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!

6 Days of Spring Linky Party!

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• At the Picket Fence

Christmas Cheer in July

Be merry all, be merry all,

With holly dress the festive hall;

Prepare the song, the feast, the ball,

To welcome merry Christmas.

~William Robert Spencer

rooms & walls were built inside a large showroom for our product showcase
-- the created 'rooms' didn't have ceilings, unless they were built for lighting purposes.
The Door Mat is from Target.

There is something about looking at Christmas pictures, ornaments in the store and football on the TV that causes the temperature to drop 15 degrees . . . or is that just me?   I ran to Hobby Lobby today to pick up some materials for our next Flower Power Happy Hour and made a point to avoid the Christmas section.  I can't bring myself to do it . . . it will be here soon enough.  

Willow Sprig Centerpiece hung as a lantern with our Simone Double Old-Fashioned as candle holders.

I can't resist sharing these (So Darn Creative) Pictures taken at the Willow House Annual Meeting (we affectionately call WHAM!) -- our creative team is the best!  They always surprise us with clever decorating ideas, and it is one of my favorite get-togethers of the year!

Turquoise door (Benjamin Moore - Baltimore Sky 760)

Our French Wire 3-Tier Stand created a Snowman Wreath - by separating the tiers.  

Boxwood garland was wired onto the tiers to form wreaths, 

and metal Bows, from our Berry & Bow Door Buckets (see mantel) adorn each one. 

These Holiday Door Buckets are adorable metal stockings -- so cute adorning a picket fence!

I'll limit this post to just a few Christmas highlights -- to bring all our temperatures down a few degrees (yes, even as we watch the Olympic Athletes sweat up a storm! 

Is the fake snow making you feel cooler?  I think it is time for a frozen margarita, or at least a snow-cone :) How about it I start reciting The Night Before Christmas . . . 'The stockings were hung . . . '

Shingle Paint Color - Benjamin Moore - Louisburg Green HC-113.

If I could have . . . I would of packed Mr.Snow in my suitcase!  Isn't he adorable?  

Mr. Snow (my affectionate name for him) is made from 3 sizes of glittery plastic ornaments glued
to 3 different sizes of Styrofoam balls.  His scarf if a satin ribbon with felt eyes and a paper cone nose.
He is resting nicely in our Odessa Planter.

Our Odessa Angel gracefully joins our Jackson Square Mirror (with boxwood star wreath),
Lady Jane Bottleneck Vase (large) and Wireweave Baskets with an assortment of turquoise ornaments.

Coronado Stone Planters are shown on the lower level with hydrangea blooms & berry picks.
Two Montcrest Adjustable Hurricanes adorned with ribbon stand at attention like nutcrackers.

Come into my Favorite Christmas Room!

Do you also LOVE all the color?

Red Rug:  Crate & Barrel.  Large Red Ornaments are from Hobby Lobby.
Slip covered Chair from IKEA and the trees are handmade - covered in fabric!

Very striking, yet easy to duplicate - right?  

Wall Color:  Benjamin Moore - Dune Grass 482
Mantel Painted: Benjamin Moore - Northern Cliffs 1536

Even with a 'fake fire' you'll want to show off your Cordova Firescreen :)

I adore the fabric covered trees -- I am already looking at our tree's many branches 

and thinking which one will make the best colorful tree for the game room . . . 

I suppose they could be wire & paper mache and not real branches underneath.

Mental Note:  Solid Bright Colored Wrapping Paper for Christmas this year!

The wall above the mantel is an instant attention grabber!

Three Portico Accent Plates with our Holiday Hanging Trio - each accented with red satin ribbon.

These bold pieces look striking together as a grouping!

11x14" frames filled with solid paper, looks like they added a little Rub'n Buff to the frame.

The Door Buckets are hanging from our Fireside Stocking Hangers, and our

Athena Crackle Vase is dressed up with Kermit Mums (thriller), 

Oversized Lollipops & Candy Canes (filler) and Green Berry Picks (spiller)

Remember the Berry & Bow Door Buckets that donated their metal bows to the front door's snowman?  Here they are . . . filled with tulips, carnations and kermit / button mums (so pretty!)  

I'm rethinking when I will actually 'hang' our Christmas Stockings now.  

I think I will hold them until Christmas Eve, and hang door buckets as a placeholder for them this year.

If Santa does make it down the faux chimney, he'll have some delicious sweet treats waiting for him.

The Wirework Treasure Box Ornament comes in an assortment of 3, with $2 from each set sold going towards CUT IT OUT, an organization dedicated to helping battered women escape abuse and rebuild a better life for themselves and their families.  We are PROUD to support CUT IT OUT!

Cordova Nesting Table topped with two of our Riverstone Platters and Harmony Tea Cups.

Off to the next 'room' -- a little Christmas breakfast nook!

Doesn't our Athena Crackle Vase make a perfect lamp base?  

See my facebook album for How To.

Teal Table from Nadeau Furniture.
Walls are painted:  Benjamin Moore - Smoke Embers 1466

Our Odessa Angel appears again - this time dressed up with a Pink Paper Cone for an 

added PoP of color, she is resting on our Jackson Square Pedestal next to our 

Belle Meade Entertaining Stand, Tuscan Accent Plates & Maribel Clock.  

The Zella Notice Boards are the perfect spot to display cards & holiday wishes.

I am in love with the Tinsel Tree (hobby lobby) tucked in our Lady Jane Vase, Small.

The tinsel tree is adorned with some of our large and small Prism Glass Ornaments.

Chevron Table Lines (Love these!) are from Smith Variety Store in Birmingham, AL
(wonder if they ship?)

Also shown on this colorful table ::: Adair Ruffled Glass Cake Stand, Simone Highballs, Amelia Thimble Domes, Piedmont Votive Caddy, Riverstone Tapas Platters, and Adelaide Flatware.

Lastly the dining chairs were adorned with our Avalon Accent Trees 

holding fresh flowers and silver tinsel for extra sparkle!

Silver Chairs are Custom Made -- cute, especially with the pink linen seat!!

I hope you enjoyed this Cheerful Christmas in July tour.

Is it making you rethink what color palette you use to decorate for Christmas?

It is, most definitely, for me!

I am Joining Cowgirl Up's Christmas In July

and Linking Up too!

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