Simple Minimalist DIY Spring Wreath

Do you need a cute spring wreath that costs under $15 and can be made in about 10 minutes? This simple, minimalist spring wreath is super easy (and super cute).  Trust me.

Quick Easy DIY Spring Easter Wreath

Honestly, I wasn't even going to write a post about this spring wreath. It's so easy that it literally took about ten minutes and cost $9 using three bunches of faux carrots that I got at the craft store, a grapevine wreath, a couple of strips of burlap and a piece of ribbon  that I found in the mess in my studio had on hand.

It's the very best kind of project. one that requires no tools other than scissors.  Here are the "directions" (and I use that term very loosely because if you're looking at it, you can pretty much tell what I did).

Place the grapevine wreath on the table.Take apart the bunches of carrots, cut strips of burlap 1 to 1/12 inches wide. Use the threads from the burlap to tie the carrots to the wreath (If you prefer, you can hot glue the carrots to the wreath but I like to reuse things and these will probably end up somewhere else in my spring decor next year if I can find them.

Cut the burlap strips into 8 inch (approximate) pieces. Tuck the pieces of burlap through the wreath and tie with a single loop. Make a bow out of a 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch wide strip of burlap. Thumbtack orange ribbon to the top of the door, tie the wreath onto the door using the ribbon.

Put on your coat, and your boots, and your hat, and your gloves...and a scarf.  Go outside. Stand back. admire your wreath. Take photos. Explain to the mailman why you're standing outside in the cold taking photos of your wreath. Wonder why you still live in a place where it still snows in March and April and sometimes, May.

Decide that it's too cold to stand outside pondering things that you can't control. Go inside and have another cup of coffee, tea, cocoa (since it's too early for wine).

That's it. Super simple, quick, easy, Spring Easter wreath. It's a little bit rustic...and a little bit garden..and a whole lot of inexpensive. (I thought about using the word cheap...but then it should probably have had chicks on it...you see what I did there, right?!)

Thanks so much for reading!

Spring Garden Themed Bridal Shower

Hi! It's been awhile. For those of you who don't follow SR on either Instagram or Facebook, I'm sure that it feels like a very long time.  I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth, honest.  I've been finishing up a couple of  projects and it's the end of the quarter at my day job so I've been a little "absent" but I'm back and I've got a lot to show you in the next few days so thanks for hanging in there with me.  I've decided to share the pretty thing first: a spring garden themed bridal shower.

Spring Shade Garden 2015

 

Hello! Oh my gosh, it feels like it has been forever since I've had the time to write.  It has been a whirlwind two weeks. We celebrated Mother's Day a week early by spending a day working in the yard at my mom and dad's home because I had to fly to Atlanta for business on the "real" Mother's Day.

Pastel Spring EDIBLE Easter Table Decorating

I can't believe that it's Easter! It snuck up on me this year! So much so that I honestly had no idea how I was going to decorate my Easter table until four days ago. This year, my Easter table decorating is pastel colored...and edible!

Easy DIY Peter Rabbit Spring Wreath Door Decoration

This year, my spring front door wreath decoration is different from what I usually create. Instead of spring flowers, I chose faux vegetables and when I'm thinking about spring and vegetables, there's only one story that comes to mind....the one about a large vegetable garden and a pesky little bunny named Peter Rabbit. This wreath is an easy DIY that took exactly ten minutes to assemble.

Recycled Baby Food Jar Easter Chick Candy Holder

Yes, there is a yellow pom pom Easter chick candy holder made from a recycled baby food jar in the photo above. And YES, it is wearing a sparkly gold glitter crown.  Why? 

                                                                                                                                   Well.....why not?!

Spring Paper Flower Cone Door Decor: Easy, Inexpensive Kid's Craft

There's nothing that makes me smile more than the first signs of spring in my neighborhood and to celebrate, I made these simple brown paper cones filled with fresh daffodils for my front door and for my neighbors as well. It's a super easy, inexpensive craft to do with kids, too! 

Easy DIY Chalkboard Door Art

Sometimes, it's the little things.  Like chalkboard door art that reminds me to be thankful for the day. As you have probably guessed, now that I'm in the middle of demolition at the French Farmhouse my opportunities to create something pretty are limited to artwork on my chalkboard door and, when I can get to the sewing machine, a canvas drop cloth pillow or two.

How To Make An Easy DIY Tea Towel Pillow

Looking for a last minute DIY Mother's Day gift or a quick pick me up for your porch or patio that's both cheap and easy? Well, you're in luck! I made these pillows from two cotton tea towels that I purchased at Ikea for $4.99 for the pair. I've also seen them at Target, JoAnn Fabrics and just about any store that carries kitchen items. Making the two of them took ten minutes....literally.

Pink and White Sweet 16 Vintage Tea Party Ideas

Today I'm sharing a pink and white sweet 16 spring tea party that I was invited to stage and decorate a couple of years ago. (*Please forgive the quality of these photos. They were taken with an older camera.)
Given that I live in a house full of men, I don't often have the opportunity to have many parties that are  girly. Fortunately for me, I've been blessed to have close girlfriends who have allowed me to stage, decorate, and host parties for their daughters.

As spring approaches, particularly in the month of May, we're given several opportunities to celebrate the special ladies in our lives. Moms, girlfriends, sisters, daughters. Spring is my favorite time for "girl parties" The party that I'm sharing today was for Anne (whose birthday happens to be next week).  Anne's mom, my dear friend Leslie, was one of those girlfriends who was a true southern lady. 

She was a thoughtful gift giver who had a wicked-good sense of humor, boundless energy and just enough "hoarder tendencies" to make us instant friends. Once we found eachother, she was the friend who, for me, was always finding ways to allow me opportunities to stage and decorate her home  and to create vignettes, mantles and planters until finally, one day, I realized that these things are my passion.  This party was no exception.

Anne's Sweet 16 birthday was a vintage high tea. The party was hosted at the home of another of our girlfriends who had a large, sunny room at the back of her home that was just perfect for this event (after her family moved all of the family room furniture to the garage...bless their hearts!)

Anne's sweet 16 tea party was pink and green perfection. The tables, chairs and pink linens were rented. The white "lace" table covers were printed fabric that was like interfacing which provided us with a cost effective way to have "lace" toppers on each table.

Leslie had saved Anne's childhood tea sets and a collection of vintage ladie's hats, purses and gloves which we used as decorations along with yards and yards of tulle and picot-edged ribbon in two shades of pink and moss green.

My sweet, vinage-loving young girlfriend, Anne used chalkboard paint to paint clay flower pots which she personalized with each guest's name and filled with alyssum and moss to serve as placecards.  My silver tea pots were filled with fresh flowers and used on the buffet table.

Each place also had a vintage tea cup, saucer and vintage silver spoon and each table had a different vintage teapot.  The girls dined on scones and finger sandwiches while the sipped tea and pink lemonade.

The centerpiece for each table was a vintage cake stand which held individual slices of lemon pound cake with pink glaze and Anne's monogram. beneath each slice of cake was a ribbon to which was tied a small silver charm representing Anne's interests which the girls took home along with a "tussie mussie" filled with dried rosebuds which was tied to the back of each chair.

There was also a sweet table that featured lemon curd tartlets with edible violets, chocolate dipped strawberries, pink and white heart shaped, monogrammed shortbread cookies, and other favorite sweets which Anne chose.

I didn't stay for the party due to another commitment but I do happen to know that it was a lovely afternoon where memories were made that will last a lifetime and I'm so thrilled to have been a part of this special day for both my friend Leslie and her daughter, my sweet "girlfriend", Anne.

Here's a photo of the birthday girl standing next to a photo of her which was enlarged and mounted for all of the guests to sign.

So, my message to you on this May day is this: Seize the opportunity which the month of May provides to celebrate the ladies in your life! Make a pot of tea, get out a china cup, bake a cookie or two, wear something pink and have a sweet tea party.... whether your 16...or not! 

Happy Birthday, Miss Anne. I love you and I know that your mom would be so proud of the beautiful young woman that you've become. You remind me more of her each day and I'm blessed to have watched you grow and to have you as a dear friend!

Spring Flower Basket Easter Table Centerpiece

Good morning, sweet friends and happy Saturday! Both of my sons are home from college for a 48 hour whirlwind Easter weekend! I'm busy packing up for a trip to my parents' house to celebrate Easter with my extended family today.  Since my mom and sister are doing all of the cooking this year,  (yes, my oven is still acting wonky) I decided to make an Easter basket table centerpiece using spring flowers.

Brightly Colored Spring Urn Planter Decor

Sometimes, I can't help myself.  There are days when I have the urge to decorate and when I've got nothing to do at home, I fulfill the need by decorating  for other people..even when they don't expect it.  On Saturday night, these urn planters in front of my friends' store, Vintage Fresh, got a spontaneous spring decor makeover courtesy of temperatures in the upper 50's coupled with my sudden urge for a little spring and the fact that the center of my own urn at home is still frozen solid.

There were cute little evergreen trees in the centers of them which had fallen victim to our really harsh winter this year so they'll need to be replaced when local nurseries get their stock but for now, they made a fine base for the addition of  a few spring flowers from Hobby Lobby, a little tulle, and a few plaid bows.

Someone had already added cute little Easter stakes and a few eggs so I used them as well.  All of the flowers that are in these pots are silk because that's what was available at 6:30 on Saturday evening when the urge struck....

All I really wanted was to create something bright and cheery to surprise my friends when they arrived on Sunday morning to open their doors for Downers Grove's first ever Bridal Walk and to fill the urns for the next few weeks until warmer weather arrives and we can plant them for summer!

If you have urn planters that need a little pick me up, consider adding brightly colored netting, and bows along with a few flowers (faux or real) to create a sunny spring welcome at your door.  And if you live near me, be warned...if I have a few hours, this could happen to you!

Simple Pastel Spring Mantel Decor

Is anyone else getting a slow start on spring this year?  I am. I decided to put together a quick, pastel, spring mantel this week to add a little color to the living room. It's not just the gray of winter that is wearing on me, it's also the fact that I was afraid that if I didn't decorate the mantel this week, I'd completely miss the opportunity to do it before I tear the wall out next month.

Yes, you read that correctly. It's spring...which means that we'll finally be able to move forward with renovations here at the French farmhouse and the temporary shelf that has been acting as our mantel will be removed (along with the wood paneling that covers the wall) in preparation for the new sandstone mantel and hearth that will be installed this summer when our former living room officially becomes the dining room.

 
Which reminds me, I forgot to show you the fabulous French Casement Cabinets that I scored at the Restoration Hardware outlet in January. There are two of them. They are 42 inches wide and 92 inches tall... and they were seventy percent off!

How could I possibly resist!? There will be one on either side of the window seat in the dining room and they will be used to store china and glassware. One of them had some damage on the inside of the door which was repaired but it doesn't show and even if it did, at that price, I'm not certain that I would have minded!

I've been  so busy collecting pieces for the farmhouse that I'm going to have to do a couple of posts to catch you up on what I've found...but for now, let's get back to the mantel.

Since this mantel decor is the last one that I'll be creating for a while, I decided to incorporate some bunnies and get a "two for one" by leaving these decorations up until Easter

                                                                                  ...or until I get a dumpster...whichever comes first!

The smaller bunny above is a ceramic statue that I painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and distressed slightly so you could see the brown color that he was when I purchased him on a quick little shopping trip to Carter's Cottage in DeKalb with my friend, Mary last weekend.

Of course, a couple of pieces of my trademark ironstone made an appearance, as did a bird's nest, some faux tulips, and the vintage window panels that you've seen before in my bedroom at our last home and my Valentine's Day mantel.

The wreath is made from coffee filters which were water-colored using pink and yellow then hot glued to a form....simple...and under $3!

My Grandmother's crocheted lace table cloth, zinc letter stencils, a muslin flag banner that I made and a vintage French pastoral painting round out the rest of the look.

I added a quick spring pillow to the love seat and hung faux pastel eggs from some branches that I got when the tree trimmers were here last week which were placed in a copper lined vintage basket. I'm sure that the tree guys didn't understand why I wanted the branches but they were really nice about allowing me to choose those that I wanted to save before they put the rest in the chipper.

Other than creating a tablescape for Easter or a quick spring urn for my front entry, this is going to be the extent of my spring decor for this year. It may also be the extent of my summer decor depending upon how quickly things move for Phase 2.  I've spent the last two weeks meeting with our architect, a couple of builders and the village and things are slowly moving forward. 

I'm happy to report that the engineering survey of the property was completed yesterday and I expect that we'll have final drawings soon....I know...I keep saying this...I think that we're on round 19 of the interior floor plan drawings because I keep moving the bedrooms around.

Last week, the master bedroom moved to the other side of the house and the hearth room is now behind the kitchen. I haven't updated you because until I have something final, I don't want you to have to suffer through countless iterations as I tweak the plans....it's bad enough that I'm putting my architect through it!

So, Happy Spring, Happy Easter...Happy Mother's Day...etc. I'm enjoying my pastel spring mantel almost as much as I'm enjoying the fact that I may finally get to chainsaw out the bad bushes around my house in another week also in preparation for Phase 2!

It's been a long, boring winter and I can't wait to start on all of the new changes that are coming to Serendipity Refined and the French Farmhouse this spring and I'm thrilled to have you along!


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Jennifer Rizzo

Easy Spring DIY Craft: Peter Rabbit Decorated Bunny Egg Basket

I'm so glad that you stopped by today! We're going to have our first day in the 50's today and I'm sharing an easy DIY Spring Craft: Easter Bunny Egg Baskets made from simple peat pots and decorated with images of Peter Rabbit...and a few scraps of  ribbon and paper! 

Super Simple Spring Decor: DIY Egg Tree

I'm practicing a little "simple repurposing: at the farmhouse today. I made the world's easiest Spring Egg Tree out of the sticks that I used in my Valentine's day door decor. Having a little spring in the house is saving my sanity and you can DIY a little spring of your own if you've got a few sticks and faux eggs hanging around.

Repurposed Vintage Wash Stand Potting Table

Tuesday evening, when I was at at the market picking up a gallon of milk, a pint of raspberries and some of the most beautiful strawberries that I've seen since last June , a really nice man took note of my knee high, black rubber boots and said politely, "You must be ready for the really deep snow that's coming." I smiled at him, shook my head and replied simply, "I am."

White Spray Painted Metal Patio Furniture and Tea in My Garden

Happy Friday! I'm so happy that you stopped by today so that I can show you the "after" photos of my spray painted metal patio furniture!

Wicker and Wrought Iron Patio Furniture Makeover

I've got a couple of questions for you: First, have you ever read the book by Dr. Seuss titled "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"?  I'm pretty sure that it was the very first book that I ever read aloud.  It was a favorite at the time.

Yarn Wrapped, "Let's Go Fly A Kite" Wreath

Have you ever flown a kite?  I have. Lots of them. I think that I started when I was six or seven years old. I think that this is largely due to the fact that I was raised during the "go outside and play" years.  Yes, it's true, I was an often unwilling member of the "fresh air generation".