Spring decor with natural elements and textures

Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope your weekend has been good to you so far. It's been sunny here in Maine and finally starting to feel like spring -- I love it!

So, it's the perfect weekend to show you my spring decorating. I didn't go crazy this year and I mostly used things I already had on hand. My focus this year was on natural elements and textures, with glossy white accents as contrast. Take a look!

This is the dining room, which is back to being a dining room after we flirted with it becoming a sitting room. On the table is a simple centerpiece in my Pottery Barn lantern that I got for a steal a couple years ago. Inside, you might recognize the jute twine eggs I made over Easter weekend, and my DIY rope-wrapped pot.

The plant inside is an Arabica plant that I picked up a couple weeks ago. I wasn't sure how it'd like being inside the lantern, but it seems to be growing and thriving! The lantern is sitting on a charger from Target.

The white vase and white bird are Michaels finds from a couple years ago. I love the glossy white with the textures of the jute and the greenery. And the colorful bamboo placemats are from Bed Bath and Beyond. They make me happy :)

I spent a few minutes last weekend poking around our backyard to find some sticks and branches, then let them dry out for a few days in the garage. They're quick, fast and cheap fillers for vases. I'd love to have fresh flowers all the time, but they're more a splurge for me than a regular purchase. To add some soft spring textures, I made a little flower out of tissue paper by simply cutting two layers of paper into an irregular circle, poking some floral wire through the middle, and gently folding the tissue paper into a petal shape. I secured with a little hot glue and a little green ribbon around the base.

Recognize this console table? It used to hang out in the living room until I decided to put the media cabinet in its place. I like it in the dining room. It holds our cookbooks and makes a great spot for drinks or appetizers when we're entertaining. But right now it's a great spot for more spring decor!

Let's start at the bottom with the runner -- a past DIY project using some fabric from the remnants bin at Joann. I'm a total sucker for that remnants bin. The bottles are simply old beer bottles wrapped in jute twine. Since there's no art on this wall (yet), I wanted to create some height with this display, so I used more branches and tissue paper flowers. These are some tissue paper pomanders I made (and never used!) for our wedding (I used Martha Stewart's directions, but you can find how-tos everywhere). And yes, I've kept them! I've felt kind of silly hanging onto a box full of tissue paper pomanders, but let me tell you, they've come in quite handy over the years. They just need a little fluffing to look good as new.

My new terrarium is hanging out here too -- I'm happy to report it's still alive! The bird is big brother to the little one on the table.

This bird print, bought  for me by my mom from HomeGoods, adds some fun color to the whole display. This used to hang in our living room but it was a little small for the wall so now I'm trying to find a different home for it. For now, I like it here, especially as it echoes the birds-and-branches thing I've got going on.

This white bowl from Target has the rest of my jute eggs and the yarn ones I made too.

 
And if you like me on Facebook, you'll recognize this glass bottle, my latest flea market find for just 10 bucks. I'm addicted to glass bottles. I particularly like this one with some curvy branches and tissue paper flowers. It looks so romantic!

A couple more photos, because I can't resist...

In short, I bought nothing new for this spring setting -- just the way I like it! :)

Have you decorated for spring yet?

Before I sign off, I just have to take a minute to say my heart goes out to everyone affected by the tragedy in Boston. As I said on my Facebook page, this one hits close to home for me -- Boston is really the heart of New England, and I have so many happy memories of time spent there, from going to the Science Museum on school field trips, to Red Sox games with my husband, to visiting good friends who live there. I'm happy all my friends were safe, but my heart breaks for those whose loved ones were not as lucky. And while they may have apprehended the people responsible, the ordeal is not over for those who have to continue healing and grieving.

I can't do much to help, but I can donate blood, and I did last week. My proximity to Boston means my donation might actually be transported there if they have a shortage and need it. I'm a big advocate of blood donation, so wherever you are, I urge you to consider taking the time to donate blood. One pint of donated blood can save up to three lives! It feels so good to know you're making that kind of impact.

A springtime terrarium centerpiece

A couple weeks ago, a friend asked me if I was interested in going to a class at a local greenhouse on how to make a terrarium. I didn't know a lot about terrariums, but I was intrigued, so I said yes!

The class included all the supplies we needed -- a glass container, rocks, charcoal, soil, moss and plants -- plus a handy-dandy handout on how to care for them. I seriously, totally kept all the little tags on my plants so I could tell you all what I planted in here...and I lost them.

So, I wish I could tell you what I've got growing in here, but I can't, except that I remember the low-growing green one is called baby tears. I remember that because it kind of bummed me out, but the plant was pretty so I used it.

The instructor said to keep the terrarium in medium light. It makes a lovely spring centerpiece on the dining room table.

Every few days I give it a mist with a mister. I'm really nervous about keeping it alive, since I'm got a pretty black thumb. So far, so good.

I'd love to find a tiny, adorable little animal figurine to put in here. I'm on the hunt for just the right addition.

Have you ever made a terrarium? Any tips for keeping it alive -- I think I'll need them!

A cozy fall centerpiece

Hello, and happy October, everyone!

I'm totally slacking at my fall "mantel," but I did manage to fall-ify the dining room table, so I had to show it off.

I used a table runner I bought last year from Target; it's got a bit of a sparkle, but is otherwise pretty neutral, so I love using it. I filled the Pottery Barn lantern I scored for a good deal with some orange and white mini pumpkins -- I'm swooning over it!

To complement my mini-pumpkin masterpiece, I scattered some pine cones I collected from the yard last year, as well as mini pine cones, cinnamon sticks and dried cranberries from some potpourri I have. I also added a few orange-hued and clear tealight holders.

I wrapped the clear tealight holders in pieces of bark I brought back from our summer camping trip. No, I didn't pull the bark off a tree -- I found it along the beach; the tree it was on had rotted away, but the bark was intact and had dried in these really cool curliques that made it easy to wrap it around the tealight holders. I love the texture it adds, and that you can see the opposite side of the bark too.

I'm really loving this autumn look! It's warm and cozy and the perfect backdrop for a yummy fall meal, like a roasted pork loin with sweet potatoes and apples. Yum yum!!

The only thing I bought were the pumpkins, which were only a few dollars at the grocery store, of all places. I hope they last me through the month, but we'll see.

Here's a look at the dining room table before, when it was decorated for spring. I did decorate it for summer, but it was very simple, so I never showed it to you, I don't think.

BEFORE

And now, one last time!

Have you done your fall decorating yet, or are you behind like me? I'm hoping to tackle my "mantle" (I say mantle in quotes because it's really floating shelves!) this week...I'd love to see your fall decorating, so leave a comment with a link back to you! Maybe your creativity will rub off on me :)

P.S. You might notice my blog has a new header now! Let me know what you think of it -- I'd love to hear your feedback!

Linking up!

Spray painted pedestal bowl

Two posts in two days, holy cow! I'm such an overachiever! You all must be special :)

Actually, I really wanted to participate in this Home May'd link party on spray paint projects. It's the first in a series of summer-themed parties, and was the kick in the booty I needed to get over my spray paint fear. The truth is, I bought the spray paint like three months ago but never got around to using it. I'd never used spray paint before (nope, no teenage-angsty tagging for me!), and I was sceeeeered. But thanks to this link party, I decided to just suck it up and do it!

Enter: the wire pedestal bowl.

It was my mom's and she wasn't using it, so she gave it to me. I put Christmas ornaments in it during the holidays, but since then it's sat in my closet. I decided it needed a little facelift -- the dark bronze color wasn't doing it for me.

So I whipped out my mini can of Krylon Short Cuts in Antique Bronze.

I mostly followed the directions on the can. I gave the whole thing a light sand to help give the paint something to adhere to. While most of it is metal, the rim is kind of wood or wicker material.

Then, I fashioned myself a little spray-painting booth using a couple old boxes.

I set up shop in the basement, but then I started imagining spray paint floating through the air and contaminating the hubs' home brewing setup, and I got nervous. Even though it was a little damp outside, I moved everything onto the grass to do the spraying.

I let it dry for about an hour, then sprayed it again. A couple hours later and it was dry to the touch, so I brought it in and gave it a new home on our dining room table.

Voila!

 

Pretty cute, huh? I love its shape, especially the base. I filled it with these little birch pieces that were left over from our wedding decorations for a simple but rustic look.

Overall, I'm happy with my first spray-painting project. It's not perfect -- one side of the bottom is a little cracked. Maybe I should have primed it, or cleaned it better. I'm sure the damp weather didn't help either. But I don't mind. It's not that noticeable and this bowl probably won't be out all the time, so I don't think I'll bother to sand it down and repaint. The original metal was also kind of beat up, which is why you can see a few bumps and bubbles.

It also looks good with my new zinc letters!

All in all, it was pretty quick and easy -- I can see the appeal of that. But I didn't enjoy the fumes at all, and I couldn't stop thinking about what dangerous chemicals I was exposing myself to, even though I did my best to keep my distance. I'll probably use spray paint again, but I won't be using it all the time.

Linking up to Sarah @ Thrify Decor Chick's Spray Paint Party! There are almost 200 projects linked up already -- go and check them out!

And if you want to find out how to really spray paint something (instead of just winging it like me), check out Centsational Girl's FAQ. Seriously, she is the queen of spray paint!

I'm also linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!

In other news, the hubs and I finally booked our hotels for our anniversary vacation next month! (Procrastinate much??). We'll be spending two nights camping out in Vermont for a friend's wedding. Our anniversary night, we'll be in Burlington, at a Marriott next to Lake Champlain (and we're using Marriott points, so it's free, yay!). 

Then we're off to Quebec City for three nights. We booked this adorable little hotel in the old part of the city. I think my favorite part is that they hang a little basket of pastries, fruit and juice on your door every morning. LOVE it! I am so excited to walk around the old city, walking around the little streets, eating, window shopping, going to museums, eating...wait, did I already say eating...?? :) 

If you have any recommendations for places to eat or things to do in Quebec City, or even Burlington, I'd love to hear them!