All Things Pretty...

Welcoming Spring...

It is officially Spring...the birds are chirping, the sky is blue, the hyacinths and early-blooming tulips are starting to peek through the earth...   ahhh. 

Goodbye Winter. 

Wait a minute...

I just looked out my window and I don't see any hyacinths or tulips.  In fact, my "earth" is still white, covered with snow.   The sky is blue (that's a good thing) - but it has a 21 degree temp to go with it. Hmmm.  Something is wrong with this "Spring" picture.

So while I wait for true Spring to arrive here in Minnesota, I have been (somewhat) content with preparing for Easter by decorating my home and working on Spring/Easter craft projects.

 

 

 

It seems that every year about this time, I get the urge to play with eggs. 

 

 

 

 

I love buying a bagful of plain little eggs and adding bits and pieces of lace, ribbon and millinery left over from prior projects.

 

 

These eggs are not for the minimalist....  they are a bit decadent, with all their frou-frou finery.

 

 

 

 

While I like "plain" eggs, I just can't seem to resist the urge to pretty them up a bit. 

I've also been making pretty Easter tags using vintage images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made some extra ones to gift to friends for Easter...  

and a few are available for sale in my Etsy shoppe (these come in sets of 3 with a handmade tag).

 

 

 

Many many Easters ago (maybe 20?), I handpainted actual eggs.   I gave one to my mother, another to my dear Mother-in-Law, and kept two or three.   These are so fragile, that over that years, they have cracked/broken ~ so I'm down to just this one.  

When I look at the teeny tiny details, I'm still amazed that I had the patience to paint these! 

 

 
 

 

Enjoy these first few days of Spring 2014!

 

(ps  Linking to Beverly's Pink Saturday)

Birds and butterflies...

It's March - which means, Spring may be around the corner...

  Maybe?

I've been playing with paper and wire...  and butterflies and birds!

 

 

My bird wreath was made from a kit I had purchased from Karla a while back.    Working on this birdie wreath was the perfect therapy to wash away the Winter blahs and put me in the Spring mood.

 

 

Karla's tutorials are always detailed (but not too much) and easy to follow.   She has the ability to take something simple (like wire) and create a beautiful project.  

 

The kit included everything I needed to make it~ so many pretties in that box!  It was fun to just pull each item out!  She always packs her kits with the "good stuff" that's for sure.

 

My wreath didn't turn out quite the way I wanted...  I feel the wires need to be a bit more "wild" and loose.  I tend to be a bit too "structured" with my designs and I need to let go a bit; but it was still fun to make.  

 

After "mastering" the whole wire wreath thing ... lol...  I created a smaller version with a butterflies theme for a swap I was hosting over at An Altered Place.

 

 

For this swap,  we had to use paper butterflies as our main attraction.... 

 

 

Starting with the wire wreath, I added the butterflies, some tiny millinery in the softest shades of peach, cream and blue, smaller tendrils of wire with beads...

 

 

A few touches of "bling" here and there~ some ribbons...

   

 

 

It is smaller (11" diameter) and delicate-looking...  it was a bit hard to part with it.  However, it makes me smile to know that my swap partner, Kelly, is enjoying it in her own home.

 

 

I'm already planning a few others to give to friends as a "welcome Spring" gift. 

It's been such a long and frigid winter around here that we are all ready to embrace Spring in all its glory.