A Fun Spring Centerpiece

I saw something similar on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens this month and had to come up with my own twist. I love the organic look of it and the fact that you could make the entire project from recycled or natural materials.

Supplies:

Paper egg carton
Empty egg shells
Soil
Small flowers or plants

Using a knife, crack the eggs in the upper 1/3 of the shell. Hit it sharply to remove the top cleanly then pour the egg into a bowl. I started saving my shells about a week before I began this project. After my husband saw the project he said "I wondered why you've been force-feeding us eggs for a week!"



Using a large carton (18 eggs) I cut it in half to form a square planter. I filled some of the spaces with egg shells filled with soil, and the remaining spaces soil only.


A nice nature walk in the woods turned up fresh grass sprouting and green moss. I spent about $1.69 at Lowe's for a six-pack of pansies to jazz it up. I LOVE moss, so it played a large roll in my finished project.

To dress it up for the Easter table, try using one of those ceramic egg dishes we all have hanging around to use once a year.

I may start some seeds in the remaining shells, like mini-planters. I should be able to put the entire shell into the ground when the seed is ready to go outside. I'll let you know how it works.

Happy Spring!

A Spring Bouquet; Ribbon Flowers - Two Ways (plus a button flower thrown in for good measure)

Is spring taking it's own sweet time in your neck of the woods? Well, it is here. I crave color and life; I want to see green grass and flowers! On this sunny 27 degree day in Pittsburgh, I have to settle for some crafty flowers instead. Do you have any ribbon or buttons lying around? Okay, let's get to work.

Supplies:

Ribbon
Buttons
Floral wire
Floral tape
Needle
Thread
Scissors
Glue gun

Martha taught me this first style of flower. You can use any width of ribbon, just vary the number of ribbons used to adjust for thicker or thinner ribbon.

Here I'm using a thin ribbon, so I cut 8 pieces, 6 inches long. Arrange the ribbons as shown with the centers overlapping. Put a small stitch or two through the center to hold them in place.

Now, take the free ends and bring them into the center, like this, and secure with another stitch or two to hold them in place.

Secure a button or two to the center either with a stitch or hot glue.

Bend the floral wire in half and slide it under the stitches on the back of the flower to form a stem.

Wrap the wire with floral tape to finish (**note to self, apply hand cream before photographing next tutorial)

The next style of ribbon flower uses a thicker ribbon. I used 1 inch grosgrain, but any style of ribbon will do. You can see in the bouquet I also used a 2 inch sheer ribbon and it worked out just as well.

Sew a basting stitch along the edge of the ribbon, like this:

When you pull on the thread, the ribbon naturally gathers to form a flower. See?

Thread a piece of floral wire through the holes in the button(s) and slide it through the center of the ribbon "flower". You can dot some hot glue onto the back of the button to secure it to the ribbon.

Wrap the wire with floral tape, as before.

Bonus Button Flower Tutorial:

Stack your extra buttons in interesting combinations and thread them onto the extra floral wire for a button flower to accent your ribbon flower bouquet. Wrap the wire with floral tape as described previously.

Place your bouquet on the nearest shelf, sip some lemonade, and dream of spring...