2021 HAS BEGUN!

Hey, Framily.

Exactly what does it take to have JOY?  On this blog, I plan to share what I love and what I choose to enhance my life.  I'll blog whenever I am moved to do so.  There will be no set schedule because I just don't need the pressure.  Am I right?  LOL  Tonight, I'm sitting in the living room with my daughter enjoying ou rValentine's Day décor. 

I keep a 6 1/2' artificial pine tree (similar to this one from Walmart) up in my home all year long.  I have found that it truly brings me happiness.  I love to decorate it for different holidays and/or seasons of the year.  I'll share a couple of last year's non-Christmas looks.

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a few 2020 looks

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My patriotic tree had supplies that came from the Dollar Tree. Literally EVERYTHING came from there.  My fall tree has a LOT of Dollar Tree items as well AND I had a bunch of sunflowers and different ribbons so I didn't spend much on this look either.  I try to look at things through different eyes when I go shopping.  What COULD this be?  What's the POTENTIAL?  I imagine whether or not this or that will fit on my tree and I consider how I can fast it on easily without thinking too much about it.  I think we often spend too much time thinking and not enough time doing.  Should I do it?  Should I not?  What happens if I?

I'm trying not to overthink, but to do things that make my heart smile. The goal is to create a beautiful tree without a ton of work to construct and deconstruct it.  I love to be creative and figure out how to create the high-end looks I see in magazines and on Pinterest.  It CAN be done with a little creativity and a little hot glue in a lot of cases. LOL  I'm a busy Mom with 5 jobs currently.  It is sometimes difficult to find time to craft and create, but I MAKE the time because that's a lot of how my mental sanity stays intact.  It's important for me so I just do it and I don't apologize for it.

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Valentine's Day Tree 2021

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I am absolutely crushing on my Valentine's Day tree this year.  I decided to use a log of my Christmas decorations in the red and white and I added the decorations I made or purchased last year.  The real beauty of this tree is that it's easily movable and changeable.  I love how it brightens the corner of my living room.

ABOUT THE TREE
This tree is standing inside a wicker garbage can.  I left the stand off and pushed it down into the wicker garbage can that I had stuffed with bricks.  I added in old towels all around to stabilize it.  It's easy to move and it looks much nicer than the stand.  I don't have to make or purchase a tree skirt for each season.  This corner is always aglow and it brings a smile to my face when I see it.  In that small thing, I find happiness and joy.  I have chosen to embrace it.

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My Valentine's Day Mantle

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My Valentine's Day mantle is one of my favorite things.   It's beautiful!!!  I made the heart garland with twine and a pack of hearts from Dollar Tree.  I used garlands, ornaments and ribbons from my Christmas décor and pulled out my Valentine's Day décor from last year.  Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Right?

I love the red and white together.  I have woven them with pink interspersed here and there.  I made the garland that hangs on my fireplace screen with twine and ornaments from Christmas.  I used 2 or my 2' flocked trees and added red battery operated lights to make them glow.  I also used roses on those trees to contrast with the white.  The big painting on the fireplace was done by my daughter when she was about 10 years old.  I need to get it framed.  I love it so much.  The big red velvet heart was a gift from my friend, Ronda, and it is beautiful!  She loves to craft like me.

FIND YOUR HAPPY AND DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR IT.