Romantic Valentine Mantle ~ Sisterhood Saturday

I decided to show my favorite valentine, my SuperHubbie, how much I love him by an in-your-face Romantic Valentine Mantle full of flowery sweetness and wedding memories. Not only do I get to gaze upon one of the happiest days of my life for a full month, but he get's to be reminded that Valentines Days is coming soon.  Sometimes us SuperMom's have to be a little sneaky in the romance department, right sisters!

One thing I have learned throughout the years is that if you want romance, you're going to have to do it yourself!  Now I'm not saying men can't be romantic, it's just rare.  And 99.9% of the time it's not the romance we might be expecting.  We can blame it on Hollywood jading us with it's films but honestly, men are just wired different.  Not wrong, different.  Accept that little fact, set the stage yourself, tell him exactly what you want and romance is sure to follow!

Our Framed Wedding Vows

 I brought out all kinds of wedding memorabilia and decor to adore the mantle with.  All said and done I stepped back and looked at it but wasn't fully happy.

See that big blank space at the top?  That is the back of the pictures of all my kiddo's at age 6 months used to decorate my Red and Turquoise Valentine Mantle on the other side.  Since our wedding was kind of 'shabby chic' I decided to take some scrap fabric and make a quick fabric banner in various shades of pink.

 It definitely helped to keep your eye on this side and made the sign pop.  I had this sign set up on a vignette table that included a plate for the guests to sign.  It says

"Enjoy The Journey ~ Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away"

When Valentines is over I plan on turning the scrappy banner into fun dress up skirts for my girls!  So on the left side you'll see our Wedding Vows which are sitting on top of the toile table runners we used.  The tall cylinders contained black rocks and the tall off-white candle.  What's in them now?  The are actually flower-like shower scrubbies that are hard when dry that I found at the Dollar Tree!

  I had the flower scrubbies hanging from a huge lilac tree along with glass candles ~ it made a unique back drop and looked really pretty when it got dark.

On the other side I placed a collection of books on Alaska where we went on our honeymoon cruise!  We brought home a little stow-away from that cruise who's middle name is June, short for Juneau.  Born in April she might one day ask why her middle name is June....

I found this sweet printable while playing on Pinterest.  Although it wasn't from our wedding, it was the perfect print to frame.  I hung my sparkly head piece on the top.

In the middle I placed two of our canvas prints.  One that was taken at the very beginning of our ceremony with my dad who married us.  He and my mother are proprietors of The Historic Wolf Creek Inn where we got married.

I printed this Vintage Flag Banner and then made a couple hearts and our initials on PicMonkey to add to it.  Our wedding colors were black and off-whites with shades of pink so this banner was great.  I used little clothespins that were painted silver to hang the banner from a grey ribbon.

Next to our pictures I placed one of the Mason Jars that hung from black Shepherds Hooks along the isle and on larger hooks placed at the end.  They were filled with my flowers: Antique Pink Hydrangeas and Pink Cabbage Roses.  I desperately wanted Peonies but they have a terribly short season.  FYI ~ Cabbage Roses are a wonderful alternative to peonies!  I happened upon this silk bouquet just after we were married that resembles my bouquet.

I actually surprised myself on how much I love this mantle.  I'm not totally into oowey-gooey romance either, but I am totally into my hubbie.  Simple little things can add so much to a marriage.  Just like our 'Enjoy The Journey' sign says, it's the moments and memories that add up to a wonderful life.  Remind your man how much you love him, and he will remind you why.

Oh, and I added a little strand of battery-powered twinkly lights behind the fabric banner that just happen to come on after the kiddo's go to bed.

Remember, sneaky in the romance department is a good thing  =)