Easy Easter Tree Centerpiece

I picked up some mercury glass mini Easter eggs from Pottery Barn on clearance a while back 

and just ran across them (again) the other day . . .tucked away {I have a habit of tucking things 

away and forgetting about them -- you too?}

Realizing I didn't have a way of displaying them I decided to create a little Easter tree centerpiece.

I literally snagged a branch from the backyard and gave it a quick sanding, followed by a quick coat 

of Old White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (I didn't have any spray paint on hand, but

that would of worked too).

I added the branch to a terra-cotta planter that I previously painted in Old White, as shown here, 

using some floral foam and a bit of hot glue.

I decided to cover the floral foam with left-over artificial grass I bought at Hobby Lobby.  

I had used some of the grass previously in my Sister's Brunch Centerpiece.

It was easy to cover the foam with this grass.  I just pulled it off the plastic frame and added a 

large dollop of hot glue to the flat base and held it on the foam for a few seconds . . . 

working around the branch until all the foam was covered.

To add a bit of Spring to my bare white branch, I pulled a few buds & blooms off 

a silk cherry blossom branch that had seen better days. 

{why yes, I do have a closet full of faux florals . . . why do you ask?}

I used hot glue to add these blooms to my new Easter tree.

The mini eggs look dazzling on their new tree.

The Egg Hunt sign, is a mini-chalkboard on a stick I recently bought from Pick Your Plum.

I gave it a quick swipe with Old White Chalk Paint and used a chalk marker to write on it.

I am pretty happy with my little Easter tree -- 

so much so that I made two and added one to my booth space.

Thank you for stopping in! I would love to hear from you, and will be sharing more soon!

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Butterflies & Bombshells

Whether you are setting up a Mother's Day luncheon with your friends, including your favorite mothers of course, or you are having a small family gathering -- just adding a few simple touches can make it special.  

Take this beautiful Mother's Day inspired table.

Created from our wonderful Willow House staff.  This particularly table was showcased at our 2010 national meeting.

One of the 'oooos and aaahhhhs' of the table, of course, is the Avalon Accent Trees with reindeer moss and  butterflies.

Here is a little 'behind the scenes action' to show how they did it . . . 

Source ::: Plate & Pattern (Willow House corporate blog) --  Start by adding a styrofoam cone to the center of each tree. For the large cone, she added moss from the bottom opening, but since our cones were the same size and the Avalon Accent Trees aren't, the smaller tree was a little tighter fit. For that tree, she had more luck putting the moss in from the outside-in. For your pieces, just experiment to see which method works best. 

Ready for her close up . . . the Avalon Accent Tree goes mossy!

Add a few craft store butterflies and you have a stunning centerpiece for your buffet or garden table!

Vary the height of your trees with urns, hurricanes and pedestals of different heights acting as the base.  These centerpiece 'trees' have also been used as a door bucket here, and a centerpiece at my family's summer BBQ here.  

Here is where the butterfly theme meets the bombshell . . . 

Have FUN with you family photographs!
•  Use an earlier picture of mom and either scan it, crop it and print it large or take it to your local copy center to help you.
•  Cut out mom's portrait in the shape of a butterfly.  It doesn't have to be perfect!
•  Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top corner of one of the butterfly's wings and thread a ribbon through.
•  Use plenty of ribbon for an elegant bow and tie it onto the ribbon plate.
•  How sweet is this?     

My mom (though she may of acted a bit embarrassed at the time) would of loved this!  

This is perfect for ANY ladies spring / summer luncheon -- so keep this idea in mind!  

The Gramercy Ribbon Plate is topped with accent plates.  One in a trellis pattern (which mimics the tablecloth) and our Verde Berry Bowl (currently on vacation -- ask me for inventory status).

Each berry bowl contains a sweet package for the guest.  Wouldn't this make any one of us feel special?

Yes, I think it would indeed.  Love the purple accents combined with the green and cream color palette.

Ice tea (are you from the South?  Why yes, it IS Sweet Tea, how did you know?), served in a Ruffled Glass Pitcher, with sugar cube and lemon slices ready for guests to help themselves.

So many beautiful details . . . 

. . . including the Vases filled with flowers, and the flatware wrapped within the napkin and tucked into the glass tumbler.

Though it never hurts . . . 

. . . to serve a jaw-dropping dessert!  Purple flowers top a gorgeous creme cake wrapped with a chiffon ribbon and proudly display on a ruffled glass cake pedestal.  YuMMy!  

Of course you can take the theme of any gathering to any length of extremes -- it all depends on how much time you have to prepare for it, AND what your definition of ExTreme is ;).

The folks over at the National Watermelon Promotion Board continue to impress me with the ingenious ways they encourage us to enjoy melons, if you haven't checked out their carving ideas lately, you should!

Source ::: National Watermelon Promotion Board

How about these adorable pretzel butterflies?  They are the perfect combination of a little salty & sweet and look very simple to make too.  To top your cupcakes with pretzel-winged butterflies . . . note the
• bodies are piped dots of blue buttercream
• heads are candy-coated-chocolate
• with licorice antennae

Yes, YOU can do this!! Source ::: Martha Stewart Kid's (adults like them too ;)

Most craft stores sell silk butterflies, or those made from feathers, look in the floral department near the foam and glass gems.  Often times these butterflies include a wire stem, making them easy to pop into an arrangement or attach to the stem of a glass.

To make this gorgeous floral arrangement, see the source ::: Southern Living Magazine

You could even add a Nest of Sweets to each place setting.  Don't limit the use of nests in your decor to just Easter.

Source ::: Southern Living Magazine

 Wire silk butterflies to the stems of glassware.  Each guest could be a different colored butterfly, making it easy to keep track of his or her glass.

Source ::: Southern Living Magazine

To continue to carry the butterfly theme, don't forget the backs of your chairs. Create this look in two steps. First loop ribbon over each chair back, and tie it in a knot.  Then for the bow, make two loops with a length of ribbon, and secure by tying with the tails from the first knot. Insert a silk butterfly.

Source ::: Southern Living Magazine

I hope this post encourages you to have Fun with you entertaining and not to be afraid to take any theme to a bit of an extreme!

Take Care and Happy Mother's Day to All the MoMs out there! ♥

Linking up with :::
•  Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursdays

Welcome to our HumbleNest

Greetings!  Welcome to my NEW Blog.  I am excited you came by and I hope to inspire you, and challenge myself, to create a feeling of welcome, comfort and beauty in our homes.    Springtime is the season of year when I feel the endless possibilities of life -- when the earth seems to burst at the seams with hope and renewal.  Yellow daffodils dance their welcome . . . dormant trees dress up in fragrant blossoms of whites, pinks and purples . . . and Mother Nature seems to say "rise and shine!"
Is it any wonder that we want to refresh our homes, gardens and yes, even our wardrobes? 

Your entrances, especially your most frequented front entrance, should speak to your family, friends and all guests who happen upon it.  It should say, "Welcome, come right in.  Make yourself at home."

Your entryway is your opportunity to make a first and lasting impression.  Here are a few ways to create a warm welcome, and a few ideas I am challenging myself to take on.

☼ Redecorate your doors to reflect the season. It is easy to ignore your front door if you don't see it everyday.  Entering and exiting our homes through our mudrooms & garage doors leaves little exposure to what our guests might see upon visiting.   It is easy for me to leave my boxwood wreath up year-round with little additional decoration.  In fact that wreath has called our front door home for 5 years (Yikes!) -- I do take it down and hose it off several times a year -- it is a pollen and dust magnet and birds have been know to try to build a nest within it.   I bought it from Frontgate.com and though I don't remember exactly what I paid for it, I remember debating it for sometime -- well worth it, considering how well it has held up given the abuse it takes! 

The quickest way to add a touch of SPRING to our door with a bit of personalization was to add to the existing wreath. 

Here I added a wired candle ring, topped with a wooden initial, to a metal wall medallion suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Super Simple for Spring!

This medallion is also perfect as a narrow profile (between front & storm doors) door decoration, sans wreath (it needs a break, am I right?) and my wheels are spinning with different ways to decorate it for a quick seasonal change.













☼ Anchor your entryway with urns, planters or topiaries.
We are fortunate to have azaleas filling our front flower beds in the spring. With such a bright display of color in our yard, our front steps can look downright dowdy.   A few planters filled with color are just the prescription to bring life to our entrance.

Source

☼Brighten your door with a 'door bucket' to for styling seasonal flowers with ease.

Willow House's small Avalon Accent Tree becomes a welcoming door bucket for Spring. Wrapped in a large cabbage leaf, a burlap bow and accented with a simple bouquet using an assortment of bright faux flowers of various sizes.

For more FUN uses for the Avalon Accent Trees, see my previous blog post here.

For Easter, offer Peter Cottontail the biggest carrot!
 

Here the large Avalon Accent Tree is decked out for a 'Hoppy Easter'. Stuffed with orange crepe paper, a touch of floral foam holds a faux asparagus fern in place as the 'carrot' top and a moss bunny on a stick hops on top. Add some ric-rack streamers (as carrot roots) & a Must Have Mini Marker to greet guests and bunnies at the door.

Bright and colorful -- even without renewing my front door with a fresh coat of paint.  I like it!

~

I'm Linking UP with Rhoda's Southern Hospitality Spring Fling Door Decor Party -- hope you come join us!

Psst . . . I haven't blogged for 'a bit' but will admit to being a regular follower, crafter and lover of things imperfectly beautiful! You can find my previous blogs & posts here and here.    Thank YOU so much for stopping by -- and I would love to hear from you!