Eiffel Tower Valentine's Day Craft Completed

Now that the tower is fully assembled it's ready to be glittered. I had a red glitter "LOVE" sign left over from last Valentine's Day which I decided to re-glitter in the same fuchsia glitter as the paper Eiffel Tower since I want to use a pink and purple color combination for my Valentine's Day decorations instead of the typical red and pink color combination.







I removed the red glitter letters from the pink ribbon they hung on and placed them on a flexible plastic cutting board along with the paper tower. Next I used a foam paint brush to apply Elmer's glue to the outside of the tower and the letters then covered it all with glitter. After everything dried I flipped the letters over and repeated the same process. Very simple. I like using a flexible cutting board (one set aside for craft purposes only) under anything I'm glittering to collect the excess glitter. The cutting board can be easily folded in order to funnel the excess glitter into the glitter jar. Here's the finished glitter Eiffel Tower and re-glittered "LOVE" sign. I think I may make more towers, maybe a purple one next time.

Eiffel Tower Valentine's Day Craft

Now that Christmas has come and gone I've turned my attention to planning my Valentine's Day decorations. The Christmas decorations will stay up until at least New Year's Day, but I wanted to get a jump start on my Valentine's Day decorations since I didn't manage to finish all of my Christmas decorations in time for Christmas this year. I started by searching the websites of my favorite home decor magazines and was surprised at how few decorating ideas there are for Valentine's Day compared to other holidays. Most of the magazine websites seemed to focus on recipes for Valentine's Day rather than decorations. Still, after seeing these two delicious looking photos on Country Living's website, I'm pretty sure I want to decorate with purple and pink rather than red.


Photograph courtesy of Country Living.




Photograph courtesy of Country Living.



So far I've bought two pink felt placemats from Home Goods and purple and gold votive holders (5 total on clearance as part of after Christmas sale) at Target. I also have a glitter Valentine's Day sign left over from last year.


Pink felt Valentine's Day placemat from Home Goods.



Gold/Purple Votive Candle Holders available at Target.

I thought one of these cute glitter Eiffel Towers from kazalis's shop on etsy would look great as a Valentine's Day centerpiece.


Sparkly Eiffel Towers $8.00 each at kazalis's shop on etsy.

Instead of buying one I'm trying to make my own. I found a pattern online on flickr (pillpat's photostream) and printed it out onto card stock.



Eiffel Tower template page 1 and page 2.

So far, it's going pretty well. I could assemble the tower faster if my daughter didn't keep trying to eat the cut outs :) I'll probably have better luck finishing this project during her nap time. I may even make a few more depending on how the first one turns out.

Day After Christmas Shopping

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I meant to get up early today to snag some deals on Christmas decoration, but I was more tired from all of the Christmas festivities than I anticipated. Luckily, there were plenty of silver mercury glass snowflake ornaments left at Target which is what I really wanted to buy before they were all snapped up. All told, I bought 5 votive holders in lavender and gold, 6 silver glitter leaf ornaments, 3 silver glitter deer ornaments, and silver mercury glass snowflake ornaments at Target (50% off or better), a glitter "Peace on Earth" sign at Joann's for 70% off (the last one woo-hoo!), and 2 pink felt place mats for Valentine's Day and a white tray at Home Goods (gift card yay!). I also got to witness two ladies get in a MASSIVE argument at Target. Security had to be called. Apparently, all holiday spirit goes out the window when 50% off is at stake.


Glass Snowflake Brooch Ornament available at Target. I got mine in silver, but they are available in a brown, gold, and a berry color.




Glitter Leaf Ornament in Silver available at Target.




Glitter Deer Ornament in Silver available at Target.




Gold/Purple Votive Candle Holders available at Target.

Look-A-Likes for Less: Fantastic Faux-Fur

Faux fur throws are a big trend right now. Not only are they luxurious and warm, they are also (let's be honest) a lot better looking than a snuggie ;) Plus, whether you buy one from Target or Williams-Sonoma Home, faux fur throws (and/or pillows) are an inexpensive way to add texture and warmth to almost any room of your house this season.




Photograph courtesy of the December 2009 issue of Elle Decor.




Photograph courtesy of This is Glamorous.




Photograph courtesy of Country Living.





Photographs courtesy of Robert Passal.




Photograph courtesy of Apartment Therapy.



Throws:

Xhilaration Fur Throw in Chocolate Brown $19.99 Target.



Home Faux Fur Throw in Brown $24.99 at Target.




Home Faux Fur Throw Tipped in Brown $24.99 at Target.






Home Faux Fur Throw Rabbit in Cream, Brown, Tan, Blue or Red $24.99 at Target.




Chris Madden Faux Fur Throw for $24.99 at JCPenney.




Apt. 9 Faux-Chinchilla-Fur Throw $28.00 at Kohl's.




Apt. 9 Faux-Wolf-Fur-Throw $28.00 at Kohl's.




Apt. 9 Faux-Mink-Fur-Throw $28.00 at Kohl's.




Faux-Fur Throw available in Faux Curly Lamb and Faux Sheepskin for $79.00 at West Elm.




Mink Faux Fur Oversize Throw available in Black, Brown, or White for $79.99 at Overstock.com.




Noble Excellence Ribbed Faux-Mink Throw $99 at Dillard's.




Noble Excellence "Boxed Mink" Throw $99 at Dillard's.




Faux-Fur Throw available in Espresso, Frosted Taupe, or Leopard for $119 at Pottery Barn.




Faux-Fur Blanket & Sham available in Espresso and Ivory and in Full/Queen or King/California King size for $39.00 - $189.00 at Pottery Barn.




Faux Fur Throws available in Leopard and White Broadtail for $148.00 at Williams-Sonoma Home.



Pillows:

Splendor Crinkle Rabbit Pillow in Cream $14.99 at Target.




Chris Madden Faux Fur Pillow available in Chincilla, Chocolate Mink, Leopard, or Tipped Texture for $17.99 at JCPenney.




Faux Mink Fur Solid Channel Pillow available in Silver, Ivory, or Black for $19.09 at Overstock.com.




Chanel Pillow available in Amphora, Black, Chocolate, or Ivory for $22.49 at Overstock.com.




Core Home Cougarette 2 pack Pillow in Brown $24.99 at Target.




Sheepskin Pillow Cover available in Natural for $29.99 at West Elm.




Kidney Pillow Luscious in Natural $59.99 at Target.




Decorative Pillow Luscious in Natural $69.99 at Target.