BURLAP AND GINGHAM HEART

Although I live on a farm, country is not necessarily my style, but every now and then a little bit of it sneaks into my decor.  Just a little.  Like this.....

I didn't really start out to make a country-style heart, it just kind of ended up that way.
I picked up these wooden hearts last year at a thrift store.  A whole string of them.  They had some kind of saying on them, I forget what, and had some flowers painted on them.  Really, they were hideous.

I thought about painting over them, but it was faster and easier to cover them with some burlap, which I cut out and just glued on, because I'm lazy and have no patience for drying paint.

Using my number stamps, I put a 14 on the center...almost.  I'm not the best at lining this stuff up obviously.

The edges were still pink, which I didn't like.  I covered them with some kind of lace trim that I found in my box of ribbons.

I also added some eye hooks....one on the top for hanging and one on the bottom because in my infinite wisdom I thought that it needed something dangling down from it.  I used an old wooden thread spool, wrapped some gingham fabric around it and strung a few beads on each end.

Here is where I always run into trouble with that whole "less is more" thing.  I messed with those beads forever trying to figure out what looked best.  Then I felt like the burlap heart was way too plain.  I asked my highly valued, totally underpaid decorating consultant (aka my husband Sam) for his opinion.  He said, "needs something around the heart".  I asked him if he could expound on that professionally technical opinion and he said it needed just a border outline around it. I cut a heart out of the same fabric I used on the thread and glued it on.

  He's a genius!

 If you would like to use my husband's consulting services, just send me an email.  I think he'll work for food.....something he doesn't have to cook himself while I'm busy crafting....although I will say he's become a very good cook over the last year!!

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