Modern Cottage + Valentine's Day = Love

I loved Valentine's Day when I was little .... folding brightly colored paper in half to cut out homemade hearts, delighting in white paper doilies, and of course infusing a little glue and glitter - all part of those glorious Valentine's craft sessions in grade school :) While varying shades of pink can be sweet and nostalgic, for our Modern Cottage I wanted to do something in line with our aesthetic, which means creating a new twist on the traditional Valentine's colors. I also just wanted a few hints of the holiday, so a very minimalistic approach was used. We found the end results to be fresh and modern.

I discovered these perfectly-imperfect 1" felted wool hearts from this sweet shop on Etsy. Oh, pitter patter. They come as a family in a cute little cardboard box. I couldn't resist ordering a set for my mom, too. They are great resting in a pretty bowl or strewn about a counter top or other surface. I put them on our dining table next to the asparagus fern.

Next, I thought it would be fun to hang a simple paper heart from some jute cording. I just printed out a heart shape and used it as a guide to cut it out of heavy-weight white paper (then punched it with my fancy 1/8" hole punch) and knotted the cording in the back. (Best tip ever: secure with a thumbtack into the top of the door). It's a subtle ode to the holiday and totally reminiscent of my childhood crafting days :) Now close your eyes and pretend the door is white, too - Ahh, much better (in due time!).

I also set these modern polished heart-shaped rocks atop the vintage deed box on our entry bench for a little welcoming Valentine's cheer to all who enter.

As with most Modern Cottage design elements, less is more. These sweet yet simple touches remind me of Valentine's days as a kid, just more modern and (a bit) more grown up!