SPRING: Pine Cone Carrots!

My sweet lifelong friend Kim came to So Cal on my birthday weekend, and even though it was to attend a concert, she made time to meet me for lunch. She gave me a gift that is just SO fun that I had to share it with you: I give you Pine Cone CARROTS! 

Kim and her guy J teamed up to gather pinecones on her Northern California property and transform them into carrots for her spring decor. Kim followed a tutorial but she can't recall where she found it - so I'm going to do my best to give you a quick rundown of the project.

Continue reading for a 'tutorial - lite'!

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...

SPRING: 'bunny ears' floral bouquet

 

With April's arrival, Easter draws closer... and while I like to focus on 'seasonal' decor rather than specific holidays, sometimes ideas pop up and I just have to run with them!

Back in 2023, I created a small floral project for Easter using tiny white ball flowers and some daffodil leaves. This year, I was looking at the green hydrangeas that I used in the 'floral bouquet in a purse' project shared a few weeks back, and decided to replicate that older project - in larger scale. 

Continue reading to see how easy it is to create this fun bouquet...

Published: My 'Living Nest' in Farmhouse Style Magazine

 

Last Spring, I made a 'Living Nest', and shared it here on the blog. Shortly after that, I was contacted by Editor Lisa Sloan at Country Sampler Farmhouse Style Magazine to ask if they could include my project in their next Spring issue.

Of course I was thrilled, said yes, and sent in some images. The issue has just released, so let's hear a little commotion for a previous project!

continue reading for more details...

simple paper strip nest

how did we get to the end of MARCH already?!!

this last post for the month - though certainly not my last spring project - 

was a thought that occurred to me as i was working on my

new 'Sweet Sweater Nest' creations late last month (post linked below)...

this nest is made using the same basic method as the sweater nest,

but with a different material: paper strips.

i've chosen to use some of my 'painted paint chip paper' strips to make mine - 
remember back in 2020 when my theme was paint chip crafts ALLL year long??!

to fit your own style, this project could easily be done using vintage sheet music,

elegant gift wrapping paper, or even colorful comic pages.
it's a fun way to up-cycle any paper you have on hand!

continue reading for a great last-minute spring project
PLUS a tip for filling your Easter baskets easily! 

painted 'chocolate' pumpkins on a sweet sweater cake

a fitting conclusion to my recent faux food project posts,

this one really takes the cake....

this project came about because i had some tiny styro pumpkins,
which made me start thinking about making a very REAL cake

like my Mom used to make every fall when i was a kid.

it was always a round two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing

and adorned with tiny orange candy pumpkins all along the top edge.

i loved that cake.

we took them to school fall celebrations and church harvest festivals.

we took mini versions - cupcakes - to friend's houses.

we never brought any of it home, either!!! everyone loved it.

instead, i decided to make a fall 'cake' in my own style...

because deb does NOT need more calories!

continue reading for the before and after...

how i see Easter... an essay

for the past eight years or so, i've been sharing an essay on my facebook profile on Good Friday, Saturday, and Easter Sunday.

three years ago, i published it in its entirety on my blog - because it is a message that is so important that i want it to remain after i am gone, i want it to last and make a difference.

this year, instead of publishing my essay in parts, i'm going to share the link to where it lives on my blog. it's been hidden away on a page, with a link in the sidebar, but now i'm being brave and publishing a link to it in a post on this Good Friday because i don't want you to miss it. i do this in hope that my friends and family and blog readers and social connections will take a moment to click the link and to read the words that i know are the best i have ever written, the most important thing i will ever have to say, and to consider just why it is that i put this out there on a public platform, opening myself up to the inevitable reaction that will come.

it's because i care about what really matters in the lives of the people i care about from an eternal perspective... because we're spiritual beings having a human experience right now, but when our human bodies die, our souls live on. our souls all have eternal life. death is not the end of life, only the end of the body. the question is, where will that eternity be spent? with God, or separated from Him? i know i'll be with Him, and with many many loved ones who have accepted His truth.

...and i want you to be there, too i hope you hear my heart in this. i hope you hear the truth. i hope you accept it.

click this link to read my essay:

https://www.homewardfounddecor.com/p/how-i-see-easter.html

with love,
deb

Pyrex pattern Easter eggs

these happy Easter eggs were inspired by vintage Pyrex bowls
AND by two previous projects i've created inspired by them.

'inspiration comes from everywhere' is a phrase many creatives use.
it's certainly true for me, as well as 'inspiration comes from nature'.
another source of inspiration for me is my own previous projects.
i love using similar concepts and elements from my stash
to create new 'home decor that's not from a store' in different seasons!

i hope you enjoy my last Easter decor project this year!
be a good egg and continue reading for a really easy tutorial...

flower bunnies

spring has arrived, April is here, and Easter is on the horizon...
this truly easy floral project will add some fun to your spring decor!

whether you make it with faux or fresh flowers,

it's sure to make everyBUNNY smile ;) 

continue reading to see how you can replicate my look!

Easter egg mushrooms!

my last post for  March Mushroom Madness  
wraps up with this creation... just in time for Easter!

why not decorate for spring with mushrooms, along with the bunnies and eggs?
ah, but these are no ordinary mushrooms - these are made from eggs!
you can use REAL eggshells, as i did, or simple plastic eggs to get this whimsical result.

(i know, eggs are really pricy right now! i always save the shells to use in my garden,
but i'm always happy to turn 'trash' into 'treasure' via crafting!)

 continue reading to see how easy they are to create...

my FAVE spring decor projects

even though we're currently enveloped by abnormally cold weather here
and it feels a bit like winter is never going to end,
it's time to start the spring season decorating!

looking back, i'm honestly surprised by
how many ways i've refreshed my homes at springtime over the years...
 some of those projects have been successful in more than one home

as i re-create them in new versions + colorways.

over the past ten years of blogging here at homeward found decor,

i've shared hundreds of my original diy home decor projects

in 743 published posts since i launched this blog in August 2012.

if you've been reading my blog for the past decade, THANK YOU FRIENDS!

if you're a newer visitor, i hope you enjoy discovering some of my past creations

as i share a look back... 

continue reading for some of my FAVE past spring decor projects!

the old rugged cross

in my last post, i shared my new faux Kintsugi painted eggs,
and in the background of a few shots you saw a small collection of wood crosses.
today, i'm focusing on those and how they are made from 'everyday' materials.

Easter arrives in just a few days, and it is one of the most important days of the year to me.
my faith is built on the miraculous events celebrated on this day centuries ago,
and my hope resides in the promises God made about what it all means for the future.

Easter is also the day that my sweet Dad went home to Heaven seven years ago,
just as the sun was rising and beaming through the windows onto his peaceful face...
a precious reminder about what is really important in this life.

having a cross (or collection of crosses) in my decor is important to me,
and i love being able to make them unique and personal.
i hope these ideas inspire you!

continue reading for details...

faux painted 'kintsugi' easter eggs

last fall, when i created my faux painted 'kintsugi' pumpkins,

i knew they were just a 'practice project'...

because i always envisioned that paint treatment on eggs, for Easter.

honestly, i couldn't be happier with the results!

this is a simple paint treatment with elegant results,

one that can be applied to any type of egg - paper, ceramic, wood, glass, or real eggs.

continue reading for my easy tutorial...

paint palette eggs!

this one came to me one day while i was going through my bins of spring decor.

back in 2020 i made some simple Easter eggs with varied finishes on them,
and as i saw those in the bin, i realized that their shape was very much like
the paint palettes that artists use... and a new creative idea was born!

...continue reading for this easy project

(and to see what those 'paint palettes' are REALLY made of!)

repurposed bottle brush carrots

i was out running errands this morning when inspiration hit me...
an item at the store i was in reminded me of something i had used before,

still had in my stash, and could use again to replicate the thing i saw - but in MY style.
(which is what my approach to decorating is all about!)

when i arrived home, i dug out the components in excitement, 
ready to 'hop to it' (see what i did there?!) and get this project done.
it took me all of ten minutes to make these cute lil' veggies!

continue reading to see what inspired me - and what i used to create my own version!

tiny thread nests

springtime always brings me back to making different kinds of bird nests...

they represent spring, and also connect to the practice of 'nesting',
making a home fresh and clean as well as warm and welcoming. 

today i am sharing a new nest i've created this month,

inspired by talented artist and designer Cathe Holden.

i recently saw a photo of one of her sweet little nests made from sewing thread,

and was so charmed by the utter simplicity of it that i just had to replicate the idea -

 using yellow thread, of course!

this was a truly 'fast, cheap, and easy'TM project that i think you'll love,
and it would make a perfect treat at each place setting on your Easter table!

continue reading for the easy details... and more about my muse, Cathe!

my sweet sweater birthday cake!

hello, friends!
i've been enjoying my sabbatical over the past month and a half,
and have made a MAJOR dent in my very long and very overlooked 'To Do' list!
(such as: get my truck running again✔  get some appliance repairs done✔   
get some yard work done✔  buy a new mattress to help my back pain✔ )

since it's March 1st, the beginning of my birthday month,
it seems a perfect time to return to the blog and share a recent project with you!

* this post was created in mid-February and scheduled for March 1.
given the world events that transpired in the last week of February,
 i actually thought very seriously about not publishing it, 
 seeming too frivolous a subject to focus on in light of reality.

 i have decided to publish it, in the hope that anyone who sees it
will be reminded that there are still things to celebrate in this world
even in the midst of darkness and conflict. *

as much as i love to bake (and eat) sweet things,
i decided that my birthday cake this year needed to be a bit different...

you know it wouldn't be a birthday cake for ME unless it was made of sweaters, right?!

(my waistline and thighs appreciate the total lack of calories in this one ;) ) 

continue reading to find out the unusual way this fun decor came to be...

easy no-mess Easter basket grass

while i have always loved creating holiday decor,

i do have my limits... Easter grass is one of them.

(my theory is it was created by the same people who invented Legos.

to drive parents - specifically the parent who does the cleaning - batty.)

since i hate the mess  of plastic grass strands wrapped around the vacuum bar!!,

i've found other materials to use in Easter baskets that reduce the mess and fuss.

yes, paper shred works - but it's still a mess.

i've found a way to get the same effect as grass

without the resulting mess and cleanup...

and you might be really surprised at how cheap and easy this solution is!

continue reading for my sly little trick (that has an added benefit!)...

be a good (repurposed) egg

last spring, i created several decor elements inspired by paint chips. 

okay, okay... i basically spent most of 2020 finding creative ways to use paint chips! LOL

this year, i've pulled those out of storage and found fresh new ways to use them...

because the yellow just serendipitously fits my current color obsession perfectly

AND

because it's not necessary to have/buy/make ALL NEW things EVERY year.

(i felt a great disturbance in the force as retailers across the globe shuddered at that...)

it's fun finding new ways to use what you have!

continue reading to see the new ideas that i came up with...

yes, you can make a bird nest!

bird nests seem to me to be a sign of springtime...

over the years, i've been lucky enough to have found a few real ones, 
incorporating them into my home decor in spring. and fall. and on my Christmas trees!

i've also made quite a few - 
from elaborate to simple, from small seasonal versions sold via an enchanting online boutique
to an enormous one made for a client to hold a precious gold-embellished ostrich egg,
making them always connects me to nature.

this year i've made one with the slightest hits of gray and yellow elements
unearthed in my bins and boxes of saved materials,
and i thought i'd share the easy process of making them with you.

if you're sitting there thinking 'whaaaaa? MAKE a bird nest?!', continue reading!