Painting Easter Eggs and Making a Flower Pot Wreath

I love to decorate with reds and mustards....but that makes my house seem a little dark. I would categorize my living room as a winter living room. The decor easily matches Fall, Christmas and Valentine seasons. But once spring has sprung, I start wishing for a lighter living room. Slowly, I am adding in more white and more greenery into my space, in hopes that it will look more spring-ish.

Last year, I had purchased a large plastic egg on Easter clearance for pennies. It was black and intended to be used as a chalkboard. Using some chalk paint (leftover from Nora's plastic kitchen remodel- which you can see here), I painted the egg white. I love that the chalk paint left the egg looking like  real eggshell. Some natural crackling even took place! Don't ask me how...ha. 

Using my tracing technique, I painted the words "He is Risen" onto the egg. We don't tell our children that the Easter bunny comes. But the eggs easily symbolize new life as the chick breaks out. We use the resurrection eggs to talk about the real meaning of Easter (make your own here). And this big white egg also helped to brighten up the area above my red hutch. 

The bunny garland is from my shop (@CoveyCreations on Instagram). 

And the wreath was a fun challenge. I had been given a wire wreath form by a friend. The Dollar Tree had these mini terracotta pots 3/$1. Using floral wire, I was able to tie the pots to the wreath form (thanks to those little holes in the bottom of the pots). 

I am obsessed with these Dollar Tree succulents, as well. I snatch up the natural looking ones each time I am in the store. They stayed in the pots without my having to glue or wire them into place, which means I can use them in another project later. The ribbon came from a Target clearance bin. 

All those little pots made the wreath quite heavy - and fragile. I really wanted to hang the wreath on my back door in the kitchen, but I was afraid of the mess it would make if it fell onto my tile floor. Crash...

But I like the nod to spring that it adds to the top of my hutch.

And PS...Nora is growing up too fast...

Spring is in the Air

The weather predicts my mood and my level of productivity for the day. Today is a big gloomy - so I am sitting in my living room with my cup of coffee, deciding to have a relaxing day. Sunshine makes me happy. My mood does lighten as the temperature rises. Being able to sit in the sun on my deck for 30 minutes each day is magical. And all this sunny goodness makes me want to either paint something or pull out my spring and summer recipes.

Each Thursday day, a group of ladies meet at my home to discuss Beth Moore's Believing God.  Snack time for the study seemed to be the perfect place to enjoy some sunshine inspired treats.

I first started off decorating my table, pulling out my yellow, green and orange fiesta pieces.

A birdhouse made by my dad and scrabble tiles were thrown in for cuteness, and a few branches from a backyard tree in a simple vase completed the look.

I then started on my Yogurt Berry Pie. I was given this recipe by some family friends - and since Publix had a super good deal on yogurt last week, I had all the supplies on hand. 

Yogurt Berry Pie
Three 6 oz tubs of yogurt (I used two blueberry and one strawberry)
One tub of Cool Whip (I used "lite")
One graham cracker pie crust

Combine the yogurt and Cool whip. I had some strawberries in the fridge. After slicing them, I folded them into the yogurt mixture.  Poor the filling mixture into the pie crust.  Freeze the pie for 3 hours or overnight.

I usually take the pie out of the freezer 20 minutes before serving. You can also top the pie with some nuts.

Since I had some frozen mango chunks in the freezer, I decided to give Mange Lemonade a try. I googled a few options, but decided to be creative and just use my instincts. I've been purchasing frozen fruits and veggies at my Dollar Tree. Some foods at the Dollar Tree really are a great deal!



Since our Bible Study is all about believing God is who He says He is and that God can do what He says He can do, I've been looking for reminders that I really can trust God. I know it in my head, but I am making sure my heart believes it. As I was reading the suggested serving ideas on the back of the package, I was jaw-droppingly shocked.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 - The Lord used a bag of frozen mangoes from the Dollar Tree to remind me that if I seek Him, I will find Him. He can be trusted to direct my paths. Who would have thought that I would find this reminder on the back of a bag of frozen fruit?  Those words of truth were an encouragement to me. And, it made me decide to start looking on the back of all my frozen food bags. Who knows what other bits of truth I may find?

Cindy's Mango Lemonade

One 10 ounce bag of frozen mango chunks (could also use fresh mango)

Juice from 6 lemons

Simple syrup

Water

I pureed the mango in my blender and juiced my lemons. To create your simple syrup, combine 1 1/2 cups of sugar with 3/4 cup of water in a small sauce pan. Heat mixture until the sugar is dissolved in the water. (Side note: if you want to add vanilla, it would make vanilla syrup for your coffee or Italian sodas. Add fruit to make a fruity syrup...the possibilities are endlesss). Let the syrup cool completely.

Combine mango, juice, and syrup. I then ran the mixture through a fine seive to remove any of the chunks of mango that my blender left behind. I put the juice misture into a 2 quart pitcher and topped it off with enough water to fill the container. Stir and chill! Serve over ice - it is a bit tart. But it is a new favorite drink of mine!

It tastes like summer in a glass.

Another lady in the Bible study was bringing egg salad and carronts w/ ranch. I added some Scrabble tiles to the table for her items.

It was a summery feast.

How are you enjoying the warmer weather?

PS: Check out a project of mine that Dollar Store Crafts is featuring here.   And I'm linking up my spring wreath with Centsational Girl here. 

Spring has Sprung

The sun is out - flip-flops are on my feet -- the temperature is rising! And my door is now looking more spring-like.

It was time for the Sham-Wow Wreath to reappear!

Read about my painting of the front door here.

And if you're looking for a fun new wreath idea from Dollar Tree supplies, find the tutorial for the Sham-Wow wreath here.

How are you getting ready for spring?