Style A Springtime Tray: Spring Decor

Style a Springtime Tray: Spring Decor
It's almost time. The drip-drip-drip of melting snow falling from the roof will give way to the sound of insects chirping in the night. Birds will sing, bunnies will hop and tulips and hyacinths will poke through the ground, bringing color to the world again.

Celebrate the return of spring with a little home décor. What makes good springtime decorations? Think green! Moss, potted plants. You can even steal pieces of some faux greenery and add them to little terracotta pots (like I did).

Bunnies & Birdies
Also, bunnies and birds and other springtime animals like baby chicks or foxes. Pick them up at thrift stores: like this vintage bunny bank. Or you can purchase bird nests and ceramic birds on Amazon.

Bring Nature Indoors
Add other natural elements: wood cuttings or twigs, pretty stones and faux flowers. Mix in farmhouse style décor such as galvanized letters, small lanterns, bird cages, vintage alarm clocks, etc.

Styling Tips:

• Create vignettes or groupings
• Pair items of varying textures, sizes, and colors
• Stick to a spring color scheme (like green, brown, white)
• Anchor the bottom with larger items, smaller on top

How do you celebrate spring?
Want MORE ideas for spring? Make these flower pots with French graphic images.

Teen-Ster Baskets: Easter Basket Idea for Teenagers

Easter Baskets for Teens
Easter is awesome. And while I don't want to lose sight of celebrating our Lord Jesus rising from the grave, I do have to admit I have an obsession with the more commercial Easter traditions. When my girls were little, we would dye eggs, gobble chocolate bunnies, and I would dress them in brand new, fluffy pink and purple gowns, parading them for all the world to see. Eventually those poufy dresses gave way to more modest skirts, then slacks and even blue jeans as my little girls became teenagers.

While the dresses have gone away, one thing does not change, and that is the need for the Easter basket. In times past, the Easter basket was a thing of magic and wonder, filled to the brim with delicious candies, chocolate bunnies, and toys that signaled the end of a cold and snowy Iowa winter and the ushering in of warmer days... toys like jump ropes, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk.

Eventually, though, my girls outgrew such toys and suddenly the conundrum of the Easter basket was upon me. What to do? We couldn't afford to fill a basket with movie tickets and i-phones. Even make-up can be expensive when you multiply it times two. A little online research produced some fun ideas.

I bought two packs of soda, orange and grape Crush, and removed three bottles from each. Yes, I gave them to the Easter Bunny. No reason the Bunny shouldn't have a little fun, too. Then I filled the empty slots with Easter grass and goodies. These included things like:

• new funky socks
• inexpensive jewelry
• nail polish
• gum
• candy
• fruit leather
• and of course, a chocolate bunny

I wrapped it all up with a bow on top.

Of course, the "baskets" were a big hit when they were discovered outside the girls' doors bright and early on Easter morning. And while I couldn't convince my teens to wear poufy pink and purple dresses, I didn't have much trouble persuading them to gobble up those chocolate bunnies. Some things never change.