Spring Centerpiece

Last year, I hosted Easter for 11, and had set 2 tables for dinner.  You can see them here.  We've been having a heat wave in the northeast(6 days in a row of record high temps here in Binghamton,) and it feels like summer not spring.  To capitalize on the warm weather, my MIL will be hosting Easter at the cottage this year.  Still, I don't like a naked table, so here is my simplified Spring Table Centerpiece.

I've had the little dollar store bunnies in vignettes in the past, but wanted to freshen them up a bit.  Luckily it's been spray painting weather, so outside they went.

And several thin coats of white and they had more of a bisque appearance.

I laid out some sheet moss, and placed my thrifted footed dish that I found here in the center.  I turned the segmented crystal dish upside down to create a platform for this lantern that I rescued from the curb.  I threw in some mossy rocks and called it done.

This centerpiece took no time at all and carries on the simple natural feel that I have in my Spring Mantel, too.

Thanks for popping in and decorating with me.  I'm linking this up to The Style Sisters' Centerpiece Wednesdays.

 

Spring Mantel

In an attempt to decorate frugally, I've resurrected some items from last year to decorate this year's mantel.  Remember the decoupaged eggs that I had in the Pottery barn knockoff moss basket from last year?  They're sitting in a nest of spanish moss this year.

I placed my copycat project on the other side of the mantel.

And the large moss monogram that sat on our front door last year is on this year's spring mantel.

This year's mantel is more nature inspired with the birds and eggs.

A little bit of ivy, and my Spring mantel is complete.  This year's mantel is a lot simpler than last year's, and melds perfectly with this year's theme of Less.

Thanks for popping in and decorating with me.

Spring Wreath

Spring has sprung at our house, and has made it's way onto our front door.

This wreath was so cheap and easy to put together with all my supplies coming from the dollar store.  I started by wiring some floral stems to a wreath form.

I picked up some hanging Easter egg decorations.  They came a dozen to a pack.

I pulled off the hanging ribbon, and hot glued them to my wreath.  That's it easy peasy Springtime wreath.

I had to wait to hang this, because my magnetic wreath hanger needed a couple quick coats of brown to disappear into my front door.

Here it is again on my front door with the newly camouflaged wreath hanger.

Thanks for popping in and crafting with me.

Copycat - A Season Later

I take a lot of pics with my camera phone of things that I'd like to make or try.  Sometimes I tackle the project right away, and sometimes these pics just end up sitting in an inspiration file for some-time-later-maybe-next-year.  One pic that I snapped was from a Holiday Edition of Better Homes and Gardens way back in November.  I loved the snowy vignette and wanted to do something like that on my mantel.

Except, I didn't.  And now it's just about Springtime.  Still that pic was one that I loved, and really wanted to emulate, so here's my springtime version.  Instead of "snow" and evergreens, I filled my footed glass bowl with moss and tossed some ivy underneath the bowl.

The moss is reused from some previous mossy projects, and can be found at the dollar store.  The bird was pulled off of last year's Spring wreath.  This footed bowl will be finding a home on my Spring mantel, coming soon.

Thanks for popping in and crafting with me.

Spring-ing into Action

The warm Spring weather that we've had lately has pushed me to clean out my car, and pull out some Easter decorations.  There were seriously enough little rubber pellets in my van to think about making a patio out of them(if you don't know what I'm talking about, your kids don't play indoors on recycled rubber turf all winter.) I've sprinkled around some chicks,

and made a new Spring wreath which I'll show you once I've hung it.

And I've made these bird's nest cookies.

I can tear through a bag of M&M coconut eggs in approximately no time flat.  I thought it best to put them to use in some cookies, and maybe just maybe, someone else might take the calorie hit.

I basically used my Pina Colada Cookie recipe, but instead of pineapple preserves in the center, I used white chocolate ganache, then dropped a few eggs in the middle.  Seriously, Yum.  If those boys don't hurry up and get home from school, I may have to eat them all.

Book 'Em

I've been sharing our progress on our new bookshelves here and here.  We need the new bookshelves, because our book situation has definitely gotten out of hand.  I'll be weeding through our books as part of my efforts to get rid of 40 bags in 40 days, but I also used a few of our no longer needed books for a fun craft project, Book Vases.

It'll be fun to decorate the new bookshelves with these.  They started as old college texts.  It's been quite some time since CG and I were in college, and I doubt they'll be of any use to our boys, since texts change almost yearly(huge money racket, but that's a rant for another day.)

I pulled off the covers.  This is easier done with a paperback, but not too difficult with a hardcover either.  I sketched a fluid half vase shape, and cut it out.  This process would be super easy on a bandsaw, but for those of us without a full wood shop, scissors will do just fine.  Just cut a dozen sheets at a time, checking every now and again to make sure that your silhouette hasn't gone too far off course.

A little bit of hot glue

 and some finessing of the pages, and you have a fun art piece.

Thanks for popping and and crafting with me.