Simple yet fun DIY Easter project!

I love this time of the year don't you? The sun's shining, the spring flowers are out, the nights are longer....and there's chocolate everywhere. What could possibly be better?! Oh and there's that delicious Easter lunch to look forward to on Sunday too. In case you're in charge of laying the table for the big event - here's some perfectly Danish Easter egg painting inspiration from Ferm Living to enjoy. Simple yet fun and the result is oh so cool.

Ferm Living

Here are my tips for egg painting:

- add eggs to water and simmer for 10 minutes before removing and placing in cold water
- lay out some newspaper to protect your surface
- use a brush and acrylic paint to decorate the egg, painting one half first and let it dry before painting the other half.
- to get a beautiful result for your easter table stick to one colour scheme for all your eggs but use different patterns.

Time to get cracking....(sorry)

I hope you have a very Happy Easter and see you Monday!

Can't keep your fingers off your eggs...?

Well, it seems, neither can I! 

Having gone just a little bit bananas with the lilac craft paper I used for my moustache-adorned egg heads last week, a few more mini craft projects took form in my spring-desperate head. So, what to do with some miniature bunting...?

Well, it quite obviously needs a sponge cake, some chocolate/coffee frosting, 

a few chocolate fingers and some mini eggs. 

In short: the bunting needs an Easter cake to go with it!

 And who am I to argue with that?

Whether you celebrate Easter or not, 

I hope your weekend is a lovely and relaxing one, 

and - dare I say it? - a warm and spring-like one too!

Helena

Egg Heads...

No, of course I did not mean you, dear readers! 

The egg head heading refers to these three gentlemen that were the result of last night's itchy craft fingers having been allowed to play. Inspired by a photo I had seen on Pinterest (unfortunately I cannot remember where, so I apologise that there is no source stated), I dug out some old craft paper, three mini jam jars (those you often get with hotel breakfasts and which, I found out when I asked in a B&B last summer, are often thrown away and not recycled... which now makes me ask if I can take them home instead!), a black  pen and the three remaining eggs I could find in our fridge. And ta-daa, instant Easter fun! 

***

... and on the subject of itchy craft fingers... I thought I might continue the theme of 'show and tell' by showing you some wands I made for a certain young gentleman's Harry Potter birthday party a few days ago.. Welcome to Hogwarts!

I found some very easy step-by-step instructions here on how to make a Harry Potter wand that lived up to my health and safety conscious, do-not-like-any-children-to-get-their-eyes-poked-out-at-the-party philosophy. It was my first encounter with a glue gun ("What?" I hear you say, "a crafty girl without a glue gun???") and after an initial farcical few minutes that would give Mr Bean a run for his money, we bonded quite well (pardon the pun), the glue gun and I. 

I made a few changes to the original instructions and used two sheets of paper, one rolled inside the other, for stability, and I did not use any primer or paint several coats - instead I used a couple of tester pots in black and two different shades of brown and slabbed on the paint a little haphazardly, trying to achieve that distressed look. The wands were surprisingly easy to make,   and even if they will not last a lifetime, at least they are safe and proved very useful for the spells and potion making the little wizards undertook at the party...

Happy Sunday, everyone, and may it be a magical one!

Helena

Easter Table Ideas

I love Easter.  It's my favorite holiday and I always start planning for it early.  I have so many cherished Easter memories with my hubby and kids.  Hard to believe how time flies.  This year I wanted to create something fun and special to celebrate Easter and I am thrilled to be able to share it with you.  Yes, I know it isn't even Valentine's Day yet but Easter is in March this year, so it will be here before you know it.  :)

I created these egg shaped mini bread board sets just for Easter and I am so proud of them.  They are made from a special type of walnut that my hubby gets that I just love because of the beautiful shade of color through it......kinda like Easter eggs.  :)

For our table, I always like to use white dishes because that's my favorite but I also wanted to add a splash of Easter color so I picked up these lovely blue pasta bowls at Crate and Barrel.  They were a splurge for me but I couldn't resist and we eat a lot of pasta so hey, why not, right?

I also wanted something to put Easter treats in for my kids and thought that these burlap sacks were just the cutest thing ever.  I picked them up on Etsy here.

For some reason, I'm drawn to anything egg shaped, especially involving the kitchen, so making these boards was seriously so much fun.  They will be available in my Etsy shop for just the Easter holiday.  And they will only be available in this walnut. 

My hubby found this old table/desk and I absolutely love it.  When he found it, the drawer was full of all kinds of vintage brochures and letters, which were lots of fun to look at.  I had so much fun using it for this photo shoot.  If it was bigger and had enough space for 6 people, I would totally use it for our dining table.

So if you'd like to purchase a set of these cute little boards for Easter, click here.   Since this is a special seasonal item, quantities are limited.

And thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to visit and leave a sweet comment here on the blog.  I may not be able to respond to each of you, but know that I read every single comment and appreciate each one so much.   And a huge thank you to all my shop customers.  YOU make it possible for me to do what I love.....create.  :)

Easter Blessings to each of you!!

~Diana

Having the Easter blues...

Fewer and fewer are the new decorating details that come over my threshold these days... I like to try to either recycle/upcycle  - such as this former sweet corn tin, now with a new coat of a magnolia paper napkin glued on with découpage glue - or find second hand treasures to play with...

... or simply find pretties in Mother Nature's own treasure chest to decorate with...

However, I must confess to having a certain weakness for pretty tea towels, and when I stumbled upon this blue hen towel, my heart started beating fast enough for my wallet to jump out of my bag and land on the shop counter, just next to the money-hungry till...

After a quick deliberation, the banana bread jury also gave the thumbs up to this new member of the Swenglish tea towel family, and as you can see, this particular banana cake seems to enjoy being snuggled up in the cosy, clucking embrace of its new blue coat.

(For those of you wondering just for how long this banana cake was allowed to stay wrapped up like this before passing through the greedy jaws of yours truly and her offspring... well, I could not possibly reveal that without tainting my reputation...)

Having seen many different and creative "eggventions" in magazines and blogs lately, I thought I might have a go at a particularly cuddly, fluffy one (inspired by Hanna at Sjarmerende GJENBRUK, made from catkins), but I think my patience was not doing me any favours that day, and the result was not nearly as fluffy and fine as Hanna's. Next year I think I might try her pretty "popcorn eggs" instead. At least I can then eat any "failed attempts"...

The same napkins (as above on the tin) were used two years ago, 

also then involving Easter decorations...

And with these photos from our little town...

(Click on the images if you want to see them larger and sharper.)

... and a particularly pretty blue beauty...

I wish you a peaceful and lovely Easter weekend!

Helena

Happy Easter...

... to all you happy bunnies out there!

Inspired by the beautiful blog Helt Enkelt, http://heltenkelthosmig.blogspot.com/, and by other bloggers who this year have gone to town with letters in their decorations, these eggs were born in the Swenglish Home last night.

Will they hatch into little alphabet chicks charging around the kitchen tomorrow? I promise I will let you know...

Don't put all your eggs in one basket...

Perhaps save some for a "cagey egg house"..?


Pussy willow with furry catkins - spring vibes!

Easter Hat parade at school yesterday, 'Eggventions' competition today - phew, with those crafty parental assistance demands, there is not much time left to eggify neither blog nor house ...

Will the Easter Bunny still find its way to the Swenglish Home, I wonder?

Spot the chick...

Last year our kitchen was green and the eggs spotty. This year, gone the green and I doubt even the most observant among you would be able to spot any polka-dotted pleasure in the Swenglish Home.

No, this year we have a different plan.

Hm.

Not entirely sure what that plan is yet, but it will come to me.

Soon.

Help?!