Easy Easter Egg Topiary

Create an Easy Easter Egg Topiary

A quick and easy centerpiece using plastic eggs and a clay pot.  

Materials:

Styrofoam block (to fit inside your pot)

Styrofoam cone (ours is 9")

small dowel rod (ours is 6")

Clay pot or urn

  24 -36 Plastic Easter eggs (we sponged antiquing glaze on the plastic easter eggs for a more elegant topiary)

Floral moss 

 Plastic berries

Hot glue sticks and glue gun

 2-3 yards Ribbon

Directions

1. Glue Styrofoam block in bottom of clay pot.

2.  Insert dowel rod in center of block.

3.  Push cone over dowel rod to hold securely in pot.

4. Glue plastic Easter eggs to Styrofoam cone.

5. Glue green floral moss and berries between eggs and at base of cone to hide Styrofoam.

6. Tie a ribbon bow at top and affix with glue.

Happy Creating!  #Easter#Easter Decor #Topiary

Creative Living with Pennie and Page: How to Create a Perfect Bow in 6 Easy Steps

Creative Living with Pennie and Page: How to Create a Perfect Bow in 6 Easy Steps: The recipe for a perfect bow is short and sweet:  3 yards of ribbon, a short piece of wire, a little practice folding and pulling, and you&...

How to Create a Perfect Bow in 6 Easy Steps

The recipe for a perfect bow is short and sweet:  3 yards of ribbon, a short piece of wire, a little practice folding and pulling, and you've created the perfect bow.  We used 2" wide ribbon (wire-edged ribbon holds shape better than non wire-edged), and followed these 6 easy steps to create the perfect finishing touch for floral arrangements, baskets, gifts, or to compliment any home decor.



Step 1:  Fold 3 yards of ribbon into an oval pattern, about 7-9 inches long, depending on how large you desire your bow.  For a smaller bow, shorten the length of your oval, and you'll have more folds, thus a fuller bow.



Step 2:  Fold the oval in half in one hand.  Using a piece of floral wire (up to 24" long, depends how much wire you need to affix the finished bow), center the wire in the middle of the oval fold, leaving an equal amount of wire on each side of the ribbon.

Step 3:  Tighten the wire so that the center part of the ribbon bunches together.

Step 4:  Twist the two parts of wire together tightly, leaving the remaining wire, below the twist point, straight.  The straight section of wire will allow you to affix the bow securely to your basket.

Step 5:  Holding the ribbon in the center (thumb over the wire), pull apart the individual loops of ribbon on each side.  Pulling from the center will help fan the loops and add fullness.

Step 6:  Add the ribbon to a basket or floral arrangement by wrapping the remaining wire around the basket and twisting the ends together to secure it.  Happy Creating!

Night Stand Make Over

Bedroom furniture is an expensive purchase for your home, and if you buy quality furniture, it can last for years.  However, styles change and your pieces may look outdated before you're ready to replace them.  If you're ready to update your bedroom furniture, but don't have the budget, instead of replacing pieces like dressers and nightstands, give them a face lift.  And we do mean a lift.  Beds and mattresses are taller than in the past, so often the nightstands are too short to reach the correct height of the mattress.  In order to raise a nightstand to the correct height,  we added a 5" tall base with a modern cut out in the front.  The base has a 1/4" reveal which allows the original nightstand to rest on top of the base.  We stained the base to match a new headboard. The nightstands were painted taupe in an eggshell finish, then glazed with a dark wax. The final step was the addition of new drawer pulls.  Amazing transformation for those of us with limited time and budget. Happy Creating!

after

before

Home Office Doors: Privacy and Aesthetics - you can have both!

In many homes today, space and privacy are complimentary and conflicting.  We all love the open floor plan, and either build it that way, or knock out walls to achieve it.  When we faced the challenge of creating a home office in an existing room with no doors, we chose a space at the front of the house, just off the entry.  Convenient, yet front and center of the home - everyone who enters glances in that direction.  We added french doors to allow for privacy and aesthetics, but soon found that those beautiful windowed doors allowed visitors to see all the "junk" - supplies and materials - necessary for our home work space.   Instead of constantly trying to keep the office tidy enough for public viewing, we decided to turn the focus to the open living room space adjacent to the office.  By adding mirrors to the back of the office doors, we created a focal point that literally reflects the open living room in the mirrors, while at the same time, keeping our clutter tucked away in private.  We measured the dimensions and ordered custom mirrors from our local glass shop, then installed them using mirror brackets.  In order to make the back side of the mirrors more appealing from the office side,  we covered them with fabric secured on simple café curtain rods.   A great solution that works well for both home and office! Happy Creating!

Front Side

Office Side

Done In a Day: Facelift old Frames

If you're like us, you probably have a stack of old photo frames that are either outdated or no longer match your décor.  Instead of discarding the old and buying new, give the old frames a facelift. This frame was reinvented with a sheet of scrapbook paper and Mod Podge, a waterbase sealer, glue and finish.  While the frame was drying, we created a bow (wired ribbon works best), added a jeweled embellishment (available at craft stores) and attached it to the top of the frame with hot glue.   This project is easy and inexpensive, and allows you to have a custom look for less.  Share your frame facelift pictures with us below or at askcreativeliving@gmail.com.  Happy Creating!

Before

After

Quick and Easy Wall Groupings

The walls in our homes usually provide the largest area for decorating, and are often the focal point in a room.  Because walls provide so much space, we often choose to hang several items together creating a "wall grouping." Most of us can relate to the level of difficulty and frustration in arranging and hanging several photos, art and/or mirrors, with regard to space and shape.  We have found the easiest way to plan the grouping, and avoid a bunch of nail holes in the wall, is to create templates from paper. We simply trace each item that will be displayed on the wall, onto paper (we prefer newspaper or craft paper), and then cut out the shape true to size.  Next, we arrange all of the shapes in a grouping on the wall, with painter's tape, until we have an arrangement that works.  Then, it's fast and easy to replace each paper template one at a time, with a nail or screw to secure your wall hangings.  

Happy Creating!

Pies for "Pi Day" 3.14

It's March 14th, or 3.14 - Happy Pi Day!   Since my family enjoys celebrating just about everything, we are observing Pi Day with Quiche and our favorite Derby Pie (which reminds me of a chocolate chip cookie in a pie shell.)

I recently got a great deal on a Bella personal pie maker that I knew would be perfect for this day.  It allows me to make 4 individual quiche in about 12 minutes.  I just follow the basic recipe, then add fillings to customize each quiche. 

Quiche

3 eggs, beaten

2 tsp. butter, room temperature

3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup milk or cream

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 cup shredded cheese

salt & pepper

pie crust rolls 

Fillings:  crumbled bacon, mushrooms, chopped spinach, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, onion, etc.

Combine first 5 items until well blended.  Add cheese, salt and pepper.  Unroll pie crust onto flat, lightly floured surface.  Use pastry cutter, then dough press (both provided with pie maker) to form crust i n pie maker.  Add 1/4 cup egg mixture to each crust, then add fillings.  Bake for approx. 10-12 minutes.  I was able to make 6 quiche from one pie crust roll.  

Now for dessert:  Derby Pie has been a family favorite for years (requested more often than Pumpkin Pie on Thanksgiving,) and it's ridiculously easy to make. We like it served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Derby Pie

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup nuts, optional (I prefer chopped pecans)

1 9-inch pie shell, unbaked

Whipped cream topping or ice cream, optional

Combine all ingredients and scoop into pie shell.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.  For extra calories (but oh so worth it), top each slice of pie with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and a chocolate drizzle. 

Door Decor

Don't overlook the doors inside your home as a part of your room design.  Many of us decorate doors with wreaths at Christmas time, but why not decorate your door all year round?   Interior doors can be treated like another space in your home, so why leave them blank?  Doors are a focal point- especially those that are opened and closed often.  For the pantry door below, we added a wreath hung from a removable hook by a ribbon and bow.

For this closet door, we added a floral arrangement in a metal container.  The mesh ribbon and florals are changed for the seasons.

For the guest bathroom door, we repurposed a table runner that is visible from both sides.  We also added a vinyl motivational quote.

Post your own door decor photos under comments! Email us with your ideas and questions at askcreativeliving@gmail.com. Happy Decorating!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

These Banana Chocolate Chip muffins are so moist and delicious, and a great way to sneak in fruit to a picky child's diet.  My family loves the bite size mini muffins with mini chocolate chips.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (I omit)
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate or mini chips)

In large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients.  Then combine and add next 5 ingredients.  Fold in bananas and chocolate chips.  Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake 12-14 minutes for mini muffin pans, and 22-25 minutes for regular size cupcake/muffin pans.  These will disappear quickly, so you might want to make a double batch!

Ribbon Organizer

It's hard to say "No" to a great ribbon.  A ribbon adds color, personality and the finishing touch to gifts and home decor, and can add that needed punch to ordinary items.  But before you know it, you've amassed quite a collection of spools, and find yourself constantly digging through a large container to find just the right pattern.  We've found a great way to organize spools of ribbon is to display them on curtain rods. We repurposed an old kitchen cabinet and used spring rods to display several spools.  For additional storage, we attached a thin rod to the wall with brackets.  It's a timesaver to find and cut just the right amount of ribbon, and it's quick and easy to add additional spools.  Happy Creating!

Done In A Day: Decorative Tissue Box

Cold and flu season will soon be replaced by spring allergy season, and that means boxes of tissues will continue to be a mainstay of your home decor. Looking for a way to make those necessary tissue boxes blend in and become part of your room decor?  Expensive tissue box covers are available, but there's an easy, less expensive way to achieve the same purpose.

We started with a generic box of tissues and opened the bottom of the box along the seam to remove the tissues.   Keeping the roll intact, we set the tissues aside.  Next, we chose a sheet of scrapbook paper (cost less than $1) to match the room decor, and cut pieces to fit the sides and the top of the box.  The pieces should overlap just a bit and don't forget to cut out the oval opening on the top piece.   Then, we used Mod Podge (brand name water base sealer, glue and finish) on both sides of the paper, to affix the scrap book paper to the side and top panels of the box, and to seal and blend the seams together.   Once the paper dried, we wiped antiquing stain on the box to give it an aged look.  After the box dried, we reinstalled the tissues in the box and taped the bottom closed.  The box can be reopened and refilled several times -- enough to last through a season of decorating.  This is a great project to customize your tissue boxes for the holidays and changing seasons.  A custom look for less!

Steve's Mardi Gras Gumbo

My allergy to shellfish usually keeps me from enjoying Gumbo for Mardi Gras - until my husband adapted an old favorite recipe, using leftover rotisserie turkey, chicken and boudin sausage. We seldom follow a recipe without tweaking it a bit, and feel free to make your own adaptations.

Ingredients:

1 T plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3-4 pounds total of chicken, turkey and/or sausage (andouille, kielbasa or boudin) 

1 T creole seasoning

1 c flour

2 c chopped onions

1 c chopped celery

1 c chopped bell peppers

1 t salt

1/4 t cayenne pepper

9 c chicken stock 

White rice, cooked

1/2 c chopped scallions

Hot sauce, if desired

In a large Dutch oven, heat 1 T oil over medium-high heat.  Season the meat and cook until browned - If using leftover meat already cooked, skip this step.  Remove meat and set aside.  Combine 1/2 c vegetable oil and flour in the Dutch oven, stirring constantly to make a dark brown roux - about 20 minutes.  Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers, and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add salt and pepper, then slowly add the chicken stock, stirring until well combined.  Add cooked meat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.   Serve over a bowl of white rice and top with scallions and hot sauce.  Enjoy!

Done In a Day: Embellished Photo Frames

Embellished photo frames are very popular for this Spring's home decor.  Specialty shops are selling 5"x7" embellished frames for as much as $50.  Many of us have a few old photo frames lying around that could use a facelift.  It is easy and inexpensive to update frames for a high-end look. We created this one with ribbon and a decorative brooch pin with a broken clasp. (Craft stores also carry a selection of beaded embellishments for less than $2.00 each.)  To create the bow, we tied a center bow then attached two ribbon tails with thread. Next we hot glued the bow onto the frame, then attached the pin in the center with hot glue.  These decorative frames add a focal point to tabletops or mantles, and are wonderful gifts for friends and family.