cinco de mayo mayhem!

I know, it's weird out there. All kinds of celebrations are cancelled.
We're allllll ready for this coronavirus quarantine to end. 
But hold on, my friends, there is a way to find the happy while we wait:

*This year, Cinco de Mayo is on a Tuesday. TACO Tuesday!* 
It's the perfect reason to celebrate, right in your own backyard!

SO, today I'm dipping back into my blog archives (about seven years back!)
to share three different ideas for fiesta-style tablescapes and bar setups.
With all of us staying home, these ideas will help you
to see 'what you have at home' in a fresh new way to create something fun!

continue reading for a peek at three different themes for Cinco de Mayo Celebrations:

vintage door = inspiration board

while i love Pinterest as much as the next girl, i prefer the old school method...

an actual 3-D 'bulletin board', inspiration board, mood board -

whatever you want to call it. and the bigger, the better!

years ago, i had an old door that i turned into an inspiration board

by filling the window area with a large piece of modular ceiling tile.

(you know the kind that drops into the T-bar in the dropped ceilings of every office building?)

 it worked great - but that material is messy as heck. it's like styrofoam.

  

so when i undertook the same project again recently, i needed a new material to use.

turns out, i had what i needed in the garage!

 continue reading to learn how to create a bulletin/inspiration board, 

using an old door or window frame - or even a new window frame, or picture frame.

yes, you can paint a lampshade!

this colorful lampshade was a spur-of-the-moment weekend project, 

an idea that came to me as i collapsed into a chair 

after the second day of my weekend studio/office overhaul project.

i was scrolling through Instagram and saw an image that completely delighted me - 

and solved my problem of 'what can i do to this plain ol' lampshade?'

paint it, of course!

so, i put down the phone, grabbed my paints, and gave this old thrifted shade a makeover.

i really love the way it turned out, and it was an easy way to add color and pattern to the room.

continue reading to see what started this whole thing...

seed packet-inspired decor

spring is here, and things are starting to bloom!

looking for a fresh addition to our spring decor after removing the Easter eggs,
i found inspiration in one of my own past projects...

about seven years ago, i shared a project here on the blog that i called 'Posie Pails'.

basically, i combined a colorful floral seed packet, some twine, and a recycled tin can

and the result was garden-theme decor accents on the cheap:

well, i just figured out how to make an even cheaper 'quarantine crafts' version of them:

because it isn't essential to leave the house for craft supplies,
 i found a way to use floral images clipped from magazines to create my OWN 'seed packets'!
.

continue reading to see how i turned actual trash into a springtime treasure....

happy Easter

wishing a happy Easter and a blessed Resurrection Day to all of you, my friends... 

and if you don't mind, i'm going to 'wax poetic' for a moment 

to share something important with you...

i've realized that one of the reasons i am so drawn to using 

old, scarred, damaged, discarded elements 

to create beautiful decor for my homes and to share with you here on the blog 

is that i myself have felt much the same at times... old, scarred, damaged, discarded. 

i long to not let the experiences and misfortunes that have made me feel 'less than' 

stop me from seeing beauty in life... and beauty and usefulness in the detritus.

when i salvage a bit of wood or an old rusted dented piece of metal, 

or pick up an errant bit of fabric or paper, and turn them into lovely home decor, 

i am finding a way to redeem those forgotten and discarded items. 

it soothes my soul to not let them stay there on the ground in a broken, dirty state, 

but to lift them up and clean them off 

and give them the chance to reveal the beauty that remains - deep within. 

it's not perfection, but it is beauty nonetheless.

do you see where i'm going with this, my friends?

this is what i know that God has done with me, and with many others i know: 

He has not left us to rot away in our broken, damaged state. 

He has not discarded us, but has lifted us up, 

given us the opportunity to be cleaned up and made useful and shiny once again. 

to reveal the beauty that He created within us to be seen once more. 

i have certainly seen that principle at work in my own life... 

that beauty can come from ashes, growth from destruction, and life from death. 

most especially, i see the way that my faith has given me a new start many times over, 

and a glorious hope for the future.

because of that faith in Him and hope for my eternal future, 

this day means a great deal to me. 

and i hope to live every day with the promise of Easter, of resurrection, 

in my heart and on my mind, guiding me through life.

i hope that you, too, will find your hope in Him. 

by the way, there's a really great story behind this wood cross planter that i made into wall art... 

check it out here

a sunny bunny Easter table

 i dunno' what the weather is like where you live, but here, it's positively murky.
gray, rainy, COLD (relatively speaking - it's cold for us!), and dismal.
this whole isolation/quarantine/stay home order would be a LOT easier
if the sun would shine and the weather would warm up 

so we could spend time outside in our yard!

sometimes, we can't wait for the sunshine - or spring - to come to us. 

we have to go to it.
and since we can't go anywhere right now, we have to CREATE a sunny spring.

that's what i did for our Easter table - i created some sunshine!
i grabbed everything yellow i could find and put together a simple, easy, happy tablescape

that's made up of just 'everyday' stuff, coordinated by color.

my homebound friends, you can do this in just minutes with ANY color you have on hand!
don't let being stuck inside the house because of weather or quarantine stop your celebration.

continue reading to see more details that i hope will inspire you to 'get to spring'...

pillows in bloom!

over the many years that i've been decorating 'on the cheap',

i've sewn, hot glued, and simply tied on a LOT of pillow covers.

 recently, some old photos reminded me that i have also embellished pillow covers.

it's a lovely way to bring flowers into your home even if spring hasn't arrived yet!

so i grabbed some of the old photos, and quickly pulled together an embellished pillow

so i can share this fun idea with you...

continue reading to see more of this plus two more bloomin' projects!

NEW! Sweet Sweater Bunny Tails!

just when you thought i had made everything possible with upcycled sweaters...
introducing the springtime creation that has evaded me for years:
Sweet Sweater Bunny Tails! 

this happy spring project made use of some sweater remnants found in a bin in the garage -
including a pink sweater Santa hat!
using the same method as my famous Sweet Sweater Pumpkins, it all came together fast.
i actually spent more time snapping photos and editing them than making the bunny tails!

continue reading to see just how quickly you can make these for Easter...

easter eggs on parade

it's April first - and rather than share a joke or a prank, 
i hope you'll enjoy this slideshow of Easter egg decorating ideas

pulled from my past homewardFOUND blog posts!

for more inspiration, 

see all past Easter egg posts here