Welcome Spring Wreath!

Hello friends! How is your weekend going?

We've been looking out the window at a mixture of snow, sun, hail and rain the past few days.

 Yesterday I decided I'd had enough of being house bound, so I bundled up the kids in the stroller and off we went for a walk. I should mention it had been beautiful and sunny all morning. In my hurry to get out the door after nap time, I didn't bother to make sure it was still sunny (I know...that should have been rather obvious). About ten minutes away from the house it started to snow a little bit...then turn into an all out thunder/hail storm. Yay.

In spite of it, the kids seemed to enjoy it all from under the safety of the stroller "roof" and it was definitely good to get some fresh air!

Hail, snow or sun...this week I decided it was high time to get cracking on a spring wreath.

In my last post on decoupaged eggs, I mentioned that I have held onto last year's Pier 1 flyer all year since I knew it would provide some great inspiration this year!

When I saw this wreath/topiary...I knew I had to try it for myself!

Pretty hey?!

 I loved the idea of the topiary, but in the end I decided to keep it

simply as a wreath to hang on the front door.

It took a few weeks to gather up all my supplies since the Dollar Stores in town didn't have anything that caught my eye...and because what I already had on hand...I couldn't find!!!! (Something to do with someone being a little disorganized and scatter brained, but we won't say who that is.)

I used a grapevine wreath I already had on hand, some twiggy/eggy sprays from Dollarama, a bit of Indian moss, a spray of springy flowers from Jysk and some speckled eggs I picked up last year from Homesense.

Putting a wreath together always puts me into a sweat.

I don't know why, but I'm guessing it's the commitment of it all.

Once ya glue it down, you're kinda stuck with it. I know, I'm weird.

But because of my weirdness and commitment issues, I usually lay everything out on top of the wreath first before any hot gluing begins. Anyone else do this?

After a bit of experimenting and using my Pier 1 inspiration picture, I came up with a look I was happy with and finally went ahead and glued it all down. Once I can see that it's coming together, my breathing slows down and I can relax and enjoy the process!

I used a big, fluffy burlap bow instead of flowers, but I like the whimsical touch it adds...all cozied up next to the little mossy nest!

Welcome spring!

Have you made a wreath for the season?

I'd love to hear what you did!

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DIY Project Parade

To see the other great parties I'm linking up to, click HERE!

Decoupaged Springtime Eggs

It is now officially Spring.

Yeehaw!!!

I have chosen to ignore the foot of snow still outside my door and go ahead with the springish decorating!

For those of you who cringed at my Facebook status last week...it is with joy I tell  you that yesterday I marched outside in complete desperation and yanked all the spruce and pine branches out of all the leftover Christmas decorating in our front yard. I just can't handle hanging a springy, flowery wreath on the front door with evergreen branches, skates and candles right next to the door. Snow or no snow.

Y'know what I mean?

Here is my official start.

Source: pier1.com via Brown Paper Packages on Pinterest



Last year I noticed these eggs in a Pier 1 flyer, so I kept it tucked away all year since I knew it would provide some inspiration later on.

I've never really decoupaged anything before, but I thought I'd give it a try and see if I could come up with anything similar to their flowery eggs.



I found these bright, cheery napkins at the Dollar Store and thought they could be fun with their loud colors - a slightly unusual choice for me, but every now and then I like to live on the wild side. I also picked up a package of styrofoam eggs and set to work with my Mod Podge (matte) and a brush.

I really have no idea how to decoupage, so I tried lots of different methods before I found one I was happy with. That method was cutting an oval shaped piece out of the napkin with at least one or two flowers on the piece.

Then applying the Mod Podge to a small section of the egg...

...and then smoothing the piece of napkin down over the Mod Podge. I brushed along the edges to get it to lay down as flat as possible.

It's pretty sticky and the napkin would tear a bit if it got too wet, so I would let it dry in sections in an egg cup, and then continue applying pieces of napkin until it was totally covered. After everything had dried, I applied an all over coat of Mod Podge and then let it dry again.

And there you have it!

I found this little wooden wagon in a craft tote in the basement and thought it would make a cute little container for the eggs.

What spring/Easter decorating have you been up to lately?!

Are you still looking at snowy mounds out your window, or are you happily watching your tulips and daffodils push through the ground?!

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To see the other great parties I'm linking up to, click HERE!

Tardy for the Party!

There's been a very busy squawking, scolding, clucking hen around these parts for the last few weeks. Thankfully she finished laying all her eggs in time for me to decorate with them, but I'm afraid I missed every single Easter linky party out there in blog land. Boo.

These jute eggs are a complete and shameless copycat from Thrifty Decor Chick. But...I think she might have copycat-ed them from someone else...so it's all good. When I saw them on her site, I knew I HAD to make me some! And when I spotted packages of styrofoam eggs in the Dollar Store, I couldn't get my sticky fingers on them fast enough!

Of course in true Evie-fashion, I couldn't stop at one package...oh no! I had to get at least ten packs and five balls of twine! That's why my decor took so long in showing up.

These little stinks take for-EVER to wrap and glue!

(Be warned - if you try this at home - while the process is simple...wrap and glue your twine...you WILL burn your fingers silly with the glue gun. End. of. story.)

Then I thought I'd use up some curly willow twigs I had laying around. A few coats of off-white paint and I was almost happy with them.

I have generally always kind of turned my nose up at egg trees. So will someone please explain this next pic to me?

Maybe it's the third grade art project cherry blossoms...

I dunno...but whatever it was...I fell in love with it

and giggled almost the whole time while putting it all together. Huh?

Whatever the reason...this one is not being dismantled right after Easter.

I kinda sorta big fat heart it!

Happy Easter everyone!! Enjoy your dinners!

And don't forget the real reason of Easter!