Before & After ~ Easter Topiary

This week a thrift store in my area moved to a much bigger location.  I thought it would be supportive of me to "help them celebrate" their grand opening *wink*.  I took a quick run in one afternoon.  What a celebration.  The very spacious parking lot was full, and both sides of the four lane highway were lined with cars (including mine!)  I hurried inside and grabbed a shopping cart. This little "before and after" is one of my finds from that day.  

I spotted this cute little Easter topiary just as another lady picked it up off the shelf.  So I just waited patiently and she finally decided to put it back!  Swoosh!!!!  (That was me grabbing it quickly!) ;)  This topiary was too "bright" for my taste.  I was looking for a more muted look.  So the first thing I did was tear out all the bright green moss and silk flowers.  

That's better...but the pot was too bright as well.  I took it outside on the weekend.  It was -1 and sunny.  Too cold really for spray painting outside.  But I spray painted it anyway and took it back into the warm house to dry.  The pot looks white in this picture but it is actually a warmer ivory color.  

I'm getting there!  Then I took the glue gun and Spanish moss.  I just broke off small bunches of the moss and glued it in between the eggs, and at the base of the topiary branch.  

Oh, so much better!  Are you doing some Easter/Spring decorating?  I'm working on it now.  It makes my heart sing!  Such a very fun time to decorate.  

Wishing everyone a very Happy Spring!

Tanya

Joining:
Seasonal Sunday

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Spring Tablescape

We were teased in Nova Scotia, last week.  It got up as high as 30C one day.  However, this week, it is back to reality.  Even  though the calendar tells us it is spring, we need mother nature to agree.  This table is in celebration of what we know is just around the corner.  




As I was setting this table, I was undecided as to some type of decoration for the center of the smallest plate.  I was thinking about a possible bird nest, plant pot, etc.  On a quick trip to the thrift store with mom, I happened upon these sweet little espresso cups.  Perfect!  A quick little nest in each one and the table was complete.  




These charger plates are new this spring from my favorite Home Hardware store.  Are you tired of seeing the white plates yet?  I don't know what I would do without them.  



Don't bird nests just say spring!







Pussy willow are out!  Have you picked any this year?  I got these ones last week.  The white lanterns are also from Home Hardware.


TIP:  Pussy willow branches will last for years.  I filled a mason jar with bird seed and then poked a hand full of pussy willow branches down in the seeds.  Tie a ribbon, or raffia around the jar and you have a lovely spring decoration!!



I made dozens of these eggs last year from the Dollar store colored plastic eggs.  I love them.  If you would like to make some, read these DIRECTIONS.



Out come my little chickens again.  You saw them last year on my FIRST EVER tablescape.  It was my Easter table.  



Nicole and I waited several days for the buds to finally open on my Amaryllis.  I told her once they opened she could shoot the table.  Well...with her camera.  ;)  They sure were worth waiting for!





Wishing you a spring time full of fresh starts, and new life!


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!   2Cor 5:17  NIV




Photography courtesy of Nicole Payzant Photography.  

Joining:

Tablescape Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday
Show & Tell Friday
Inspiration Friday
Newby Party Reunion
Strut Your Stuff
Show Your Stuff
Show off Saturday
Seasonal Sunday
The Bunny Hop
Wild Wednesday
Wow us Wednesday
Whatever Wednesday
Show & Tell Wednesday
DIY Link Party
Tabletop Tuesday

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Forsythia

Last week I took my garden nippers and had a visit with my Forsythia bush in the front yard.  I love to bring branches in and force them into blooming.  Because of our unusually mild winter I wasn't sure they would bloom.  You see, I had Forsythia blossoms in mid-December this year.  That may not seem weird to some of you, but it truly is to me.  It only took a few days for me to see the buds begin and a week until these cheerful blooms arrived.  


Forcing tricks the branches into believing it is time to bloom.  You bring the branches into the warmth of your home and put them in water.  Now place the container in a sunny spot, sit back and watch the miracle of new life. 

Joining:

Wild Wednesday
Success U

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Happy Spring

Happy Spring from Take Six

The Christmas wreath is a thing of the past season.  The wooden snowman that I hung on it for the winter has long since been packed away.  Spring has officially sprung!!

While driving last spring I spotted this idea on the doorstep of a gorgeous old home in our city.  They had the exact cast iron urns that I do.  I promptly made a quick trip to the Dollarama.  I am sure you are shocked.  ;)  Frequent readers will know that I LOVE that store.  I bought 6 stems of pussy willows, and 3 bundles of white tulips. I cut the tulips into individual stocks, and poked them into the soil in a circle.  Then I poked 3 pussy willow stems into the center of each urn.  That's it.  I was finished.  You can not get much easier than that! 

It is the simplicity of this decoration that is so pleasing to my eye.

Pussy Willows

Author Unknown

There are willow pussies
Clad in furry goods,
And a robin singing
In the maple woods.
There's a springing crocus,
And a budding larch,
Who'd ever think the Springtime
Came along in March.


Joining:
Wild Wednesday
Made by Me
Feathered Nest Friday
Inspiration Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Home Sweet Home
Potpourri Friday
Saturday Night Special
Seasonal Sunday
Creative Me

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Container Gardening - Georgene's Version

OK, this is confession time on "Take Six". I love to see a sweet idea for my home, yard, garden, etc. Most ideas of things I do in my home are ideas that I have seem somewhere, at some point in time, and just tucked the idea away until I am able to duplicate it with my own touch. I think that is why I just love, love, love, to see someone else do the same thing. A couple weeks ago, I posted some ideas on container gardening. My friend, Georgene, loved this idea.


Her children have long since outgrown little rubber boots, as have mine. She checked Frenchy's (our local 2nd hand store) and there were none to be seen. So she popped over to my favorite store. . . say it everyone. DOLLARAMA!!!! and found the perfect solution.


For $2 a pair she had the perfect containers for her flowers, and decoration for her fence. It makes my heart sing when someone takes an idea and runs with it, making it distinctly their own along the way. Thank you Georgene, for sharing your version with us! I LOVE it!!

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In Celebration of New Leaf (Life)!!

Today I'm inviting you to join me for a cup of coffee. Let's just sit and chat while I share with you the story behind my table setting. It is in celebration of the leaves bursting out on the trees!! They have just started to open up. We have had so much rain in our little corner of the world, that if we get a few days of sun, everything is going to POP!!



The inspiration for this table came from my little green leaf plates. I generally use them in the fall. I'm not sure why, but I haven't thought of them as "springy," until now. The green color of the plates is almost the same as in the tablecloth. I picked up this tablecloth for $3 at Marden's on one of my trips to Maine. It is double the size you see. I have folded it in half for my smaller table today.



The burlap place mats continue the theme. Protective burlap wraps are taken off trees and shrubs in spring time, and new life bursts forth.






I have used hemp cord to tie on pewter leaves as napkin rings. They are really Christmas tree decorations. I bought several different ones in December. I knew I wouldn't use them as tree ornaments. I felt sure they would be a part of my fall decor...

The purple napkins have leaves on them. They match my fall table cloth...

Do you see a pattern developing here?? *wink*

Flexibility is the name of the game in decorating.




Purple looks so nice with green. I immediately thought of my pansies that I had purchased the week before. Pansies are one of my favorite flowers. I had them sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I know I will soon have to give them up, and let them enjoy their new home in my deck pots for the summer. But I'm keeping them inside with me for just awhile longer.



Several years ago I picked up two of these little birdhouses in purple, and three yellow ones. They were on a clearance shelf in a little gift shop.



See the tiny little bird nest snuggled in amongst the pansy plants. My son climbed a tree to get this nest for me.



I snipped a few branches from one of my trees and stuck them in among the pansy plants. You can tell that the leaves are just starting to open.

This little table sits in the corner of our dining room. I generally use it as a dessert table. Beautiful mahogany wood sits hidden under my table cloth today. It belonged to a former employer of my father. This gentleman had taken it all apart to refinish it and never got around to completing it. He lost interest, and my father rescued the table from upstairs in a warehouse and refinished it. With love, he gave it to my husband and I as a dining room table when we built our 2nd home.



This little cream and sugar on the matching plate is another precious gift from my dad.

The silver spoons are two of a mish mash collection. I love silver cutlery, and keep a collection of odd spoons in a cream pitcher beside my coffee maker on the kitchen counter. Here are a few more. I love how they are all different.





Thank you so much for visiting with me today. I have truly enjoyed our time together. I would like to leave you with this thought.

Please don't leave all your "special dishes" packed away in boxes, and china cabinets. Bring them out, dust them off, and use them. No one is more special than your family, and the loved one that you associate with that special item, will seem closer when you are using it!




All photos taken by Nicole at Nicole Payzant Photography





I will be joining the following blog parties this week.

Tablescape Thursday at "Between Naps on the Porch"
Show and Tell Fridays at "My Romantic Home"
Feathered Nest Friday at "French Country Cottage"
Home Sweet Home Friday at "The Charm of Home"
Inspiration Friday at "At The Picket Fence"

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~Victoria Day~

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday on or before May 24, in honor of both Queen Victoria's birthday and the current reigning Canadian Sovereign's official birthday. It is sometimes informally considered as marking the beginning of the summer season in Canada. The holiday has been observed since before Canada was formed, originally falling on the sovereign's actual birthday, and continues to be celebrated in various fashions across the country on the fixed date. (Wikipedia)

Victoria Day, to me, is definitely the unofficial beginning of summer. My grandparents, used this date as permission to plant their annuals. Although I believe it has been safe this year, to plant prior to this weekend, I still have not put any annuals in my pots. I'm quite a traditionalist, and it just didn't seem right. I did put a couple new perennials in the ground last weekend, but my annuals are still at the garden center waiting for me!

The other duty that falls to many on the Victoria Day weekend, is the opening of the cottage, trailer, camp etc. We will open our trailer this weekend. The bedding is all freshly laundered, and ready to go. I will give the trailer a good cleaning, wash up the dishes, and prepare for another season of camping. The family all is preparing in their own way for this weekend. Hubby is getting ready to build a shed by the trailer. Daughter #1 is going to be taking Daughter #2's graduation photos. They are excited to do this in the field near the trailer. Our son has been working on his RC car in preparation for driving it around the field, and through the river. I wonder if it will still be in working order when we come home Monday?? ;0)

Wherever your path takes you this weekend, I hope you are able to squeeze in some rest and relaxation and a bit of fun too!

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House Renovation!

I was able to complete three house renovations on the weekend. Are you impressed? I sure am! Now, these houses are on the smaller side, so it really only took an afternoon and evening. I was at. . . the Dollarama. . . (I know you are shocked) last week and found the smaller wooden candle holder you see pictured. Then later in the week I found the taller one at a thrift store. (Both cost $1)


The three bird houses below, ( I did say three house renovations!! ) have been in my spring decor for about ten years. In their day, they were cute little bird houses. As the years went by they got dinged up, and the wood started to darken in color. Although I still liked them, their "cuteness factor" had lessened for me. I could feel a renovation coming on. As you can see in the pic below, I almost forgot to take the "before" picture. I started to paint the tallest house black, when I suddenly remembered to take a picture.

Before

A coat of black paint
(the wooden candle holders were painted black as well)

Everything then got a coat of white paint.

I took a small sandpaper pad and scuffed off the paint on the edges. The black shows through in those spots. Then I glued two of the houses to the candle holders.

Voila! Reno complete!

I will be joining the following blog parties:
Metamorphosis Monday at "Between Naps on the Porch"
Marvelously Messy
Show & Tell Wednesday at "Blue Cricket Design"
Wow us Wednesday at "Savvy Southern Style"
Good Life Wednesday at "A Beach Cottage"
Workshop Wednesday at "Goodbye City, Hello Suburb"
All Things Inspired at "All Things Heart & Home"
Newby Party at "Debbiedoo's"

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Container Gardening

By the end of this month, in my neck of the woods, it will be time to head to the garden center and pick out some annuals for my deck pots. In an attempt to become inspired, and not resort to the same layout on my deck as I do every year, I have been collecting some ideas online, and thought I would share them with you.

Last fall our community held a "free yard sale". A date was advertised, and you simply placed anything you did not want anymore at the end of your driveway and people could take it, for free!! I was able to find an old wicker rocking chair at the end of a driveway just looking for a new home!! Of course, I was more than happy to oblige. I popped the back hatch of the vehicle, and hubby wrangled it in. Watch for an upcoming before/after post, featuring my old/new rocker. I am going to make a plant container out of it, much like the picture above.

Love, love love this idea!

Something old, is new again.

A simple concrete block. Use them like this,
or stack some on their side and plant hanging plants out the side.

I found an old silver kettle, much like this.
You know exactly what I'm going to do with it,
don't you!

Do you have an old plasticized shopping bag you no longer need?

These boots were made for. . . growin!!

Such a cute idea!

You don't have room for a veggie garden
in your backyard?
Put a few veggie plants on your back deck in totes!

Sometimes when toys are outgrown
it is hard to part with them.

An old enamel pee pot. I have one,
and yup you guessed it!
I'm going to put a potted plant in it.

I hope these pictures have inspired you to get your hands in the dirt and enjoy some time outdoors. I know they are making me eager to get started. Gardening is such a rewarding pass time. Have fun!!

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

-Dorothy Frances Gurney

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