Hearts and Flowers

As I mentioned before, I did some shopping during my trip to Duluth. I picked up a couple of really interesting little things that I knew I'd want to hang at home as art.

The first was this greeting card featuring a print reproduced by the Kenspeckle Press. I saw it and simply couldn't pass it up - it's not every day you see detailing on flower petals like that!

I also picked up this handmade paper heart basket. Decorations like these are typically hung on the Christmas tree in Norway (and Sweden, I'm told) and are made by children out of red and white construction paper. The traditional style has strips of even sizes woven together and is such a ubiquitous symbol of Norwegian Christmas that you can buy a pewter replica (check) or a paper garland featuring this shape (and check). If you want to know more about this tradition, click here. I was drawn to this one just as soon as I saw it, with modern lines and my favorite colors, pink and green!

I decided to hang these two things with another interesting card I had bought some time ago. I picked out these three frames!

I thought this was okay, but I have white walls stretching as far as the eye can see. I didn't know if adding these three additional white picture frames would look good.

I snagged some craft paint, in a color called ballet shoes, and got to work!

I was angling for this corner in my bedroom...

Here is my first attempt at hanging them:

It's not terrible, but I was disappointed that the top two frames are bumped out from the wall by their tabletop stands. This photo was taken from the main walkway through the bedroom, so I knew this would be an angle I'd see often. I decided it had to be fixed!

So, I took the frames down and planned to use tools to unscrew the metal clip that holds the stand on. However, once I got the frames to the table I realized there weren't any screws. So, I just mustered my inner Wonder Woman and pulled them right off. Score! It took about 30 seconds and they came right off, with no tearing or damage of any kind.

With my trusty level in hand, I headed back to the bedroom and hung them back up!

Here's the finished product. I'm really loving this pink-and-green semi-Scandinavian display. For the curious, the middle card bears a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle, which really speaks to me. It reads, "Life is infinitely stranger than anything mind could invent." So true!