Sure you decorate your fireplace and mantel for the winter holidays, but don’t forget this important focal point in your room as Spring approaches. Here are some nearly-instant ideas for springtime and Easter fireplace decorating:

Daffodils in crystal or glass vases on each end of your mantel bespeak the coming of Spring. Tie a wired chiffon ribbon in a soft spring hue in a bow around each vase for a nice touch.

March a line of fluffy chicks across your mantel. Five or more chicks, whether stuffed toys, porcelain hens, or craft store chickens, make a cute display.

And speaking of stuffed toys, now is a great time to find those old stuffed bunnies and ducks and turn them into mantel ornaments. Add Easter grass, and scatter decorated eggs along the mantel to keep them company.

Tie wired gingham-checked ribbons into bows, and attach them to the edge of your mantel. Let the ends of each bow hang down various lengths from one to three feet. At the end of each ribbon, open a plastic egg, tape the ribbon’s end inside the egg, and force the egg shut. This creates a set of eggs dangling at different heights.

Bring out your glass, crystal, white, and pastel candle holders of different heights for your mantel. Select a trio of springtime colors such as lavender, pink and eggshell or aqua, pale green, and soft yellow. Use pastel candles in some of the candle holders. In others, perch decorated Easter eggs (real, plastic, wooden, or glass).

The ideas above are great for your fireplace’s mantel, but what’s a terrific way to decorate your fireplace itself? Fireplace candelabra are the perfect accessories. And using candles in the shape of decorated Easter eggs in your fireplace candelabra is a super-simple, but visually dramatic way to decorate for the season. (Just don’t be too surprised if the Easter Bunny replaces one of the candle-eggs with a chocolate one!)

Susan Penney appreciates simple ways to make our homes renewing spaces for our families. She invites you to visit http://www.FireplaceMall.com for fireplace accessories to serve your fire-less or your fire-filled fireplace.

Tags: candles, decor, decorating, DECORATIONS, Easter, fireplace, holiday, holidays, home decorating, Springcandles, decor, decorating, DECORATIONS, Easter, fireplace, holiday, holidays, home decorating, Spring

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“Spring in the world! And all things are made
new!” Richard Hovey

Finally. Spring is here!

Ahhh! Spring is in the air!

While it certainly hasn’t left much evidence here in New
England-no crocuses popping up, no morning birds waking me up, no T’s and capri’s showing up-there are sure signs that Spring has, indeed, arrived. The snow has melted. New life is on its way!

Spring celebrates, like no other season, all nature “rising
again.” It is the ultimate symbol of resurrection from death.
Many of the traditional symbols that we accept as mere
association to Spring have roots in the natural cycle of the
earth, and as such it is helpful to appreciate their significance when we celebrate Easter.

Baby bunnies, chicks, and birds all symbolize newly born
creatures and remind us of the new birth in Christ. The pastel
colors of lavender, pink, yellow, and blue are traditional
colors of springtime, but they also shout forth that “life
springs eternal.” Eggs are the quintessential symbol of new
life: new life hides under a shell until it literally bursts
onto the earth. In the Jewish tradition, eggs also symbolize a
free-will offering, or of giving more than is demanded. And
even the tradition of a new “Easter outfit” symbolizes the
putting away of winter and the bringing forth of freshness and
vitality. As Christ burst forth from the tomb, we too become
“clothed” in newness.

If you finished spring cleaning your home, you should be ready to bring Spring’s freshness and vitality into your home as you decorate for the season.

Bring Nature Inside

Celebrate Spring’s glory with fresh flowers.

Gather all your beautiful containers and load them with tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, and daffodils. Set them out all around your home. Put some in the living room, others in the kitchen, more in the front hallway, the children’s bedrooms.and don’t forget the powder room or most-used bathroom. They add an exuberant splash of color and an intoxicating aroma to your everyday world.

Treat yourself to a new wreath or a basket of flowers or your
front door.

The minute I put mine out, my whole house takes on a
different look. Visit your local florist, or check out new
arrivals from Williams-Sonoma (www.williams-sonoma.com) or Smith
& Hawken (www.smithandhawken.com. Gorgeous wreaths and posies can be found for less than $50. Their freeze-dried flowers used on wreaths not only look fabulous; they will last for years even
under the harshest of elements. And how about an ivy laced bunny
topiary? Or pink hydrangeas in a watering can by your side door?
Arrange them yourself, or buy online for wonderful splashes of
Spring color and whimsy.

Plant flower boxes at your front windows.

Have fun experimenting with different combinations of flowers and colors that not only bring you a visual kick, but with varieties that can withstand the heat and sunlight that hits your front yard.

Decorate an Easter tree.

This year, I used pussy willows, whose buds make perfect nooks from which to hang miniature “ornaments.” A dozen stems look fabulous in a tall, sleek glass vase. Typically, the kids and I go on a nature walk to find the perfect branch. We put into a pretty blue-and-white china container, cover it up with dirt, and sprinkle in a few rye seeds to grow real grass. Either way, it looks fresh and delightful decorated sparsely with tiny ornaments and with teensy yellow fuzzy chicks and baskets hung on the delicate branches. Surrounded by our family of Easter bunnies, each one named after a family member, the arrangement makes me smile every time I walk past it.

Dye eggs with your kids.

Children of all ages love dyeing eggs. Whether you buy the dyeing kits from your drug store or you use imaginative painting techniques of your own, be sure to add this
to your “must-do’s” during the Easter season. Plant grass seeds
in your loveliest container and let the kids water every couple
of days. You should have grass tall enough to hold your dyed
eggs by Easter. If that puts you into a panic, go to your local
health food store and buy wheatgrass. It will look fabulous in
your container. Or place some wheatgrass inside beautiful china
teacups and, along with a few sprigs of fresh, delicate flowers,
you will have gorgeous place settings for your Easter brunch.
Add a tiny white chocolate bunny as a favor for your guests to
take home.

Start planning a neighborhood Easter egg hunt now.

Make up colorful invitations and let your children hand-deliver them to all of your neighbors and friends. Plan a simple brunch menu with plenty of coffee, tea, and OJ. Let your kids start stuffing plastic eggs now, so that by the time your hunt rolls around, you’re all set.

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. and worked at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch before coming home to work as a wife and mother of four. She totally re-invented herself along the way. Strong convictions were born about the role of the arts in child development; ten years of homeschooling and raising four kids provide fertile soil for devising creative parenting strategies. These are played out in ROCKET MOM! 7 Strategies To Blast You Into Brilliance. It is widely available online, in bookstores or through 888-476-2493. She writes extensively for a variety of parenting resources and teaches other moms via seminars, workshops, keynotes and monthly meetings of the ROCKET MOM SOCIETY, a sisterhood group she launched to “encourage, equip and empower moms for excellence.” Please visit http://www.rocketmom.com.

Tags: decorating for Easter, Easter, spring celebrations, spring decoratingdecorating for Easter, Easter, spring celebrations, spring decorating

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