How to plant a living Easter basket

Last year I started a new tradition for my children. One that I hope to continue on through their childhood. Giving them a living Easter basket. This is such a fun spin on the traditional basket filling. My friends over at Garden Answer have an awesome tutorial video on how to do it and with just a couple weeks from Easter, you still have plenty of time to do this. It was even fun to include my oldest in on the process of planting and watching the grass grow. Whatever your Easter tradition is, this was so much fun. Plus the fresh green grass was just a bonus to have in the house with Spring around the corner.

What you will need:
basket
white plastic bag
potting soil
scissors 
perennial rye seed
water bottle
cling wrap 

Follow the tutorial on Garden Answer's youtube here.

I had permission to share the final picture and it turned out so fun and festive. Enjoy!

DIY Industrial Shelves

I have been wanting to do this project for a few months now. I had the hardware sitting in the trunk of our car from a Home Depot trip back in January and finally on Sunday decided to get it done. This was a super easy project and required little knowledge in construction. I actually followed this fellow bloggers step by step instructions here. I made a few adjustments. My shelves are 43 inches. I made sure to sand down the edges and round the corners using an electric sander. I wanted these to look like they were made to be shelves, not just two boards that we cut. I skipped spray painting the pipe, I like that industrial look and made some curtain rods in my sons room (I will do a blog post on that another day). I also used the stain color honey. I absolutely love this stain color. I originally thought I had wanted to use a dark walnut color but this color is exactly how I pictured them. 

My husband and I are far from handy and lord help us if we ever decide to remodel a home one day in the future. Even though we aren't super handy, I love working on projects with him. My father is law is amazing with wood working. My in laws own 3 coffee shops and he is responsible for designing and or creating most of the decor and tables. His work is incredible and eclectic and all new customers that come in are in awe of the decor. Check out some photos of the coffee shop on their website here. 

These shelves are incredibly functional and could be used in any room. I definitely am planning to make more. I look forward to changing up the decor seasonally. I hope I inspire you to make some, you won't be disappointed!

How to make a Magnolia Wreath

I'm excited to share this tutorial on How to make a Magnolia Wreath. If you are a fan of fixer upper like me, you know all about them. When I was browsing The Magnolia Market Shop online (lets be honest, I do this often) I was taken back a bit on the price of the famous magnolia wreath, I just could not justify spending $95. So I decided to make my own, using real Magnolia leaves and it only cost me $34.

You will need:

1. Two bunches of Magnolia Leaves. I ordered these from our local florist and they took only 2 days to arrive. They Cost $12/bunch

2. A grapevine wreath. You can find these at just about any craft store. For convenience, I also grabbed this at the florist when I went to pick up my magnolia. It cost $10. 

3. A pair of hand pruners.  I already had these on hand.

4. Paddle wire. I had this on hand from past wreath making and previously purchased from our local nursery. 

I did not photograph how I made it for lack of extra hands so I will try my best to explain. First you will want to clip excess stem from the magnolia, leaving a a couple inches to be able to attach it to your wreath. After you have done this, wrap the paddle wire around your wreath to attach. Grab your magnolia stem and lay it at a slight angle and wrap with your wire. *make sure you are wrapping tight enough for it to stay in place. Continue to wrap more magnolia stems in a counter clockwise pattern until the wreath is finished. You will place the top leaves over the stem you wrapped to hide it all the way around.  *note that you will not cut the paddle wire until you are completely done and ready and finished. It will be one continuous motion. 

I am super happy with the way it turned out! And for the price, it's just perfect. I love the look of the green and brown leaves! If you want to see a different way to make one, check out this tutorial from Garden Answer. She is just the best!

Dining room facelift

I am constantly doing projects around our home and trying to find my style. My next main focus is our dining room. When we moved into our home, we were gifted a beautiful old vintage Ethan Allen table. It's solid oak and has its fair share of dings and dents but I love it. It's perfect with small children because I don't have to worry about anything. Like most homes, our dining room is also a main focus, so I want to give it a functional facelift and make it feel more cozy and loved.  By the way, like most newlyweds and young couples, we have few furniture pieces that we have purchased on our own. We were given well loved furniture when we first moved in.The dining chairs we currently have are clunky and don't tuck under the table. They take up a lot of space and it already is limited. I'm so excited to be getting new chairs in a few weeks. I'm also hoping that by creating this space that our table doesn't continue to be the catch all spot. We use the dining room doors as our main entrance daily so it tends to get cluttered. I created this inspiration board with a few things I hope to incorporate. I can't wait to share before and after pictures with you.

Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme Baby Shower

Five years ago in February I threw a baby shower for one of my dear co-workers. This is one of my 

favorite parties that I have ever hosted. Can I just say that I LOVE hosting parties, especially one with a theme! I had so much fun with this one and it was close to my heart. When I was younger I just loved Nursery Rhymes and would read out of the Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes book with my great Aunt Sandy. I think I knew almost all of the them by heart. It was great refreshing my mind on these and  I picked some of my favorite to pair goodies with. My friend April and I were both pregnant with our first babies and neither of us knew the sex of our babies baby. I was a few months behind her. This was a great gender neutral theme. Everyone had a great time.

I borrowed from these GORGEOUS tea cups from my grandmother. They were passed down to her from her mother. It was such a fun touch. Each cup had it's own matching saucer. These are very special to her and I was blessed she let me borrow them. 

I had cute card stock on hand and found the vintage pictures online. I typed labels for each and assembled them. I hope you enjoy this party idea!