Old Chippy Window Vignette

I have a small wall in my dining room between the living room and the hall.  It sat almost bare for quite a while.  It looked like this:

I knew I wanted a charming, cottage look vignette, but wasn't sure just what.  Then, I found these old, chippy windows and they fit perfectly in this space. 

I added some pictures of the grandkids and little accessories.  The one on the left has the number "554" on an old book page.  The number is significant because I have 5 children, 5 grand-children, and 4 great-grand-children!

The one on the right has more pictures and a book page heart that simply says "family".

Next, I wanted something that the grand-kids could do to add some whimsy to this space.  I had them each color with crayon on a piece of card stock and then paint over it with water colors.

Next, I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter as a template to cut out heart shapes.

I then put up some chicken wire to attach the hearts to.  I found some cute mini clothes pins at JoAnn's Fabrics to clip them on with.  Then I added some decorative wood trim.

I was going to paint the wood trim turquoise and then paint some red on top and distress it to let the turquoise show through, but when I painted it turquoise I loved it so much that I just left it as is.  I may go back at some point and paint the red on top, but for now I'm just going to enjoy it this way!

As my younger grand-kids get old enough to make a heart, I can just add one on.  I imagine this filled with hearts some day - each as unique as the creators!