theSun February January 2017

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Hearts founder Sarah Khandjian
used gold pleather (imitation
leather made frompolyurethane) to
give her pillows amore luxurious
touch. On a white cover, she used
gold pleather cut into scalloped
trimming while on a blackwith
white polka dot cover, she cut a big
heart out of the pleather and sewed
it on.
With St Valentine’s Day just
around the corner, we hope these
suggestions will help you add hints
of romance to interiors to inspire
love. Spark love within your homes
andmake your Valentine’s Day a lot
more colourful and fun by focusing
on the amusing and enjoyable
aspects of these DIY decorations ...
better still, done together with your
loved ones.
heart banner she found at a discount
store retailer. Taking it apart, she
then took French script ribbons and
made a ruffled line before sewing
the burlap pieces and heart shapes
onto the line. The rustic piece fitted
in perfectly against the backdrop of
her modern-styled kitchen cabinet.
In the piano room, shemade paper
banners out of colourful scrapbook
paper and stuck on family
photographs. Garlands and banners
make great festive decor pieces.
They can also be wrapped up and
kept easily until the next round of
celebrations.
WALLS OF ROMANCE
There are somanyways to decorate
walls for Valentine’s Day! Classic in
Gray founder Jessica Hirschemade
a neutral-toned heart no-weave-
wall hanging using just rods and
yarns as material. The wall hanging
basically comprises three rods
holding varying lengths of white
and grey yarn placed on top of each
other in descending lengths. This
DIY is great for those with
Scandinavian-styled homes.
However, if you are keen on
keeping with the trend of geometric
shapes, then try JeranMcConnel of
Oleander and Palm’s tutorial for a
giant geometric wall heart. The wall
art piece uses just sheets of
scrapbook paper in two shades of
BYALYSSA J. OON
VALENTINE’S Day, like any
celebration of old, has a
history that is as
complicated as some
relationships. While some say it is
the commemoration of the death of
St Valentine (whowas amartyr that
secretlymarried Christian couples
and helped themescape during the
reign of Emperor Claudius II),
others believe it was the church that
popularised Valentine’s Day as a
way to downplay “Lupercalia”, a
fertility festival (whichwas
dedicated to the Roman god of
agriculture Faunus and the Roman
founders Romulus and Remus). On
the other hand, there are some who
simply believe that Feb 14 is a day
marking the start of birdmating
season (no pun intended)!
Though St Valentine’s Day is not
widely celebrated inMalaysia
(especially these days), we still see
stores primmed and preened in
pinks and reds to commemorate the
“Day of Romance”. No doubt we
should love and appreciate our
loved ones every day of the year but
we do not. So, take this day as a cue
to shower those close to your heart
with an extra dose of love – be it
your spouse, children, parents,
family or friends.
Andwhat better way to fan the
flames of romance than to dress
interiors accordingly and ignite that
loving feeling.
DOSE OF LOVEY-DOVEY
Still not over Christmas yet?
Luckily, because Valentine’s
wreaths are an actual thing! Make
your ownwreath in the traditional
circular shape or themore romantic
heart shape. Use fake flowers, felt
flowers, paper flowers or pom-poms
in colours of red, pink andwhite.
Flamingo Toes blogger Beverly
McCulloughmade a vintage-style
Valentine’s Daywreath using a
foamwreath, then covering it in
white, pastel pink and blue yarn.
Afterwards, she added a garland of
felt hearts, a felt bow and yarn pom-
poms, finishing it off with a pair of
lovebirds sitting on a tiny branch.
Just looking at it makes hearts go
aflutter!
AFFECTION BLOOMS
In keeping to the theme of
“Christmas inValentine’s Day”,
swap the bouquets of flowers and go
rustic with a long vase of twigs with
little ornaments hanging from them.
Imitate the blooming of flowers
in spring by attaching paper hearts
along the branches in varying sizes
and colours. For an added rustic
>DIY projects to add a hint of St Valentine’s love to interiors
touch, use a water pitcher as a vase.
The branches can also be wrapped
in yarn to add a feel of warmth and
cosiness to it.
For amoremodern take, paint
the branches white and substitute
the red and pink flowers for black,
white, silver and gold hearts instead.
If you still want to keepwith
tradition and stick to the usual
colours, sprinkle half of the paper
hearts with gold glitter, such as The
House That Lars Built founder
BrittanyWatson Jepsen did in her
“Valentine’s Day Branch Tree”
tutorial. Jepsen used scrapbook
papers of pink, red, white and glitter
tomake 3Dhearts. Little clip-on
birds were added for extra colour
and personality.
Alternatively, make simple paper
roses out of circles of paper and
stick themonto the branches.
Others havemade hearts out of felt
and hung themon the tree.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR
Garlands seem to be a
favourite decor piece
onValentine’s Day! In
other countries,
garlands are
commonly hung
across the fireplace
under themantel. In
Malaysia, we can adapt
and string them just
about anywhere –
cupboards, walls,
staircases or shelves.
Instead of stringing
together the usual
plain paper hearts,
look for heart-shaped
doilies, make felt
hearts, crochet some
yarn hearts or make
pom-pomballs and put
those unused playing
cards towork or even
conversation hearts
made out of paper.
Clean Scentsible
founder Jenn Lifford
reworked a burlap
pink and gold. Cut the
sheets into triangles,
arrange them into a heart
shape and then stick it on!
(This can also be done on
a smaller scale for a
framed piece.)
Another geometric
heart DIY project is by
Jess of Make andDo
crew. Using lots of
popsicle sticks, Jess
stacks the popsicle sticks on top of
each another to create a wall piece
of three intertwined hearts. A
template is provided on the blog for
better guidance with the shape.
CUDDLY-HUGGY PILLOWS
If you are looking for more
functional pieces (or a cuddle
partner), then dress your pillows up
for the occasion. Find a simple
magenta-coloured pillow case and
stencil on commonValentine’s Day
phrases such as “XOXO” or
“LOVE”, etc. To addmore
personality to the room, turn a plain
white pillowcase into a colourful
one with polka dots or hearts.
For amoremuted tone, try cross-
stitching a heart onto a grey pillow
case. Sew-on felt pieces also seem to
be a popular choice. You can
channel amoremodern luxury style
using black andwhite pillow covers
with gold scallop trimmings. Sarah
Email your feedback and
queries to: propertyqs@
X
and dress up on love
Think red, pink
PHOTO: WWW.CLEANANDSCENTSIBLE.COM
PHOTO: WWW.CLASSICINGRAY.COM
PHOTO: SARAHHEARTS.COM
PHOTO: WWW.FLAMINGOTOES.COM
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theSun ON FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 3, 2017