March 30, 2017

Set the Table - Easter Breakfast



Set the Table - Easter Breakfast






A Yellow and Pink table setting.  It is cheerful and Spring-like, set up in the kitchen.







The kitchen table is small, so the centrepiece is set up at the back of the table.





The Myrtle topiary is sitting in an apothecary drawer and naturally dyed Easter Eggs placed in a glass hurricane.




My replica chocolate mould bunny sits atop vintage books and the small frame contains a Gelli print.






A vintage quilt c1940's-50's is used as a tablecloth.   I believe the pattern is Dresden Plate.





Faux Peony flowers are placed in the flower pots.







The whole place setting.



A List of Elements Used in the Place Setting

Vintage Elements

From my own collection

Quilt - Dresden Pattern C1940's-50's
Yellow Flower Pots - McCoy Pottery
Yellow Books
Apothecary Drawer

Other Elements

Chargers - Originally from Pier 1 - they have been re-painted
Flatware - Duffield, Bombay Co.
White Dinner and Side plates - Richmond, Johnson Bros.
Salad Plates - Yellow with Roses - Duchess
Cups - Yellow Daffodil - Royal Heritage by Queens
Chicken Egg Cups - Source Unknown
Napkins - Pink Damask - Lintex table
Faux Bunny Mould - Michael's
Hurricane - Bowrings
Myrtle Topiary - Vandermeer Nursery and Garden Centre



Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter celebration
.


I am Linking With.....
Home Matters



Barbara






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March 29, 2017

Spring - Two Easter Egg Tutorials Plus Some Favourite Things About Spring

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Spring is a wonderful time of the Year and in less than One Month it will be here.

If you live in a climate that experiences Snow and Ice, it is especially Welcome when it finally arrives.

It is one season that I eagerly anticipate and so I start planning all the things I would like to accomplish in this season of renewal.  For me, it always starts with decorating various areas of the house.  It is a time to put away the things of Winter and bring out the Pastels and Happy Colours of Spring, the soft yellows, pinks, blues, greens.

Here are are Some of My Favourite Things in Spring


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Marbleized Easter Eggs
(The Tutorial for Making Marbelized Eggs is Below)



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Baby Chics to Hold




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Apple Blossoms



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Early Spring Flowers




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More Apple Blossoms



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Cows with Calves On Pasture



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Again with the Apple Blossoms



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Kittens in the Barn



Easter Egg Tutorials

March 27, 2017

Watercolour Eggs for Easter


Watercolour Eggs for Easter


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Every once in a while I stick my brush into some watercolour paints and dabble a bit with them on some paper.

There are a couple of techniques used with watercolour paints that create texture or help to move the paint around in unusual ways.

Why not try it on eggs, I thought?  So I did.

Before starting you should know that I used the same plastic eggs that I used in other tutorials.  They are purchased at the dollar store, they are white and come in a carton, and they feel like real eggs.

This method would also work on hard-cooked or blown-out eggs too.



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Here is a List of Materials

White Eggs - As many as you want to make either plastic, hard boiled, or blown
Watercolours - In tubes, in cakes, or pencils
Round toothpicks or small brush handle
Flat artists brush
A piece of dry foam the type used for arranging flowers or foam meat tray
Small awl
A container of water
Table Salt
Rubbing alcohol
Tin foil plate


Method


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  1. Start by punching out the bottom of the plastic egg with the awl.
  2. The 2nd picture is showing you the size of the hole made with the awl.
  3. Insert 2 round toothpicks into the hole.  This will be your handle.
  4. Using the watercolour pencils cover the egg with as many colours as you want.  Children would like this part.  Remind them to colour the ends of the eggs too.


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    5.  Using a brush dipped in water start moving the paint around.  This is the fun part.  The pencil lines will start to dissolve and turn into paint.



6.  Colours will start to blend together.



7.  Add more water as needed.  Keep moving the paint until the pencil lines are gone.  The paint will now be runny and flowing all around the egg as you turn it.



8.  Once it gets to the stage that it is good and runny and you think it might drip onto the table generously sprinkle salt all over the egg.  Right away you will notice that the salt arrests the flow of paint and stops it from dripping or moving.  Set the egg in the foam to dry

        

         When the egg is completely dry brush all the salt off with your hands.



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As you can see from the above picture, the salt makes interesting textures and no two eggs will be exactly alike.


Note:

If you are using hard-cooked eggs or blown-out eggs watercolour paints may work better than watercolour pencils.
The pressure from the pencils may cause the egg shells to crack or break.  In that case, follow the instruction below.  The paint works equally well on plastic eggs.



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A.  These are my messy trays of cake watercolour paints and two tubes of watercolour paint.  The bottom tray is a child's paint tray.  Nothing fancy.

If you opt to use paints instead dip your brush into water and start working the paint.  When you fill your brush paint your egg.  You can rinse the brush and add a different colour, as you wish.

    Continue using instructions 7 and 8.
    
B.  When using tube paints it is best to work from a palette.   A tin foil plate or paper plate will work.  Squeeze a small amount of paint from the tube onto your palette.  Squeeze out as many colours as you want to use keeping them separate from each other.  Start with very small amounts of paint.

Again, fill your brush with water and go into the paint to wet it and get it to the right consistency.  Paint the egg.  Add additional colours or not as you wish.
  In picture B above two colours blue and green were used.

    Continue following the instructions above for 7 and 8.

C. This picture just shows the colour combinations used on the eggs.

D.  Because they are watercolour eggs the paint will re-activate if they get wet.  If you plan to use them outside or anywhere where they might get wet, including table top they should be sprayed with a clear sealer or wax.  Don't use a water-based sealer as it will re-activate the paint.



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Try a different technique and use rubbing alcohol to move the paint.

Paint the egg as in the instructions above.  Don't use salt.  Instead, wait until the paint starts to dry and then dip a very small brush into alcohol.  Start painting lines in the paint.  As soon as the brush touches the wet paint you will see the paint move away from the alcohol.  Once the paint dries the alcohol is ineffective in moving the paint.


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The picture above shows some effects you can achieve using the mediums talked about.




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This was a fun experiment and I like the results.  I think kids would like making them.  My granddaughter is coming this weekend.  We will make some together.



Thanks for stopping by.




I am Linking With.....





Barbara

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March 23, 2017

Set the Table Bunnies & Cabbages


Set the Table Bunnies & Cabbages

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The theme for Easter in the Dining Room is

Bunnies and Cabbages.

As you will see there isn't an Easter Egg in sight on the table.


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The cabbages are silk and they came in little pots.




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The colour scheme is White/Green/Blue.

Four White Bunnies have taken up residence on the table.

The Green wine glasses are used quite often and I have had them for a few years.  I don't know the name of the pattern or remember where I purchased them.  

A pair of white wooden candlesticks with white pillar candles stands one at either end of the table.




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The table runner is white, blue, and green printed cotton blend.

The napkins are a pale green with lace border.


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This Flatware is 18/10 Stainless Steel and the pattern is
Duffield.

I look for 18/10 Stainless when I am shopping as it seems to be of better quality than some other Stainless.


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Here is the place setting altogether.




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The sun was shining when I took these pictures. 




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The smaller bunnies seem to be playing around the little wood bench.

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While the larger bunnies appear to be watching them.

Green and white flowers are tucked under the bench as well as another cabbage.



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The plates are stacked on top of water hyacinth place mats.

The dinner plate and bowl are Royal Albert the For All Seasons series.  This set is called Breath of Spring.  They are mostly white with a little colour around the border.  The colours on the bowl and plate are soft and delicate.  Right away the green in the leaves jumps out and ties in with the colour scheme.  The flowers on the plates are the softest pink and barely there.

The Cabbage Salad plate is Bordallo Pinheiro.  I wish I had more of them.


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The larger bunny above measures 18" H x 11 " W


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The smaller bunny (only because it is crouched down) measures 15" H x 12" W.




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The table setting is quite simple.  There is nothing complicated about it.

The theme and colour scheme go well together.    White bunnies and green cabbages set the theme and the beginning of a colour scheme. When the colour palette is kept to three or a maximum of four colours things start to mesh.


Here is a List of some of the Elements on the Table

Table Runner - Ralph Lauren
Napkins - Lenox
Flatware, Duffield - Bombay Co.
Placemats - The Real Canadian Superstore (last year)
Cabbages - Michael's
Carrots - Home Sense (last year)
Plates - Royal Albert, For All Seasons, Breath of Spring. (Stopped making in 1990)
Salad Plate - Cabbage plate by Bordallo Pinheiro
Wine glasses - Unknown
Large Bunnies - Pier 1
Small Bunnies - They were a gift a few years ago.
Blue Bench - Purchased from a Craft show about 3 years ago.



I hope the information is helpful.




Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful Easter.



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Come along on a visit to the following blogs.....

Tablescape Thursday
Monday Social #28
The Scoop
Share Your Style #112
Home Matters #130




Barbara



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Home Matters #130

March 21, 2017

Spring Wreath



Spring Wreath



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The weather here has been very un-Springlike.  It has been cold and windy.  I almost forgot.  March is supposed to be windy.  We were lucky that last week's snowstorm gave us only a dusting of snow.

It is the first day of Spring, so no matter the weather I have to put the Spring wreath on the front door.  If the weather had been nicer it would have been out there sooner.




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I started with this galvanised metal contraption.  I bought it last week when I had lunch with some friends at a favourite lunch and shopping location, White Feather Country Store.  My friends teased me that it looked like a bedpan.  I admit that it does, but it really isn't.




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I had flower bushes so I cut all the stems off each bush.  I also filled the container with dry foam and then covered it with moss.
Not seen in the photo, I added a string through the holes in the back of the container to hang it.



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Yesterday we walked down by the pond.  It was the first time we had been there since December.  Since Christmas, there has been too much snow to walk across the field until now.  By next week it will be too muddy if we get the warmer weather that has been forecast.




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Sasha is always ready for a walk and was happy to come along.







Here is a look at the bunkie and this bush is loaded with pussy-willows.  Naturally, I cut some to take back to the house.

This is definitely a sign of Spring.  Also, the Grackles and Robins are back.  I'm pretty sure the Mourning Doves were trying to build a nest today.





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I tried to group some of the flowers such as the tulips.  Some of the other stems were placed randomly throughout the arrangement.




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I had lots of flowers so they are packed in tight.





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A little nest is tucked in between the purple flowers and the tulips.





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A closer look at the nest.





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Under the nest a few pussy-willow branches.





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Okay Spring, I am ready.



Thanks for stopping by.



Barbara


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