Monday, March 31, 2014

Pier One Inspired Easter Rabbit Centerpiece

I was looking through the Pier One sale catalog and saw the cutest bunny centerpiece. Love!



At almost $50 I knew it wasn't coming home with me! But oh my! It is so sweet. However, I knew I could make one for a whole lot less.

I already had a grapevine wreath and I have a large glass vase so I pulled those out to see if they would work together. Hmm, no the vase was too large. What else did I have? Oh yes, I have the Easter Bunny! He fit nicely inside the wreath!
*on a side note I have seen little rabbits like the ones Pier One used...I'm waiting for those to go on sale, then I will snatch up a couple to use at a later time.


I bought some Easter shredded paper grass, some Spring blooms, and plastic Easter eggs in shades of blues, greens, and yellow. All for under $10!

I added the shredded paper  inside the wreath, then the rabbit, then cut and added the Spring stems to the wreath, and lastly placed the eggs around the rabbit and put a couple of sprigs in his basket.

No, it isn't  a whole lot like Pier One's centerpiece but I took their idea and ran with what I had. And best of all, it cost me under $10!

I think my rabbit makes it look more Easter-y! What do you think?



What Easter decor have you been inspired to make more cheaply?

Happy Spring!
Cecilia

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Spring and Dogs in the Pond!

Spring has definitely sprung at the B Farm! Just look at all the lovelies I took pictures of!

Dogwoods are blooming:

 This dogwood is in the front yard!

New leaves on the trees:
 Wildflowers:

For those of you worried, this is not the bastard weed overtaking the roadsides in Texas.

Wild Verbena

 Other blooming trees and shrubs:


I also have white irises blooming along the driveway and I saw wild violets out in the pastures. I just love the first blush of Spring!

In the house, things also got changed up a bit. The fireplace mantel refreshed with a dogwood garland, watering can, and a bunny of course!





The entry table in soft pinks and whites:

I got the shutters from a friend who rescued them from a neighbor. They smelled like smoke and were very dirty. I cleaned them then painted them in ASCP Old White and waxed them. I like even if they are too small for the window! :o)




And can I say yay? After almost 5 months of healing from the broken knee, I am walking around the farm again. I still let Bruce hold onto the dogs as they pull on the leashes in their excitement. The nice thing is they are learning to come when called, so we will let them run loose in some areas. One of those areas is the pond.

Sadly, it is shrinking in size again. The dogs don't mind though as there is plenty of water left for them to splash in:



Buddy beat Herbie to the stick!
 Whee! They were very wet and very happy pups!

Bruce got to try out his new loader on the tractor and used it to patch the driveway. It's going to be very handy to have!

 The weather was cloudy but warm on Saturday. We sat out on the porch and enjoyed the evening. Can't wait to have more of those kind of days! Very, very soon!

Happy Spring!
Cecilia

PS
The bluebonnets are really starting to show up along the roadsides and pastures. Nothing like the beautiful blanket of blue and they smell heavenly! Looks like a good showing this year! I need to go take some photos!

Monday, March 24, 2014

Family Treasures in the Kitchen

When we were in Canton, I almost bought a scale...my sister stopped me saying, "I have the old scale and I'm not using it. Do you want it?" OH YES, please!


Don't you just love the rustiness? Sigh. :o)

Then there was the old Pepper Mill - she offered that to me also. Of course, I said yes!


I think the red paint had been refreshed at one time but I love its patina! The old wood handle looks like a critter chewed on it. ha.

I had so much fun staging the kitchen with these two items.

First, the scale. I added a blue earthenware bowl that had been my mom's:

Such a sweet, little bowl...


My white chicken pitcher with the polka dots had to get in on the action:


I love the contrast of the white, shiny glaze with the old rusty scale.

I set the pepper mill next to the stove:


moved the cookbooks between it and the wine rack. I love my olive oil bottle with its chicken.  Then there's my rooster bucket...it holds our snacks. (ok, I may have a chicken obsession!) They are both Frenchie. ooo la la!

I was also baking a loaf of French bread for lunch. I placed it in an old wooden bowl I got from my mother-in-law to cool.



Yum, yum...I made a yummy sub sandwich.

Lots of fresh flavors and so easy to make! But I digress...

I moved my coffee cup lamp ( you can find how we made it here ) to the end of the bar.

Not sure if that's where it will stay, but for now I'm liking it here.

I love having old family treasures to display and mix in with the new. They add so much character to a space.



What old family treasures do you have and use?

Have a fantastic week!
Hugs,
Cecilia

Linking up here:
The Dedicated House Make-it-pretty-monday-week-94
Kathe With An E - Youre-gonna-love-it-tuesday_24
Coastal Charm Nifty-thrifty-tuesday-no205
Revisionary Life Thrifty-life-Thursday-12
Lavender Garden Cottage Cottage-Style-Party
Fluster Buster Flusters-creativemuster-linky-party-64
Jann Olson Share Your Cup Thursday-96

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Art Finished

I finished up the 2nd RV sign and got it delivered. They loved it! These were such fun to do.


Plus, I've been busy finishing up a painting a friend commissioned me to do. It is of her daddy's cabin that he built. He passed away last year and she wanted the painting to remember him by. We agreed it would be the next one I did as I was working on finishing another one at the time.

What's really sweet, her husband then contacted me and asked me to paint it as a surprise for her.  I started it, however I told her I hadn't started it yet because I was behind. For the next 8 weeks, I kept telling her I would start it soon. 

Then last weekend, I had them over for supper and presented her with the finished painting. She burst into tears! It means so much to her and she loves it. On Monday, she texted me to let me know she had it at the framers. I'm so glad she loves it!

Sorry about the picture quality. I couldn't get a good edit of it for some reason. Anyway, here is "Her Daddy's Cabin":


Hope you are having a fantastic weekend. We are having very Spring-like weather around here.
Hugs,
Cecilia

Springtime Projects 3: Have A Seat!

It might still be Spring, but here in Texas, things are starting to heat up and feel like Summer. I knew I needed to get the last of my Spri...