On Tuesday, I shared this project with Marilyn and her readers at The Artsy Girl Connection as part of a fun series she put together for Valentine's called Crafty Lil Hearts! Go check out Marilyn's super creative site and be inspired by the awesome Valentine projects and stories shown during her series. It'll continue on until Valentine's Day, so go join the fun! 

To me, Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday for the handmade gift. Nothing says I love you like taking the time to create something sweet and sentimental for your nearest and dearest. My hubby and I don't buy each other Valentine gifts. Instead, we do sweet things, cook something special or give thoughtful, handmade cards and gifts.

This year, I decided to make my hubby a Subway Art style picture frame, listing every city the two of us have lived (both separate and together!). And, then I added a sentiment that could not be any truer: Home Is Wherever You Are. I finished the project with an old picture of us in the first city we lived together as marrieds. A sweet and sentimental gift for my hubby, don't you think?

I started this project with a discounted $0.99 frame, which I gave a quick coat of Pewter Ring paint from a Behr sample jar. Behr's Pewter Ring just so happens to be the color of our entry way, guest bathroom, dining room and living room. Yes, we like gray. After the frame was dry, I rough up the edges a bit with some sandpaper. Just enough to give it a slightly worn quality.

Using my silhouette,  I cut out the names of our cities from black vinyl, making sure to vary the fonts and sizes. I decided to leave two areas blank to handwrite our names and "home sweet home" in my own script. Just another personal touch! I kept the font and colors simple and without a lot of fluff. Since, you know, it is for my husband. 

(Like what you see? Follow 52 Mantels!)

Welcome to our fifth addition of Thursdays are YOUR Days! Today I've got an awesome giveaway to tell you about before we get this party started. Xperience Days is giving one lucky reader a $50 gift certificate to be used on one of their incredible and unique gifts! Anyone out there have a husband who is seriously hard to shop for? Consider getting him the unique gift of an awesome experience from Xperience Days. 

What's cool about Xperience Days is that you can pick your city and they'll give you a list of awesome experience packages you can gift to a loved one. I picked my city (Dallas) and my price range (under $100) and found several awesome gifts I might pick for the hubby: Zipline Texas, Corvette Ride at Texas Motor Speedway, BYOB Painting Class.

Okay, that last one's for me. But, seriously. There are some cool and unique experiences available!! I might even choose an Indian Cooking Class for Two. Because, let's face it, unique date nights are hard to come by!

So...want to win this awesome giveaway?! I'm so glad, because I want to help you do just that! 

Good luck! 

And, now onto other business..

Thank you all for the sweet emails and comments yesterday. Yes, the hubs and I are feeling much better today! So, why am I still behind?? Well, sad to say, my daughter is NOT well. Turns out she has a respiratory virus called RSV. My momma-heart is sad, y'all!! I promise I won't turn this blog into a diary of our ailments, but c'mon. Can we get a break?!

Number of times this evening I've been puked on after a horrid coughing fit=3.

Number of times this evening I've been smiled at, hugged or otherwise melted by incredible sweetness=47. The good news? I'm still winning. 

Now...It's that time again...the day when you get to show off YOUR awesome projects!! You know I love seein' whatcha got, right?? 

And, if you're dying for a little recap, this week on 52 Mantels:

I took a fun, antiquin'/junkin'/shoppin' day trip to Canton with a sweet friend and our amazingly cooperative kiddos 

I showed you my 21st mantel, full of vintage Valentine's Day cards

And, I shared the recipe for a scrumptious and oh-so easy sweet treat

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