Valentine's Day is just around the corner! The tree's been down and the house devoid of anything Christmas for about a month. Though lovely with a bit of simple winter decor, with all the white and gray and brown outside, I'm hungry for color. And since red is one of my favorite colors (I can't pick just one!!), and since I'm a wee bit of a romantic, I do have fun throwing some red around the house, with a few hearts, too. If you're feeling a little bit like me, you are ready for some no cost or low cost DIY Valentine's Day decorating ideas. To make it easier for you, I've gone into the archives and … [Read more...]
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Here we are... just a month away from Valentine's Day! If you're like me, you don't go crazy over Valentine's Day, but you do enjoy creating a Valentine vignette, or a wreath, or something for that someone special. One of my all-time favorite creations was this box disguised as as stack of letters filled with words of affirmation. I shared the sentiment in this post and in a much later post I created a detailed tutorial so that you can make your own Valentine love letters box. On Valentine's Day there are many marriage proposals being made. I think this would be an amazing box to hold an engagement … [Read more...]
Do you decorate for Valentine's Day? Every year I look forward to adding an unexpected bit of whimsy to my decor in red and white for Valentine's Day. After the Christmas decor is stashed away for the season, our homes are usually re-organized and pared back a bit. I think that's why I love to bring out some red for February. I'm ready for a pop of color and the extra bit of life it gives my home decor in the midst of the loooong winter. Today I'm sharing an easy craft that will make your heart sing.... Beaded 3-D Hanging Paper Hearts Tutorial This fun project requires just a few … [Read more...]
This past week, I've been in the midst of some major organizing. Raise your hand if that's you, too. My organizing isn't exactly what you'd expect. I've been spending my time organizing the blog to hopefully make your experience here even better. Most of things I'm attempting to do require me to do some research to figure out how to do it... before I can even start. If you're a blogger that tries not to rely on an expert/designer, etc., you know how much time this takes. I must say there's a lot of satisfaction from the accomplishment. However, because I don't have many posts completed in advance, I … [Read more...]
If you've been hanging out here for any amount of time, you've come to know that I believe that it's the little things that make life extraordinary. There is absolutely no need to have pretty embellished valentine towels in your powder room or bath. Truly, we don't need fancy towels. What if your friend gives you a bit of fabric? What if ivory hand towels the precise color of the fabric are discontinued and on sale for just $2.09 each? What would you do? Get out the scissors and sewing machine and embellish a few towels for Valentine's Day? Seems like a good plan … [Read more...]
For the past several years I've been seeing sweet hand pies popping up here and there. They look delicious and fun and imperfect. Maybe it's their rustic imperfection that has me drawn to them. After playing around with a few butter pie crust recipes, I settled on this one. It provided the most wonderful envelop for our savory chicken pot pie, so I thought I would sweeten it and try my hand at...yes...hand pies. Sweet hand pies to be exact. But, now that I've made these...I see some savory hand pies on the horizon. With Valentine's Day on the … [Read more...]
Raise your hand if you have decorated your valentine mantel or some area of your house only to have members of your household tell you it's pretty ordinary? Did you see my hand go up? Yup. It did. That's what they said in not so many words. It's not a good thing when your blog name includes the word, "extraordinary." Remember my winter birch branch mantel with the hand cut book page snowflakes? I liked that "mantelscape." It was different. And it seems that since it's being featured a few places, some of you like it too. Why not tweak it just a bit for Valentine's … [Read more...]
I've had Valentine's Day on the brain lately. Finally a few projects are starting to come together and should make an appearance on the blog very soon. In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to revisit this Simple Valentine Moment I put together last year. This sweet framed pewter heart was enjoyed way beyond Valentine's Day. It was one of those little projects that put a smile in my heart. You all showed some incredible giftedness and talent this past week at Project Inspire{d}! I was amazed at all the lovely Valentine inspiration … [Read more...]
Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. To make it easy for you, I've put together ideas for valentines, delectable treats, wreaths, gifts, and decor. Have fun spreading love and joy to those in your path with these... 14 Ways to Make Valentine's Day Extraordinary When I first spied these valentines, I totally flipped. Every kid (or adult-sized kid) would love to get one of these. I've Got My Eye on You Valentine by Feelin' Crafty Do you feel the pressure to have cute treats for your child's classmates or friends, but really don't have … [Read more...]
We are just a month away from Valentine's Day. Are you looking for a little Valentine's Day decor inspiration? Here's a post from the archives for a super simple Valentine Vintage Window. I love simple and easy projects and this Valentine vintage window certainly was all that and delivered a huge bang too. Plus it's been pinned nearly a thousand times. Click here to pin-it. And now on to our Extraordinary Link Party.... Mary Beth from Cupcakes and Crinoline ~ Malia from Yesterday on Tuesday Stephanie Chan from The Silly Pearl ~ Diane from An … [Read more...]
Happy Valentine's Day! On this day of hearts... red and white and words inspiration to live a life of Love. Images ~ White Keyhole :: Sweater Heart :: Heart Knocker Images ~ Red Door :: Tin Heart Images ~ Barn & Banner :: Heart Cookies :: Gift :: Ticking Hearts :: White Twigs Images ~ Red Mug :: Red Door :: Patterned Heart And now I leave you with this.... "Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." Mother Teresa OO & XX Diane P.S. This photo gallery is an … [Read more...]
Moments. That's what my friend calls little vignettes. Don't you just love that term? How to Create a Simple and Easy Valentine's Day Vignette As I was organizing my studio, you know, the one I talk about showing you but never do? I uncovered a little frame I picked up at the thrift store last year, and I remembered Jennifer's post I had read that morning and pinned, and just like that...I was inspired. So instead of defaulting to "too busy," I sat down at my table and had some Valentine fun creating a little 'moment.' If you follow An Extraordinary Day on Facebook, you'll … [Read more...]
One of my dearest friends and her husband came to visit for the Thanksgiving weekend. We had a wonderful time together. She came bearing a most unusual hostess gift. A window from one of her previous homes. It was a window to a sun porch where we spent lots of time together, drinking tea - me and coffee -her, planning, and creating. An old window is so much fun to play with....but this one is special because of the memories associated with it. I couldn't wait to decorate with my new window! My husband helped me hang it up for the Christmas season. He screwed into the back of the … [Read more...]
Originally I had planned to give the house a warm and wintry feeling after taking down all the Christmas decorations. But, when you get smacked in the face with your husband's unexpected unemployment, everything changes. Decorating doesn't seem important any more. Packing for a new destination is first and forefront. Yet, somewhere along the way the sparse sun room, with the bare-branched faux evergreen, beckoned me to do something. Something that did not involve a bunch of time and certainly no pennies either. You may remember the sun room from my Very Merry Christmas House … [Read more...]
Have you noticed it? Hearts and cupids are popping up all over. Well actually I haven't seen any cupids. Which is okay. I'm not a fan. Are you? As you may know, I'm supposed to be packing. But, really it is much more fun to pop on here and have a chat with you and share a very easy little idea of mine for heart day. But, first off I can't resist sharing a few extra bits of inspiring sweetness, also. Most of these inspirations are quick and easy to create on a budget. Spreading {Valentine} Joy & Blessing.... Do you enjoy making little sweets to share … [Read more...]
Inspiration to set a pretty but simple moss green St. Patrick's Day table and thoughts on why I enjoy celebrating this Irish holiday. Do you love to rearrange your furniture with the seasons or on a whim? I have many friends who do that, but that's not my style. I work hard to find a permanent furniture placement and instead of changing up my room arrangements I change up my decor with the seasons. If you've been hanging around here for any time, I'm sure you've noticed my love for seasonal home decor... especially on the … [Read more...]
Simple easy tips for transitioning your home from winter-weary to spring-fresh. The trees are leafless and there's still snow on the ground. Yet soon, there will be wildflowers along our paths and a canopy of green overhead. While Mother Nature takes her sweet time transitioning her wardrobe, I'm going to jump ahead and pretend that spring has arrived and transition my inside spaces, making them fresh and happy and welcoming AND walk through the process with you. This post is sponsored by Wayfair. All thoughts and creative ideas are my own. What's the first color … [Read more...]
