Spring IS Coming, Meanwhile It's Wreaths, Egg Trees and Arrangements

So it's finally the first day of spring and an evil trick has been played on us.  Punxsawtawney Phil was oh so wrong about an early spring this year.  Blast that groundhog, he had everyone so excited.   There were flurries of snow falling when we came home earlier this evening.  SNOW!!  That is no way to start spring in my book, even though I remember when I was young it snowed on Easter Sunday one year.  Guess that is the uncertainty of springtime.  This too shall pass.  Hopefully.  Soon.

In the meantime, it looks like spring here in the little yellow cottage.  We are ready whenever it decides to officially warm up and trees begin to leaf out.  Some trees are flowering, forsythia are blooming, and hyacinths and daffodils are looking jaunty.  I know it's coming.  Just bear with my complaints.  I am getting older and impatient.  I want it all now!!

Let's talk about the inside for a minute.  The picture above is the top of the cabinet inside our front door that I like to decorate for seasons and holidays.  I made a beautiful moss covered wreath to hang on my shutters that have found a home on top of the cabinet.  It was so very easy to make.

I found a bolt of moss ribbon for lack of a better description at Tuesday Morning and it looks like this unrolled.

It had originally been $16.00 and I got it for $6.99.   I simply wrapped it around an 8 inch straw wreath and pinned the beginning and end with greening pins.  How easy is that?  I used one of the little bird's nests that came in a set of three and hot glued it to the moss.  Adding a little feathered bird made the wreath complete.  I hung it with a piece of hot pink double faced satin ribbon.  It took about 10  minutes to put it together and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

See the straw wreath peeking through?  It makes me think of forest floors covered with moss, birds chirping in the trees as they sit on their nests, waiting for their babies to hatch.  That is one of the beautiful things about spring - all the newness of life.

Can you see my egg tree on the right?  Let me tell you how it came about - quite accidentally actually.  Our daughter moved to a new home about a month ago and she had some pieces she no longer wanted to keep and asked me if I wanted them.  Sure.  Everything is useful sometime right?   Her older sister had given this candle holder to her as a gift about 15 years ago when she was in a different decorating phase than now.  It came from Anthropologie and  looked like this.

It was sort of bronze with red glass beads and little birds on it.  It was pretty, but I decided to do this with it.

Spray paint can work wonders on just about anything.  This is the same piece spray painted white.  Like it?  Thanks.  And as soon as it dried, a lightbulb went off in my head and I knew exactly what i would do with it.  I made it an egg tree for Easter.

I decorated some of my sheet music eggs and sat them in the holders where candles normally go.  The little hanging eggs came in a package from the Dollar Tree.  It looks just like I hoped it would.

For the left side of the cabinet, I made a little arrangement that has a real earthy look to go along with the moss wreath.  I filled a dollar glass vase with some black river rock for weight and added some moss covered rocks.  Now, don't go and pay a fortune for moss covered rocks at some fancy schmancy store.  You can get packages of them from my favorite place - the Dollar Tree - along with the river rock.  Two dollars is all you need to spend.  If you need the vase, then $3.00.

The flowers are some that I had in my stash.  The spike gave nice height to the arrangement and looks like unmowed spring grass,  and the little pink and green flowers added color.  You don't need styrofoam to hold the flowers.  Just stick them in the center of the where the rocks all meet and you are done!  Maybe $5.00 total in the whole arrangement.

I used some more of the green burlap ribbon I found at Wal Mart to complete the vignette along with two little ceramic bunnies that I had.  Flopsy and Mopsy.  What story are they characters in?  Done.

Now, we are just sitting here enjoying all this "spring" in our house and waiting for the elements outside to cooperate.  Don't know about you, but we are ready.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“A Robin said: The Spring will never come,
And I shall never care to build again.
A Rosebush said: These frosts are wearisome,
My sap will never stir for sun or rain.
The half Moon said: These nights are fogged and slow,
I neither care to wax nor care to wane.
The Ocean said: I thirst from long ago,
Because earth's rivers cannot fill the main. —
When Springtime came, red Robin built a nest,
And trilled a lover's song in sheer delight.
Grey hoarfrost vanished, and the Rose with might
Clothed her in leaves and buds of crimson core.
The dim Moon brightened. Ocean sunned his crest,
Dimpled his blue, yet thirsted evermore.” 
― Christina Rossetti