SPRING: repurpose a lampshade frame as a cloche

My sweet aunt Diane gifted me a terra cotta bunny figure in March for my birthday, along with a lovely lunch at one of our local wineries. After the celebrating was over, I came home and created a sweet little springtime vignette starring that bunny... and I thought I'd share this idea with you, since it is SO simple to replicate!

Continue reading to see how it all came together, plus some additional ideas...

dwk

Materials:

2 large terra cotta pots . 3 small terra cotta pots
3 terra cotta drip trays (one each large, medium, small)
1 small metal lampshade frame . 1 metal/wire floral frog
green eyelash yarn (I used a wreath covered in it, plus a little extra)
green ribbon . faux moss-covered rocks . terra cotta bunny figure
small and large white flowers (optional)

Method:

I started with the terra cotta pots and drip trays from my stash - most of which were purchased at thrift shops & garage sales. Creating a 'pedestal' from two large pots and one larger drip tray was step one:

I was about to plop a mass of grass-green eyelash yarn onto the tray as a base, when I looked up and saw the faux moss wreath I made last winter using similar yarn... and decided it would make a more interesting base. So onto the drip tray it went:

You could fill the drip tray with green eyelash yarn instead of using a wreath.

Using the wreath resulted in the problem of a hollow center area... so I sat a smaller terra cotta drip tray on top of the wreath:


So far, so good! Now for the bunny figure...
I sat him on the smaller drip tray and looked at him for a bit. He needed some accessories, but in all honesty I didn't want to turn this into an Easter arrangement. I wanted to stick with the spring theme.


As I was thinking about that, I decided that I wanted a dome or cloche over him... the glass ones I have are either too small to cover the whole area, or too big to sit on the drip tray. A quick gaze around my studio revealed a small metal lampshade frame - one I've used before in varied ways. I grabbed it and sat it on top of the arrangement, and it fit the size of the faux moss wreath perfectly!

One thing I wasn't happy with was the TOP of that lampshade frame... I reached for a small terra cotta drip tray, flipped it upside down, and sat it over the peak of the lampshade frame. Better!

Then I remembered my bonafide antique wire flower frog, one that can morph into varied shapes. I sat it on top of the terra cotta drip tray, and shoved a bit of green eyelash yarn inside of it... then added the finishing touch of soft green ribbon around it's circumference:

The wire floral frog serves as a perfect finial on top of the lampshade frame, and because they are both metal, they look like they actually could be connected.

Getting the 'container' right really helped me figure out how I was going to accessorize the bunny figure... subtle, earthy, natural elements were what I needed to keep the mood I was going for. 

So I grabbed three tiny pots with real moss on them from my stash, and some faux mossy 'stones' that I've had for years (from Dollar Tree) - and discovered that a few of the smaller 'rocks' are shaped a bit like eggs. I added them to the composition, along with a few bunches of eyelash yarn to fill in spaces behind the bunny and below the pedestal:


The tiniest bunch of faux white flowers tucked in behind the bunny figure and a handful of faux white tulips bring more springtime elements into the scene:





I love the natural theme of this arrangement. The 'hint' of Easter decor it has because of those slightly egg-shaped mossy rocks is so subtle, you'd miss it if I didn't tell you!

Believe it or not, TWELVE YEARS AGO, I used the same metal lampshade frame and wire flower frog in a similar post... along with a wire dome made from a tomato cage! You can see that post here


Other ways that I have used wire lampshade frames:

use wire lampshade frames to create a spinning mobile - 2020

create a lampshade Christmas tree - 2019

make a lampshade frame table! - 2018

embellished wire lampshades


related content:

faux moss wreath - 2024

shared online:

creatively beth | creatively crafty link party #244

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #774 

Thank you for including my project in your feature, Donna! 


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