Simple Valentine’s Day Mantel

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Pencil Grip, all creative content is my own. 

Valentine’s Day always seems to sneak up on me. I’m typically still in the lull after Christmas, it’s not quite winter decor anymore but it’s not fully spring time yet either. Admittedly, in the past I haven’t decorated a ton for Valentine’s Day and every year my daughter complains that we don’t do enough because she LOVES pink and hearts and wishes the whole house was covered in them :). Well, this year I promised I’d let me help me with some Valentine’s Day decor, and I think I won a few mom points with them.

This weekend we put together this Simple Valentine’s Day Mantel by creating a cute DIY Heart Bunting using their very own artwork they created with Kwik Stix!

I think we made a good compromise by keeping my style of general decor and prints, and adding a fun bright Valentine’s Day garland to dress up the actual mantel. See it doesn’t take much to make everyone happy and it took no time at all!

 Simple Valentine’s Day Mantel Using Kid’s ArtworkOne of my kids’ favorite thing to do arts & crafts with are these Kwik Stix, they are tempura paint sticks that dry in literally 90 seconds. Gone are the days of waiting hours for paint to dry before you can move onto the next step or being worries that your kids’ hands are going to be smearing paint all over the house. We use these all the time for rainy day crafts and quick projects. You can pick them up at Michaels!
I love these paint sticks because they are so easy to use and I really don’t have to worry about big messes.
For this project, I picked out the colors for us to use and then we all sat down and created our own ‘abstract’ art using the paint sicks! From scribbles to shapes and patterns, we all let our creative juices flow! If I’m being totally honest, the metallic ones are my favorite! They have such a pretty sheen to them! Since these only take 90 seconds to dry, they were ready to cut into hearts in no time. I used my craft cutting machine to cut all the paper into 4″ hearts with holes on top to put the string through. I love how these ones have a water color feel to them!I used some simple jute string to hand them on the mantel and added a few tassels and gold garland. A fun festive touch to dress things up for the holiday and I can’t tell you how excited my kids are to see their artwork hanging up there! They are actually super excited about this project. :)

How do you let your kids help you decorate for the different holidays?
You can pick up your own Kwik Stix next time you are at Michaels! Or check them out on Facebook and Instagram.

About Taryn Whiteaker

Taryn Whiteaker is the voice of style behind TarynWhiteaker.com (formerly Design, Dining and Diapers) ! Taryn is a previous PR/Marketing professional who got back to her creative roots after becoming a mom and now shares her passion for home decor and design for the world to see. Taryn lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband and three kids and loves coffee, the outdoors, and exploring with her family.