Spring Mantle Pantone Honeysuckle

We have been redoing our home for the past four years and it has been a 

true labor of love.

My husband enjoys replacing baseboards, molding and most anything that 

involves a saw and wood.

My passion is decorating and for this Spring Season I just sort of went with

what inspired me and that is Pantone 2011 color of the year Honeysuckle.

I have really been doing my research on these Pantone colors and even 

though this was thee color of the year three years ago, it is still an incredible 

color to add to your home.


Since our French Gray Walls and white molding lend themselves to 

incorporating this magnificent, confident and vital color into our family room,

I went with it and now I am enjoying it.

In the beginning I was hesitant because Honeysuckle seems 

quite feminine to me and in my mind I am saying to myself pink....

Hum... for a family room?

But as I slowly began adding and layering this calming and hopeful color into

our home I saw the power and affirmation it brought to our mantle and

bookshelves and well...

I was pretty much smitten and so was my husband, which surprised me.

Who knew a fellow would like Pantone Honeysuckle, so well.

 
I love Honeysuckle as an accent to our home.

Adding a touch of Honeysuckle has brightened and revitalized our family room.

I suppose a touch of pink is good for everyone's soul...


Please Join Me~

Nancherrow

Easter Terrarium

Terrariums are a wonderful way to garden indoors and one of the most 

interesting aspects, is that you can make them as elaborate or a simple 

as you like.

They are even carefree enough and durable enough to encourage participation

of all ages.  

As the seasons change so can the elements in your terrarium.

I am beginning to decorate for Easter, and I wanted to include keepsakes

that my Mother and children have given me throughout the years, some of 

them are so tiny that this is just the perfect spot to display them.

Terrariums can be functional or decorative, if you choose to go the 

functional route you will want to seal the edges of your terrarium with 

silicone or invest in a  vinyl liner.  

This way you will be able to add dirt directly to the terrarium and plant the

plants in the terrarium.

For this project I chose decorative and here is how I put it together.



Underneath it all is a terracotta saucer where the succulents are sitting. 

I left them in small pots so that I can water them easily and pretty mess free!

These two succulents are Elephant Bush and Blue Pearl

they are thriving with just one watering in two weeks.

Next up is the moss and well aren't we all pretty much in love with moss?


It brings Spring right in doors and that is what we are all longing for...

Spring!

So I used the leftover sheet moss from my Spring moss wreath to tuck

around the plants and nestle my pretties in.

I also think it is functional and helps maintain the moisture in my plants.

Now really the next part is oodles of fun-start shopping your home, you

know you have treasures all around your home which you might just have 

forgotten you had!

I added a small silver spoon and fork, a mini chalk board, some pebbles,

a couple of chunks of wood from a flower bed and a silver turtle.

Everything and anything works perfectly in a terrarium, no worries here.

Of course an Easter terrarium is not complete

without an Easter Bunny or two and of course some Easter Eggs!

This is a super easy way to bring gardening into your home decor.



Please Join Me~

Natasha In Oz

Bacon Time

French Country Cottage

Rooted In Thyme

Grandma's Vanilla Cake With Cocoa Frosting

If I close my eyes tight enough I can almost taste and smell Grandma's 

homemade vanilla cake.

Sometimes it had caramel frosting and other times chocolate.

You remember those days, when the kitchen was infused with homemade 

goodies and all of them from scratch, because that is just how it was.

Some say simple, well my oh my, I say heavenly.

I made this cake just a week or so ago and it was oh so yummy!

With just a few basic ingredients, and a little stirring them all together  

you can be serving this by dinner time,

if it lasts until then, which it probably won't.

But I don't really think that is a bad thing, do you?

Smiling ....

Did I ever tell you about my Momma having a slice of cake or a warm

cinnamon roll waiting for me when I got off the school bus?

Well, she did, and a glass of milk, then it was time to run outside and play.

We all ate well, loved ferociously and played outside until completely 

exhausted. 

Winter time included, Mom always insisted on plenty of fresh air and lots

and lots of layers of clothing which became heavy and sodden from the wet

snow.

She would pull them off a me like I was a banana being peeled, as I 

squealed and complained.  

Then it was time to sit down at the dinner table set for three, 

Mom, Dad and me  

and top off the most delicious meal with yes you know...

another slice of cake...

Well, you get the picture, loving her family was all done with food prepared

with her sweet hands, in her tiny kitchen with yellow curtains that framed

each window over the worn porcelain sink.

And here is the recipe for you to make-it is a moist and comforting cake.

Please bake in a 350 degree oven and check the last few minutes of baking,

an over baked cake is not a good cake-to me.

I made the little truffle balls out of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips with

about a teaspoon of vanilla and then rolled them in powdered sugar and 

tossed them in sprinkles, just to spruce up the cake a bit.

This is one of those recipes that you can memorize and no matter where you 

are you can whip up a dessert and show your family just how much you love 

them!

Please Join Me~


The Grits Blog

Tasty Tuesday

Marvelous Mondays

An Extraordinary Day

Confessions Of A Plate Addict

Spring Coffee Filter Wreath

This is day five and the last wreath in my little series on a week of Wreaths! 

Whoo hoo!  

We made it, I bet you you are thinking to yourself, what was this 

woman thinking of....

Am I right ?  I was sort of thinking that too.

Well, many of my dear friends have asked that very same question and here 

is the answer...

It was snowing outside, and it was cold and I just wanted Spring to 

hurry up and get here so I made wreaths.

But, I did not make them all in one week, so I am crazy but 

not that crazy...

But, I did not make this wreath...

Rebecca made this wreath for me and isn't it just lovely?

She made it so full and I adore the crisp white coffee filters she used.

This wreath is really perfectly beautiful for every season.

I thought it might be interesting to add a a touch of color to it for Spring,

so when I spied these darling little silk flowers at Hobby Lobby, I snapped

them up.  

You know the time to snap them up is when they are fifty percent off,

which they were a few weeks back.

I think there is a routine to how they put their fifty percent items on sale, I 

am not sure how it works, if you know please tell me what it is!

I like how this coffee filter wreath adds a touch of interest to this simple

pine dresser and welcomes Spring gently to our home.

Thank you for joining me this week,



Happy Spring!



Please Join Me~


Ivy and Elephants

Radiant Orchid Spring Wreath

Radiant Orchid, Pantone color of the year for 2014 has been my inspiration 

for our fourth wreath in this series of Spring wreaths. 

Perhaps this is a wreath which you might remember from my

Fall wreath makeover, here it is again updated for Spring.

I really never dreamed I would get so much use out of this wreath and each

makeover it receives seems to enhance it more.  

Full and abundant, magical warmth, mixed hues of fuchsia and purple married

with brown to create a  radiant wreath to welcome family home.

Vibrant Radiant Orchid livens up the neutral base of this wreath, brightens

and energizes without being overbearing.  

With the addition of a few orchid baubles, chevron ribbons, bouquets of 

lavender flowers and a sweet paper robin this wreath becomes a cohesive 

blend of all of these elements.

Bringing Radiant Orchid home for Spring.

xo

Please Join Me~

Lilacs and Longhorns

Dishing It and Digging It

Confessions of a Plate Addict

French Country Cottage

Fabric and Button Spring Wreath-DIY

Happy First Day of Spring and what better way to welcome Spring to your 

home than with this absolutely perfect Spring Wreath project using those 

mismatched scraps of fabric, leftover ribbon and buttons!


We are on day three of our Spring wreath collections, if you missed

day one we made a moss wreath, day two we made a blue yarn wreath.


Lets get started!

A wreath made from this and that...

A wreath on the back door of your home,

A wreath to welcome family and friends and life.

Whether you are the crafty sort of person 

with oodles of interesting pieces of

fabric stowed away in a craft room,

Or the once in a while happy crafty 

individual this wreath is calling your name.

For this project you will need just a few items,

the first, your awesome talent and the second, your creative self, 

because you truly are awesome, talented and creative!



Supplies for Fabric and Button Spring Wreath~

1. Straw wreath form
2. Fabric or ribbon 1 1/2 or 2 inch width (this wreath is a combination of both)
3. Buttons
4. Burlap
5. Glue gun
6. Glue sticks


Directions~

Wrap and glue the fabric/ribbon as you go keeping it snug so it lies flat.

Add buttons, make a bow and hang-

this seems almost too easy doesn't it?

Don't you just love that is...smile...

What do you do with your leftover whatnot's? 



Please join me on day four-

Pantone Color of the year for 2014- Radiant Orchid Ribbon and Burlap 

Wreath, perfect for your front door!



Please Join Me~

What Meegan Makes

Rooted In Thyme

Blue Yarn Spring Wreath- DIY

Welcome to Day Two of Spring Wreath Week, I am so happy you dropped by.

This little wreath just has to be one of the easiest, sweetest and most 

enjoyable wreaths to make in the entire crafting world, maximum time 20 

minutes and mess free.

Such a relief after that Moss wreath!

I love the color blue, it is such a serene and calming shade.  

We have several rooms in our home which are painted blue and I have one 

spot in one bedroom which needed just a little something.

I really wanted to keep it simple, since this guest room is all about 

feeling serene, relaxed, and peaceful.

With fresh blue paint on the walls and our antique wrought iron bed updated 

with new linens, this room needed just a little something.

It seems to me, this Blue Yarn Spring Wreath is perfect for this Season.  

In retrospect I should have made it larger, but never the less it pretty

much fits the bill.

(Note to self-larger wreath for this bedroom)

Supplies For Blue Yarn Spring Wreath

1.  Styrofoam Wreath Form
2.  Fun Fur Yarn light blue and dark blue
3.  Paper Daisies 
4.  Hot glue gun
5.  Grosgrain Ribbon
6.  Thumb tack

Directions for Blue Yarn Spring Wreath~

Wrap the light blue fun fur yarn around the Styrofoam form until completely

covered.

Wrap the dark blue fun fur yarn over the top of the light yarn leaving 

about an inch between each wrapping.

This adds diminish and depth to your wreath

creating visual interest.

Secure ends of yarn with a small dollop of hot glue.

Arrange paper flowers on wreath and secure with hot glue.

Tie grosgrain ribbon around wreath and tie a bow.

Hang on wall with a thumb tack.

Now, wasn't this so easy and you know you could make this wreath in any

color and add whatever you personally like to make it perfect for your lifestyle.


Please join me on day three-

fabric wreath with buttons, perfect for your backdoor!


Please Join Me~

Bacon Time With The Hungry Hypo

Rooted In Thyme

Ivy and Elephants

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Savvy Southern Style

A Week Of Spring Wreaths-DIY

Today is the first day of a week of Wreaths for you to make.

You will find some inspiration and a few simple

instructions to add a touch of Spring to your front door,

armoire, hutch, mantle or wherever you please.

Years ago I took a few classes on floral design and from those classes I 

discovered that I enjoyed creating wreaths.

So, for the next five days I will be sharing some of my favorite 

Spring wreaths for 2014 with you.

It seems to me a perfectly magical way to infuse color, charm, warmth

and a bit of hospitality to your home.

I have always loved moss wreaths, and year after year I was always going to 

make one and well, never did. 

So this is the year of the moss wreath for me.

If you'd like to make one for yourself here are some easy steps!


To make this wreath you will need the following:


Warning-it is going to get messy-then it is going to become beautiful!


1. Sheet Moss (I purchased mine from Home Depot-It was called sheet moss,
but I have been wondering if it truly was.)

2. Straw Wreath

3. Glue gun

4. Satin Ribbon

5. 1/2 inch pastel Styrofoam balls

6.  Scissors

7.  Bag to cover working surface

Cover your working surface with something you can throw away-I used an

old bag, because moss is very, very messy.

Unroll the moss and position it on the straw wreath, I cut mine to fit and then

began to glue as I went.

As I was working with the moss, I began to wonder just a bit if this was

going to work out as I had planned.

So, naturally I was super pleased to see it all begin to take shape.

Hot glue the Styrofoam balls on, add a satin ribbon and presto Spring is now 

infused into your home.


Do you like blue and yarn? 

If so, please join me tomorrow for a super cute and fun little wreath!

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy these too.


Blue Yarn Wreath

Spring Coffee Filter Wreath

Radiant Orchid Spring Wreath

Fabric and Button Spring Wreath



xoxox

Guest Post at Nancherrow

Good Morning and wishing you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

In celebration of this fun Holiday I made a little terrarium with

a tutorial to help you make your own.

So, please come on over to Nancherrow and see how to create your

Spring terrarium.  

It is very simple and a great family activity.

Thank you Alison for sharing my post with your readers today!

Greenhouse Tales

Hello Gardening World, my seeds are sprouting!

And this has not been any easy task with recent temperature fluctuations.  

One day 80 degrees the next 15 degrees.


So, what I discovered was this-

What this little Green house lacked in shelving

and anchors it has made up for in maintaining an interior temperature of a

balmy 65 degrees, when the outside temps were in the low teens.

With these wickedly cold temperatures, 

it was imperative to keep the greenhouse warm so the seedlings and fragile 

plants would not freeze.

Our solution to keep the temperature moderate in the Greenhouse was an

electrical portable heater. 

We ran an extension cord from the garage to the greenhouse, and through the

tiny space above the door the extension cord fit through.

We placed the electrical heater on the floor of the greenhouse and set it on 80

degrees and it ran and ran for two days and two nights.

Other gardening friends had suggested putting Christmas lights in the 

greenhouse to add warmth-I just don't know how they would put out enough

heat to serve that purpose.

I think they would have been very decorative, just

not functional with the severe cold.

So many ornamental Trees were just beginning to blossom into colorful

Spring glory when the wind, cold and frost arrived.

So sad to say all of these gorgeous pink blossoms are now a dreadful brown.

As are these puffs of white.

But things were going well in the greenhouse with constant heat for

two days and constant watering, as the direct heat dried these little pots 

out very quickly.

Just counting down the days until these baby seedlings can be planted into 

pots and into my garden.


Please Join Me~

Elizabeth & Co.

VMG206

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Rooted In Thyme