirwhi-20 
Apparently the Wet Brush  is supposed to work so well with wet hair because the bristles are VERY flexible and ease their way through tangles gently.  I had been using a stiff bristled brush before so I thought that maybe the change would help.

So: now equipped with detangling spray AND my new brush the next morning I set out to tame the beast that was my hair.

And you know what??? It really worked!!
 I can actually stand up and comb my hair now because it only takes me about 3 minutes!  Before I would sit mindlessly on the bed for 10 minutes to try and rake through that mess.  But with the combination of the spray and having a more flexible brush it no longer hurts as much while combing and I'm not loosing as much hair either.

Glory Glory Halleluiah.

One other added benefit I've noticed is that my hair is a lot softer now! I think that's because the detangling spray is supposed to condition your hair lightly as well as detangle which has been very nice :) It doesn't tangle as easily throughout the day either! Double bonus. 


Alright hair. Looks like you and I are in it for the long haul now that I don't want to chop you off every morning anymore for being so difficult :)

Just remember I am no hair expert - but thought I would share something that worked well for me!! Does anyone have as much difficult with combing their hair as I did?? Any other tips I should use?