Incoming! Egg Cartons, Part Two

In my last post I told you about the cartons I sent to April and Jackie for our egg carton swap.These are the treasures that arrived at my home over the past few days!

Jackie's was first. I'm not sure you can get the elaborate cutting and texture of her carton lid. If you see the "Paris" word on the side, you'll know she captured one of my interests!

 

There you see it! It was so stuffed that it came "tied up" with a pretty ribbon.

 

Then inside, the butterflies on the inside top lid were also dimensional. Beautiful.

And look at all the pretties within! I loved them all -- the buttons and bird-in-a-pot, the pretty pin, the fun lace trims. There were beads, thread, and these very cute tags to use for keeping notes!

It was such a treat.

Of course, the treats weren't over! April's then arrived. Hers was hand painted with a very pretty and spring border on it that made me sing! And it was one of my favorite colors, too!

And it, too, was stuffed with goodies. April is a jewelry maker and there were two lovely pieces she had made, along with Easter eggs (which she had also made), buttons and beads, pretty trims. I liked the "shred" she used -- patterns! She also made the wee bunny of paper mache. And I loved the bottle filled with beads!

She really captured so many of my passions and interests! I was delighted!

I can't say thank you enough to these two wonderful, talented and generous women for sharing their art and their gifts with me. And a special thanks to Jennifer at Amusing Provincial for pulling it all together!

Sharing Egg Carton Surprises!

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was involved in the "Amusing Provincial" egg carton swap.We were given two names, contacted the people to find some of their interests or favorites and then decorated egg cartons which we stuffed with treasures.

Jackie and April were my partners. I couldn't find the six-egg cartons, so I used a dozen. I started with gessoing the cartons, then painting.

 

I put moss in the cups to protect the items and "finish" it.

Then I added the paper embellishments. Roses for one...

Butterflies for another.

 

I wanted to be sure the tops would close all the way so that after the recipient took out the materials inside, they could reuse them to store holiday things or just for fun.

Then the fun part began -- decorating the tops! I decided on a bird and spring theme for both of them.

 

They were quite similar, yet because of the color and arrangement, different as well.

 

Then it was time to stuff them!

 

I had fun with this, combining some Easter candy elements (you must have chocolate!) with art and play things, like spools of lace, ribbon, silk flowers in small envelopes,buttons, floss, French magnets and little bits and bobs!

After that, I had to make sure they stayed intact during shipping, so out came the ribbon.

The green was more rustic and I used a burlap ribbon for that one.

I had a ball doing these and sent them off with a slightly heavy heart! They because part of my life for about a week! Come back soon because in the next post, I'll share the ones I received! (For more on our Easter, check it out HERE.

Easter Flashback

Couldn't resist sharing a few holiday photo memories with you from this season!

Like Eggs!

Aren't they the most colorful things!

Rick doesn't bother to boil his before he dyes them. I'm a little more cautious!

I love doing the table. I use the eggs and it's fun to get out the spring dishes. That's Greg's Easter Basket over at the right.

Of course, watching the neighbor kids do their egg hunt is a tradition!

I love it! And there are more every year, it seems!

 

"Farmer" Rick loved his Easter "basket," in a garden tray with strawberries to grow, seeds and lots of snacks!

And it was fun having Greg home!

 

Especially when he nailed Rick with a confetti-filled Easter egg!

And to have them both at the table was great. All that was missing was Kevin and Molly.

There had to be some pink.

And there had to be some Lizzie -- who was clearly pushing her luck!

Lin's angel was a sweet reminder of the real meaning of Easter.

I hope yours was lovely. And remember...

Keep looking up!

Happy Easter!

Sending Lovely Easter Wishes

Please feel free to click on any of the images and save them for your own work.

Because I can't visit all of you and give you an Easter basket...

... but I can share some images for Easters yet to come!

Have a beautiful day!

Easter Through the Years

Here comes Peter Cottontail, bringing with him tons of memories!

 

Lots of those memories center around growing up in church choir. All 250 of us, from wee ones to seniors, would like up and march in to Plymouth Congregational Church to the sound of trumpets. 

Our choirmaster, Dr. Klausli (and his wife Dorothy, who were trained in the English tradition) kept us on task and woe be to the child who acted out!

 

Between the two services, choir parents (including mine) would serve us a grand breakfast. I wish I had photos of that!

But I do have photos of memories. Oh! Those baskets!

David and I just loved them!

In high school, I had my own Easter bunny (a gift from my friend Mary, much to the chagrin of my mother!)

 

And lest you should think I come upon my decorating crazies independently, think again! Mom had the egg tree market cornered years ago! (I still have some of her eggs; they are among my favorites!)

Easter can be a time of gathering people together who have no place else to go. My family always invited some of my college friends who weren't headed home during the holiday. It was a tradition that remained. One of the most poignant memories is when Rick's next door neighbor, Lucinda, joined us. About a month later she died suddenly, following surgical complications.

 

This is the first Easter without our Gypsy boy. I'd like to think he's found his next life already.

Egg dying is a must! 

This is a Good Friday tradition with our friends Mark and Jan. 

It's usually followed by a screening of "Life of Brian," but sometimes we're just too tired to hang in there! 

Jan and I often go to the market on that Saturday. It's always a glorious mass of color.

I can never decide what to buy. A couple of years ago, we fell totally in love with rununculus.I think between the two of us, we bought a dozen plants!

Yes, buy I do, and the centerpiece is the result. I think the simple parrot tulips were a favorite.

Of course, the Easter (and spring) china comes out.

And so do the bunnies. You didn't think I was doing Easter without the bunnies, did you?

 

Or chicks!

 

I love watching my next door neighbor's Easter egg hunt. The little kids get bigger every year!

So does our gang!

It's nice to sometimes have Molly at the table, whether it is brunch or dinner!

My neighbor always brings over traditional Italian Easter pastries. They have become another part of my tradition.

 

And, there are the traditional foods -- definitely deviled eggs.

 

Ina Garten's Frozen Key Lime Pie is a hit, too!

And eggs. Of course -- they are centerpieces, deviled, chopped up in salads... you name it!

Ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus. We're pretty traditional.

 

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover or Equinox, I hope you have traditions that have followed you through the years that you are enjoying as we inch toward spring. 

Wishing you happiness!