When we were building our house, I saved a few I-joist cutoffs from a beam we installed. They weren’t anything fancy — just leftover pieces that would’ve normally gone in the trash. But I held onto them anyway, thinking I might find a use for them someday.
This week, I finally pulled one out to make a Valentine’s decor piece.
The I-joist piece already had some interesting shape to it, especially on the corners, so I didn’t want to overthink the design. I painted the main block red, then painted just the edges and corners with a soft, slightly shiny pink. The corners are raised, so the sparkle catches the light in a really subtle way that I ended up liking a lot.
Once that dried, I painted a white heart in the center.
From there, I just let myself have fun with it.
I had a small collection of faux flowers that didn’t really go with anything else I own — the random kind you keep moving from bin to bin. I painted them in reds and pinks and hot glued a few around the corners of the piece. Nothing perfectly planned or symmetrical, just enough to add a little texture.
Then I grabbed my bead stash.
I’ve had these beads for years, and honestly, they’re not really my style for jewelry. I don’t see myself ever making anything wearable out of them, but I also didn’t want to just get rid of them. This project felt like the perfect excuse to finally use them.
I filled the white heart with white beads, a few white rock-like pieces, and even a white button. For the red background, I used a mix of red, pink, maroon, and a few black beads here and there — whatever colors seemed to work together. I just kept filling in gaps until it felt finished.
I didn’t follow a pattern or a plan. I just went with what felt right.
This ended up being one of those projects that was way more enjoyable than I expected. It was relaxing, creative, and really satisfying to use materials I already had — scrap I-joist wood from our house build, leftover paint, and beads that had been sitting unused for years.
The finished piece turned out better than I thought it would, and I think I’m going to list it in my Etsy shop and see how it goes. Even if nothing comes of it right away, I’m really glad I made it. There’s something special about turning pieces of your home build into decor, especially for a season like Valentine’s Day.
Sometimes the most unexpected materials end up being the most fun to work with.
—Your Crafter!
Dandychandee 