Fun and Easy Spring Photo Tradition

These days it’s hard to go more than a block without noticing the beautiful blooming trees and emerging daffodils and tulips.  Why not capture these to enjoy throughout the year and start a new annual spring tradition!

Take your camera and snap photos of your favorite colors.  Try taking close-up shots of blossoms or full-frame shots of a daffodil.  If you have children or a pet, why not include them in front of a lush bush or among a bunch of tulips?  Let your creativity flow, and try interesting angles, or unusual framing.
 

After you’ve evaluated the photos, choose your favorites.  Then group 4 or 6 in a neat square or rectangle on a hallway wall.  Choose matching 8x10 frames that work with your home’s décor, black, brushed nickel, white, chocolate brown, whatever works best in your home.

If you didn’t include family or pets in the original photos, why not take recent photos (maybe a Spring school photo) of your family and intersperse them with the beautiful blooms.  This is a fun and unique way to display your latest portraits.

And, to take this tradition beyond an annual event, why not update the wall each season; when the foliage changes to the lush greens of summer, or to the striking burnt oranges and yellows of fall or the beautiful, stark landscape of winter?  

Contributed by Heather Martinez

Elegant and Easy Easter Centerpieces

In a few days, you’ll be sitting down to a fabulous Easter brunch, or perhaps you’ll be hosting a family dinner after the egg hunt outside.  How does your table look?  If you're feeling at a loss and want to try something different from the standard Easter bouquet, we have several easy and beautiful ideas that you can try this year! 

One quick and unique table centerpiece idea is to find several small baskets or, if you’re lucky, a few “nests.  Gather up your decorated eggs and fill each basket or nest with dyed Easter eggs.  A good decorating tip:  if you fill each nest with the same color, it will really pack an elegant punch!  

Next, scatter votives or candlesticks throughout (in coordinating colors if you have them), and you have a simple and elegant Easter table!  Want to take it one step further?  Tie the napkins with raffia in coordinating colors.

Another modern but stylish idea is to take a pair of clear glass hurricanes and fill with a few inches of water in the bottom.  Next, add pure white hard-boiled eggs.  

You can then accessorize with your favorite white blooms using the eggs below to secure the stems.  Even in the most sophisticated home this modern arrangement will look amazing!

Our last idea is just plain simple and really easy.   Use your dessert as your centerpiece!  If you are having cake, why not frost it in pure white and decorate it with edible flowers (be sure they are edible, and not from a nursery where they might have been sprayed with something less than safe).  Place the cake on a snazzy, footed cake plate, toss a few petals on the table surrounding the cake plate, and your table will look luscious!

Enjoy trying something new this Easter!

Contributed by Heather Martinez

Quick Fixes for the Late Winter Blahs

So, here it is -- late winter.  Easter is more than a month away and the early blooms have yet to start peeking their heads out.  It’s the late-winter blahs . . . You look around your house and it feels gray, drab and dreary.  This means it’s time for a quick room-brightening fix or two!  And there’s more you can do than just a pretty bouquet of flowers on the coffee table.

Take a look at your curtains or sheers.  When was the last time you laundered them?  For that matter, when was the last time you replaced them?  If you can’t remember, it’s probably time to either get them cleaned or replace them with something eye-catching and brand-new.  This easy little task will instantly brighten any room.  While you are out, pick up a few new throw pillows.  A fabric with a cheerful, contrasting color will easily update your living, family, or bedroom.

When was the last time you rearranged your decorative pieces?  This is another quick and easy fix to give a room new life.  If things look a bit crowded on the mantle, it’s time to edit.  Perhaps just a few bold pieces will do.  Next, check out the bookshelves.  Are they neat and tidy? Everything lined up properly?  How about using a beautiful piece of pottery or glasswork as a bookend? 

Remember, for true sophistication less is more.   No need for overcrowding of all the wonderful things you have collected the world over.  If shelves are crowded, go ahead and stash some of your treasures in a protective storage box.  Then, every few months you can rotate pieces, changing the look in a room just a bit.  Your things will have more meaning when you can truly showcase their beauty (and that won’t happen when looking at 15 things on a little shelf!).

Enjoy your easy, new changes while enjoying these last days of winter.  Spring is just around the corner!

Contributed by Heather Martinez