Spring has Sprung!

I can't believe it's been over a year since I last posted. A new granddaughter has already turned one! Days are exhausting with work taking me out of our home twelve hours a day. These have been rough days at the office with friends being laid off and more work than ever to do, with fewer people. However, I am thankful that I have a job and I know things could be much worse. My greatest joy is time with our family and we are so blessed! We had a wonderful Easter celebration and I wanted to share some pictures. 

We decided to have an Easter brunch because of the little ones schedule. My daughter and her hubby are doing a wonderful job raising their beautiful girls and keeping them on a schedule is one of the things they do well. 

One of my favorite things to do when preparing for guests is to set a beautiful table. I have never really planned in advance for my table but that is slowly changing. I like to pick up things now and again that I think will work at some point and often I forget what I have until I go looking. This year, several months before I knew we were hosting Easter, I found this fabric at Jo-Ann Fabrics. It is my favorite color, turquoise, along with silver, which I love. And the fact that it has polka dots is the icing on the cake! I knew I would use it for our next to-do!

My dining room table is a very old harvest table that was originally approximately 6 feet long by 18 inches wide. I purchased it at an auction for $25 many years ago. The top is warped and wasn't usable as a dining table until my husband put a new top on it over the original. It is now wider and a little over 7 feet long. 

I painted and distressed it years ago and we have had wonderful fun around this table. It even has an old mend on one of the legs that was broken prior to us purchasing it. But what is really nice is that 3 yards of 45" wide fabric makes a perfect tablecloth...and this is how my table setting usually gets started...it's all about the fabric! This was easy to hem and looked great on the table.

Once I had my tablecloth, I looked for decorations without really having a completed project in mind. I found these little silver buckets in the $1 goodies at Target. I changed the ribbon on them as it was pink gingham. I also bought some pink and blue flowered buckets to go along with, but once it all started to come together in my head, I realized I didn't want to use the pink ones. I went digging in my goodie closet and found these sparkly ones in turquoise that I had purchased several years ago and I knew they would be perfect.

I also picked up some sparkly eggs at Target for $5. I think they look great and my sweet Genevieve loved the sparkle!

Tulips...my favorite. We were at Walmart and they had tulips at a great price. My nature is to pick up white tulips but they didn't have any so I decided on purple. I was pleased with my choice as I think they are perfect. In case you didn't know it, tulips continue to grow after they are cut. I always have to cut them shorter because they always perk up and get taller. These were smaller flowers, which was fine because I didn't want them to come between our guests trying to converse across the table.

Special touches for the table such as bird salt and pepper shakers from T.J. Maxx as well as cloth napkins, simple white plates, shiny silverware and sparkly glasses all make a table setting much more special....and it doesn't have to cost a lot. These glasses were $1 each, the plates are from The Christmas Tree Shop and the stainless was a gift. The tulips were $5 a bunch and I bought two bunches.

I also like to add place settings for the girls that are fun and Target had just what I needed.

For Sweet G

And Little O

Festive Straws

The table is set for a celebration fit for a king...resurrection day and our lord Jesus Christ.

We also had an early birthday celebration for Genevieve and Olivia's Mom...our beautiful daughter Melanie. A special cake was in order so I made a 6 inch, four layer Ho Ho cake. I used the Hershey Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe and made cream filling and topped with bittersweet ganache. 

In the craziness of getting every thing ready the day before, I sat down and made a cute banner to go on the cake...so easy using skewers, ribbon and a glue stick.

I don't craft much any more but I think I just needed to sit, be still and craft...it's certainly good therapy!

 

Yum!

My hope is to inspire you to try a little something creative, to realize you don't need a lot of money to turn an occassion into a wonderful celebration. With a little sparkle, family, friends and a lot of love, you can make memories that last forever. Happy Spring!

Easter Morn on the Farm