Spring Fantel, Take Two

So I re-did my Spring/Easter Fantel. There were a few reasons for that: 1)Chris kept bumping into the sticks and toppling the whole thing over. It was ugly. 2)I felt like it looked kinda cold and dead, and since the weather has been so nice this year and everything is in bloom and not half dead like usual, it just seemed wrong. 3) I also bought myself this awesome hydrangea and I've pretty much decided my whole decorating scheme revolves around it until it's warm enough to plant it outside.

So first of all, what's a fantel?

It's basically a fake mantel, for those of us without real mantels. Mine is this saw horse style thing that Chris made for me back in the Fall. He used barn wood and studs out of our walls upstairs from Kennedy's closet renovation. Which I still haven't shown you.

Because it's still not quiiiiiite done.

I made this rag wreath in about 15 minutes using old flannel baby blankets in Easter colours. I was thinking "OK, I love it, but there's no way it's going to work in my living room." Well, I've been wrong once or twice. It's fantastic.

I've just learned how to blow out eggs this week. Sad I know. Isn't every school child supposed to know that? Anyway, I've been saving all the pretty egg shells from the farm eggs my Mother in Law has been bringing to me.

Hands down, the best Easter decorations I've come upon so far.

So what do you think? Do you like Take Two as much as I do, or should I have just left the first fantel as it was?

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What a difference a week can make

Oh man. It is so cold right now. Temperatures this week are plunging around here. Let's look back on happier times, shall we?

These photos were taken last week, which show a huge change from the photos I showed you that were taken just a week before. Nature is fun!

The shrubs need trimming, the siding needs a good power wash, but aren't those little flowers on the maple trees pretty?

These purple crocuses are out now along with the white ones.

More trimming needed here I see!

This lilac bush is starting to fill in nicely. So excited!!!

Chris decided to rip out this fence around the back of the house last weekend so we can have this big sloping lawn. While he was at it, he threw together this sandbox for Kennedy. I'm picturing a little path leading down to it and maybe a tire swing? Perfect!

We had to destroy a sad little flower garden when we took the fence down, so I saved the tulips in it and moved them to under one of the maple trees. I don't really expect them to bloom this year, but they're definitely doing much better than I thought they would.

They aren't selling pansies and other annuals around here yet, but these few in here somehow managed to survive the move and the winter and are blooming like crazy now. I bought these last April!

We're ready for a lot more big time gardening this year. We've got a little staging area set up between the garage and the house for all of our landscaping materials.

But that will have to wait. I'm not going out there for at least a few days! It's frigid! Pin It

DIY Magazine Organizers

I've been on the lookout for something to help me organize my giant basket of magazines and catalogues that seems to be overflowing more and more these days. Everything I've found is either ugly and not at all something I want in my living room or too expensive for any real person to be able to afford as many as I'll be needing.

So I made my own! And I like them waaay more than anything I've seen in the stores.

I used various different sizes of cereal boxes to get me started. I think it gives them kind of a custom look.

The insides aren't pretty, but who cares, right? I painted the sides in a light brown and then used a glue stick to attach some burlap to the fronts.

I trimmed all the edges in some twine. The only thing that cost me any money were the little metal "handle" things. I splurged and bought two different packs of ten in two different sizes. So that was about $3. I found them in the "conduit" section of the hardware store.

I was asked three different times if I needed help and on two of those times, I was definitely addressed as "young lady". I kind of felt like I was in trouble for being in that section of the store. But I pushed forward and bought my conduit,um,.. thingies!

This is an idea I've seen floating around the internets once or twice, so it's nothing original, but I really like the way mine turned out.

These are going to have a special new home very soon, and I'll let you see as soon as I actually get that project done. You know how it is!

Update: I've decided this is my favourite project for the month of March! I'm joining the "Best DIY Projects of March" party here!

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Just my front door, nothing more.

I love my front door.

OK, it's not really the front door, it's more of a side door. It leads from the mudroom into the kitchen. But it's the door we use most, anyway.

I painted it red to cover up the weird green that was underneath. I've enjoyed it, but thought I would never be able to make it work after Christmas.

Wrong!

I think it looks just peachy.

I just found a little bit bigger grapevine wreath, tucked in some fake white flowers, and tied it up with a big ol' white ribbon.

Wanna see more of my front door?

Check out our Fall mudroom here and our Christmas mudroom here.

And that mason jar light? You can read a little more about it here. Pin It

Come for a little Easter tour!

Do you ever feel like you're really good at decorating for some seasons, but really not so good at others?

This is my not so good season.

First of all, Spring and Easter are all about cutesy, and I'm not so talented with the cutesy execution. I like cutesy. I just can't make it work. Also, I kind of feel like I need to be able to pull in natural elements to get things going, and right now, there are none. Or rather none that aren't kinda grey and depressing. Just give me a year or two though, and it will be daffodil city in here!

That being said... let's tour anyway!

A little bunny nest on the hutch. This hutch here:

Like my new couch cushions? They have real down inserts and they were a huge splurge for me. Luckily I had a gift card or else we would not be here enjoying them together.

This is how the dining room table looks right now.

A little egg tower I made last year. I just don't have that kind of patience for long-term crafting this year with all these boxes left to be unpacked and organized, so I'm glad it survived and I can still use it!

Of course Kennedy and I made a trip to Dollarama over Spring Break.

You can see here where my cardboard box basket thing ended up. Do you see that carpet? It hurts the eyes, I know. I usually try to hide it from you, but you have a right to know. Hopefully we'll get some hardwood in here soon.

We don't have any curtains hung yet, so we made this little banner as a temporary solution.

I also got a chance to clean up the mudroom a bit and make it feel a little more seasonally appropriate.

You've heard of cheap and cheerful? I call this cheap, ugly, and cheerful. I know it's really not something I would usually like at all, but the bright colours still make me feel a little happier when I see them. There's more too, but I'll spare you! 

And that's where we'll stop for today. Thanks for touring with me!

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My Spring Fantel

We've been slowly Springifying our house this week while we've been hanging around and relaxing during March break. With this weather we've been having, it's just seemed wrong to have anything remotely Wintery up, so now we don't!

Kennedy worked on this fantel with me, can you tell?

It's got kind of a birdie, nesty feel to it. And then there are carrots, because why not?

A nest in a bowl. And string because birds use string in nests, right? Those eggs are also way to big for that little bird. Am I over-thinking this?

A bird in a brick! He's pretty cute, even if he is a little wonky-eyed.

Hmm, this corner needs some work.

There you have it. It's a fantel, it's Springy, and it's 6-year-old approved!

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Signs of Spring

Well, Spring Break is here and we've got the weather to match! We headed outside this morning to take a few pictures of any signs of Spring that we could find around the property. It was an activity I planned to try to keep Kennedy busy and entertained, but I'm pretty sure I had as much fun or maybe more.

Crocusses! Croccusi? Crocci?

Kennedy took this one.

A garden that's looking a little less like a melted skating rink and a little more like a garden.

Tulips.

Swelling buds.

Little girls in Spring jackets.

Shadows! Cast by real sunshine!

A sparkling creek.

The first frog spotting of the year.

Isn't he cute?

What signs of Spring have you seen lately? Pin It