DIY Valentine's Day Dinner!

So every year on Valentine's Day (at least for the past three years!) we host a fun 'Cupid's Cafe' Dinner for the kids. 

I figured that even though Valentine's has come and gone, it'd be fun to share with you what we do to help inspire fun ideas for next year!
You can never be too prepared, right? 

The first year we did this, we were trying to think of something special to do with our two oldest (they were 5 then) and when I found these amazing printables from the Dating Divas, I knew I had struck gold. 

We printed the menus, set up a fun table and let the kids have fun being the 'adults' while we served them.

And we will never, ever get away without doing Cupid's Cafe again.

I'm pretty sure. 

They told us this year that when they are older, they will served us Cupid's Cafe!!

How fun :) 

So because it's become a fun family tradition for the past three years, I thought it high time we shared a peek into a fun Valentine's Day dinner that is so easy & fun to pull together!!

I don't typically decorate the house for Valentine's- like change my mantle decor and all that.

But I have a box full of decor to transform the dining room into a special Valentine's Getaway for our dinner.

I love buying something special each year to add to it. 

And bonus, after the kids go to bed, you & hubby can light some candles and enjoy the set-up too!

This year, I made some cute name-cards and labels for the glasses. 

All the little details make everything so fun :) 

I printed out the cute menus from The Dating Divas site and had them waiting near the plates for the kids to order from. 

Those darling 'Love' and 'Xoxo" signs were in the Target dollar bin. 

What makes the dinner 'crazy' is that the kids place numbers in the bubbles for each course and me and the hubs have a cheat sheet that we fill out what goes with each number. So their appetizer course they may put number 3 & 7 which goes with our numbers that means a napkin and dessert. 

So anything goes in Cupid's Cafe!!

Of course, we had our littlest member this year which meant that she had her first 'meal' in her high-chair. 

Of course, she's a milk baby so she really just watched brother and sister enjoy the food but she got a tiny taste of pink mashed potatoes just for fun.

She had her own tiny plate, name card and a dressed-up bottle just for fun. 

This year, I wanted to add something fun to the chairs to dress things up a bit. 

I found these cute packs of felt hearts at Hobby Lobby and strung them on some yarn. 

I used a hole punch to punch the holes in them so they could string through easily. 

I added some cute ribbon & a chalkboard label from Michael's in the middle heart.

Since I can't draw a straight line, I used my Silhouette to put their monogram on the labels. 

The plates were ones I've picked up over the years either from Target or Kroger.

I got the cute polka dot straws at Target. 

My favorite (and most easiest!) part was creating a table runner with some wrapping paper. 

Those mini rolls at Target are perfect for running across a table so I usually snatched them up. 

This polka dot paper was absolutely perfect for our Valentine's dinner.

Just roll across, cut and you're good to go!

I found the Happy Valentine's Day sign and 'Hugs and Kisses' sign both on clearance at JoAnns this year.

And I whipped up the glittery heart blocks in a couple minutes. 

Throw in some milk glass and Valentine's roses and you're all set. 

The kids filled out their menus to let us know which dishes to bring out when. 

Our menu was as follows: 

Steak (cooked by the hubby!)

Fruit & Cheese Skewers

Pink Mashed Potatoes (they are big hit every year!) 

Cupid's Floats (from Somewhat Simple) 

Heart-Shaped Toast

Red Velvet Brownies (from Somewhat Simple) 

We added sprinkles to the ice cream on the brownies and heart picks to basically anything we could to add a little Valentine bling to everything.

The kids love everything being dressed up- even if it's as simple as sticking in a paper heart topper to serve it with. 

Baby girl loved watching brother and sister enjoy everything. 

She enjoyed a tiny bit of potatoes and then threw her valentine blocks off her highchair every few seconds. 

Little Miss and Little Man enjoyed every second of it. 

I'm so glad they are still loving it every year!!

I'm one of those crazy moms that absolutely loves decorating and throwing parties so this is such a special thing for me to do for them every year. 

Plus it gives me a good excuse to decorate with sparkles, hearts and everything pink & red.

Which just doesn't happen very often :) 

I hope you enjoyed the sneak peek into our Valentine Family tradition!

What's your favorite Valentine's tradition to do each year?

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Red & White Striped Tables Redo

I figured that Valentine's Day was a great excuse to share this cute pair or tables I redid last year. 

I'm so excited for spring to get here so I can get back to refinishing some awesome pieces we've had in storage for a while.

I spent most of last spring/summer redoing pieces for the nursery and loved loved it but I'm excited about branching out with different colors & idea I've been cooking up :) 

These little tables were given to me by my clinical instructor once we started talking about all my furniture redos and all that one day.

They were in need of a little TLC and some awesome color.

So I channeled my inner Razorback fan and decided to go red & white with them. 

I gave them a good sanding down before starting- which is always fun with those nooks and crannies.

Be sure to take a damp rag after sanding and get all the dust off. 

I painted them with a bold red enamel paint that I just love.

You may remember the same color for my red & white dresser I redid forever ago. 

It finishes with a gorgeous glossy sheen that I just love. 

After the red base coat was applied, 

I decided to add a bit of contrasting pattern to the tops to try and modern them up a bit. 

So I taped off stripes with painter's tape and painted glossy white stripes on just the top shelves.

After letting the coats of paint dry, I took my sander and distressed the edges and corners of both pieces for a rustic finish.

I think these would look so cute in a little boy's bedroom, don't you think? 

I finished them off with my favorite furniture wax for a protective finish and then they were off to their new homes. 

I love the contrasting white & red together and makes me miss my own little boy's fun red bedroom!!

Check out the side by side before & after pictures to get an idea of the amazing transformation!!

Ah. My heart just loves a good before & after!!

I can't wait to get back in the game and share some fun pieces that I"ll be tackling soon (weather permitting). 

Hope you guys are having a great week!!

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"Love Lives Here" Valentine Wreath

I'm back this week with another Valentine post!

I had so much fun sharing five sets of free printables last week with you guys on my "Sharing the Love" series!! 

If you missed out, be sure to check them out to get your freebies, starting here. 

In the midst of all the dreary winter weather (with no pretty snow to show for it) I really wanted something bright & fun with a pop of spring color in it to brighten the front door.

I'm one of those who usually skip straight from Christmas decor to spring decor so I figured a new Valentine's wreath was the perfect compromise between the two.

Pretty right? 

I'm in love with nontraditional colors for Valentines...that way it can stay up for as long as I want :) 

The perks of doing it yourself!!

So to make it, gather your supplies: 

*Scrap piece of wood cut to your desired shape/size

*"love" chipboard word (Hobby Lobby) 

*Glitter scrapbook paper (Hobby Lobby)

*Fabric of choice (again...Hobby Lobby)

*White vinyl

*Chipboard heart

*Scissors

*Hot Glue

*Staple Gun

*Exacto Knife

I cut out a pattern with printer paper and used it as a template for my piece of wood.

I traced my pattern on and then used my jigsaw to cut it out.

If you don't want to use wood (it's what I had on hand), you could easily use a piece of foam-core board for your base piece.

Just make sure not to hang anything too heavy on it! 

Take your fabric and use your staple gun (or hot glue) to 'upholster' the board.

I did it just like I would a seat cushion.

Staple one side, pull tight and fold those corners pretty.

Trim away any excess fabric so it won't be hanging down. 

My fabric was a very stretchy knit so I had to pull it extra tight and gather it neatly around the corners.

It took a little effort but looked pretty in the end :) 

Next step is to create your wording.

You could cut all vinyl for it if you'd like but I wanted something to jump off the design a bit.

I found the 'love' chipboard piece at Hobby Lobby and decided to cover it with some gold glitter scrapbook paper. 

I painted the edges in a soft blue to match my front door before adding the paper.

Lay your letters face-down on the back of your paper and use a sharp exacto knife to carefully cut around the letters into the paper. I ended up tracing the letters with a pen and then using my knife to cut it out. 

Use thin lines of hot glue to adhere your paper to the chipboard word. 

I added a pretty script in white vinyl that I cut with my Silhouette. 

I decided to add a couple arrows & a heart into the dead space at the bottom and love how it turned out.

I'm all about those arrows. 

I free-handed my arrows out of the same gold glitter paper as the letters and then covered my painted chipboard heart with a piece of scrap lace. 

Once you have everything laid out the way you want it to look, glue it all down!!

Use a pretty piece of ribbon or fabric to hang it from by stapling it into the back of your sign. 

Then hang it up and admire some pretty spring colors!!

I'm loving the look of a non-traditional wreath right now.

I was obsessed with my Christmas sign wreath and I guess it just carried over to Valentines too. 

I'm hoping to cook up something else fun to hang up for the rest of spring :) 

Right now I'm working on the finishing touches for our annual Cupid's Cafe dinner with the kids.

I"ll be sharing some fun ideas for creating some Valentine memories soon!

I'm also trying to corral the house into feeling less 'wintry' and more happy and colorful for the spring. 

Which will hopefully show up soon :)

I'm pretty over winter. 

Hope you guys are having a great week!

See you soon! 

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