Easter!

 Happy Easter!

I'm sharing a few favorite Easter images from my Instagram below and linking a few Easter-y blog posts below that. I hope your day is blessed with sweet memories and time with people you want to celebrate a glorious Sunday with. Happy Easter!

Chinoiserie Easter Tree

Favorite Easter Images through the Years

A Perfect Punch for Easter

Easter Decorating. Do You or Don't You?

Seasonal decorating... do you or don't you? 

When Mollie was little I let her decorate for the holidays with lots of cute little things - an Easter village or a pumpkin patch and she had a nativity that was all hers to play with and move around as she wished. As she got older I became less of a seasonal decorator and more about adding the "natural" elements from each season. I kept saying I am not much of a seasonal decorator BUT with a little time on my hands over the last couple of years I have upped my seasonal decorating a little bit. Still very little compared to a lot of what's going on out there but it's been fun.

In addition to the Chinoiserie Easter Tree I created this year (and plan to pull out for years to come!) I thought I would share a few other things that I have done around the house.

First of all I have stuck palm branches left over from Palm Sunday here and there. I lean a little coastal/lowcountry in my decor anyway so they fit right in. 

I put some flocked bunnies and chinoiserie eggs at the base of the lemon tree in the garden room.

You may have seen on Instagram that, in addition to my chinoiserie eggs, I marbleized some as well. I used the same spray paint technique I used for my mini pumpkins. 

I created this bunny topiary using a clay pot of bulbs that I had planted in late Winter. Their timing was perfect so I added a little grapevine bunny I purchased at the Target Dollar Spot and tossed in a few chinoiserie eggs. A five minute centerpiece!

This is another little bunny I pull out every year. he's just a flocked bunny on a pick but he's charming in his simplicity. I juts stick him in whatever little planter has greened up already.

And then who doesn't want a giant chocolate Easter Bunny around for Easter dinner? This guy is not edible - he got a coat of spray paint and looks so much like a chocolate bunny that people were fooled!!

My last little Easter project this year was a Resurrection Garden for the entryway at church.

I had seen some on IG and Pinterest. It was easily put together. I used silk greenery because of the location at church but it would be beautiful to create with real plants. Maybe next year.

Happy Easter!

Chinoiserie Easter Tree

This is the easiest of projects and a lot of fun because you can get really creative with the papers and ribbons you choose. I wanted some Easter decor that mixed well with my "look" so chinoiserie it is!

This is the same way that I made my chinoiserie and Audubon bird ornaments at Christmas time.

Gather your supplies:

Flat wooden shapes from craft stores, Wal mart or dollar stores. There are even some on Amazon! I used eggs and carrot shapes.

Mod Podge (here's a funny about Mod Podge!)

A foam brush to apply Mod Podge. I used Matte.

Gold spray paint (this is my favorite)

Sharp paper scissors

Papers to decoupage onto your shapes. I used marbleized papers for the carrot shapes. Marbleized papers can be found online and in the scrapbooking section of craft stores. The chinoiserie images were printed on copy paper. You can find copyright free images on museum websites. Just google it - "copyright free museum images" and the museum sites will pop up. Then just search the imagery you want- chinoiserie, florals, birds. It's all available but it takes a little bit of time is all. Print the images out and cut out your shapes. I cut my shapes slightly smaller than my wooden shape so that there is a border of gold around the edge. 

Paint both sides of your wooden shapes gold.

Cut your papers into the shapes you need. I make a paper template that is slightly smaller than my wooden shape so that there is a gold border around the edge. Trace the template on your paper and cut with sharp paper scissors.

Choosing the papers and images is the most fun.

Then simply use the Mod Podge to adhere your images. Paint the entire shape with Mod Podge. Press your image down smoothly and then immediately top coat with Mod Podge working from the middle out to get rid of air bubbles. If you get a small one you can smooth it with your brush. If it is stubborn just leave it alone - they tend to flatten out as they dry if they are small. 

I put decorative papers on both sides of my ornament shapes. They tend to turn when hanging and I place my Easter tree in front of a mirror so it looks like there are twice as many ornaments on there! Add ribbon to hang them with.

That's all there is to it. I put some branches that fell in last weeks storm in a mason jar so that they would stand up straight in my pot. You can add some pebbles to weight it down. I put plaster of paris in my jar and stuck the branches in there. I like the wild and whimsical look of the long branches. I put the jar of branches in a vintage brass planter and added green dyed spanish moss around it.

There is a reel on my Instagram showing the steps and supplies I used as well. 

I hope you make some! It was a fun, easy and creative project and I love the results.  I think they turned out "eggs- trordinary" and the carrots are 'marble-ous"  ;) 

Happy Easter!

 I'm up early (4:30!!!) to get ready for Sunrise Service this morning so I thought I would share some  of my favorite Easter images. 

(If you follow on Instagram you have already seen some of these!)

Mostly chinoiserie eggs, azaleas and some little bunnies I've had for years for our Easter decor this year. It was all what we had on hand but it was cheery to have a round - especially because the two weeks before Easter were rainy and unusually cold! March went out like a lion!

This little moss bunny was very popular on IG. Lots of questions about where to find one like it. I bought this years ago at Pier One. It was listed as a bunny pick in the floral area. Somebody needs to make one next year - it would sell like hotcakes!

This simple one is from Palm Sunday but I'm including it as well.

I hope that however, wherever and with whomever you celebrate that today is full of joy!

Happy Easter!