home is wherever your something special is

We've been hanging out a lot at home lately, due to my husband's health

so I decided to warm things up a bit and make it feel more homie

ya know

There's the saying "Home is where your heart is" but I've learned...

home is wherever your "something special" is

For example: Your husband, dog, etc.

Home is where my husband is. And any house is a home

even an apartment

so

There was this shelf. In our kitchen. That I had hubby & his brother hang for me.

Awhile ago too, might I add

So this shelf. Didn't have anything on it. At all

I would try to put something on there

then I'd leave and walk away

then I'd come back and hate what I just put on there

Then I'd switch it again and... Anyway. I just wasn't happy with it

Maybe because there was no color? I always had just black & white items on said shelf

Why black and white? They were safe colors. I always know I can accent anything w/it

HOWEVER; This was not okay with me. I'm done with playing safe. Just done

I've had red and black plates, in our kitchen, for awhile now. Love

I bought a red shag rug, for doing dishes by the sink. Love again

I even commit to painting our knife block red. Love again 

Obviously red and I have a relationship

It's nice and classy and I know it'll never go out of style. Red, that is

All the other colors (Tiffany blue, white, etc.) will soon come to an end

and I can't afford to keep changing things up (although I do like the sound of it). I can't

I know red and yellow are really in right now and I can change that at any time, with these things I made

which makes me feel good, since I obviously have commitment issues 

here's my touch of red:

This was really easy to make BTW

total cost: like $3 

no joke

I went to Hobby Lobby (my go-to craft store) and bought a wooden oval

just a plain wooden oval

then I took my wooden oval home and painted the outer ledge, black

(to make it look like a frame)

then I Mod Podged the red & white striped paper on the wooden oval 

(I traced around the inner side of the oval first, then cut it, obviously) 

Then I drew my version of California (the state where my husband and I are from)

(I wish this drawing were more accurate, but I had no patience and just wanted this done)

The drawing of California was on a different piece of paper, obviously, for contrast

Then I Mod Podged the state onto the red and white striped paper. Wa la!

I also added a little red heart, where our home town would've been. Aw

There's a lotta red goin on in this craft. I just realized 

these next few pictures are of items I just added to the black said shelf for color

I already had this clear glass. It was supposed to be a candle holder

so done with that idea

Since I was going for red & yellow themed colors, I added lemons to this jar

The lemons came from Hobby Lobby as well. They're obviously fake

I figured lemons gave the kitchen that fresh, clean look. And you can switch them out w/anything else, if one has commitment issues (cough cough- ME!) and wants different accent colors

Lemons are a perfect accent color/decor; Especially for the kitchen

This is a home-made pasta holder made out of a Pringles container

no joke guys

I just Mod Podged scrapbook paper (that would match my kitchen) and Wa La!

I keep all the vases my husband has given me flowers in. I know right?

This is one of the vases and I just used paint (for glass) to paint it yellow!

It just spices up a clear vase and adds color! It also hides flower stems

Oh yeah- The flowers came from HL as well

I hope my wedding flourist (and good friend) Ashley, would be proud! 

When everything is all done and comes together, it looks like this: YAY

Yes. It looks like YAY

The "home" sign was given to me (by my mom) a couple years ago (with a few other Christmas gifts). I just never knew where to put it, 'cuz no place ever really felt like "home" with room mates and cheap, random decor (ya know). So I decided to add this little guy to said shelf. I'm not sure if it would've been better on a living room shelf, or in a hallway/walkway, but I felt it was best here. It was hard enough (for me anyway) to decide what was okay to go on a kitchen shelf, and what wasn't. 
I've learned you want to keep things clean, and simple. So keep that in mind when you're picking colors and or patterns for one's kitchen. 
Also, just because this is a shelf DOES NOT MEAN IT'S OKAY TO PUT BOOKS ON HERE unless they're recipe books of course. (I originally had some old vintage lookin books on said shelf, and it just wasn't working- Hence why they came down). You want things to be nice and warm and clean looking, so one won't lose their appetite while eating in your kitchen.  
I plan on adding two somethings to both sides of the shelf. I'm not sure what, yet, but something will be going there, just to warm it up a bit. Maybe mirrors or some frames painted w/chalk board paint? I'm not sure. What do you think?