2 Spring Totes

Hi Friends, I hope you were able to catch the Spring Home Tours this last week. So much inspiration! I shared my Kitchen Sitting Room and Living Room on Wednesday, but there are a few items where I'd like to share a bit of detail.

Carrier filled for Spring

I mentioned last week, that each time I'm at the other house packing the endless number of "things", that a few of them inevitably end up in my tote bag to come over here and join the other decor tidbits. I'm careful not to be too blatant, otherwise hubbs will look at me like, "we're supposed to be packing this stuff, not playing with it." sorry, I have to play...

The pink vintage bunny planter, majolica rabbit plate, and Fitz and Floyd Berry Platter were my spoils from last weekend.

This platter has some cracks and chips,

 but I fell in love with the raised basket weave design.

so Springy.

This little guy has no markings, but I did a Google search and it appears that he's Shawnee Pottery from the 50's...old bunny, real old bunny. He's all cotton candyish sweet pink with lots of little crazing.

Last year none of my daffodils bloomed. I don't know why, but there weren't even any bloom pods, just greens... what a disappointment. And this year only a few, so I wanted to enjoy them while I could. Last year I planted a few hyacinth bulbs in the same area, that did come up. When I went to cut them, some bees were eagerly working on them, so I left a few behind for them. They make a petite bouquet in one of my small Staffordshire white Ironstone pitchers.

I've always loved the unique shape of this hexagonal soup tureen. I can't decide if it's ironstone or ceramic, but it's different. And it's small enough to decorate with. I've changed out this carrier several times since I've been at this house. I only  have a few places to "decorate", so this is doing double duty to help with my decorating addiction.

And if course, I've never met a white carrier that I didn't love.

This is a strawberry carrier, with slats in the bottom,

sitting on the small bench in front of the wicker settee. 

I didn't have enough room for my coffee table here,

 but this old tool caddy bench fit perfectly.

The weather is confused here; it thinks we're still in March. It's been so windy today and chilly. Hopefully it will be in the 70's again by the weekend; the Iris are starting to come up. Hope you're having a wonderful week!

joining in on these parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
It's a Party at DIY by Design
Blissful Whites at Timewashed

Treasure Hunt at From My Front Porch to Yours
Creative Friday at Jen Rizzo
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Shabbilicious Friday at Shabby Art Boutique
Simple and Sweet Friday at Rooted in Thyme

xoxo,

Today's Sponsor

French Bleu Vintage

Be sure and check out the 50% off sale going on now!

By Candlelight

Sometimes when it's dusk, I love to have a candle burning out here on the porch. There's something about the candle glow that warms the space and my heart. And especially at Christmas, with all the cuddly blankets and quilts, the sunporch becomes a little "nest".

This is my wire carrier that I have used for my Halloween Candy Corn candleholders for the last few years. I think the candy corn was at least 2 years old, so it was time to say good-bye! I wanted to try something new for Christmas.

I have a fixation on peat pots,

(like many of you arty gals in blogland)

and they were beggin' for some holly and boxwood.

I used a small plastic "baggy" and put a little water in it to keep the greens moist, then smooshed it into the bottom of the peat pot. I only had two matching candles, and that turned out to be "a good thing". Then I added a couple of itty bitty Shiny Brites for some sparkle. But...this post comes with a disclaimer, as I found the hard way that polyester Christmas ribbon is not fireproof !

If you look closely you can see some charred edges of ribbon.

...a quick save by scrunching up the ribbon toward the middle.

This is my little green chair that was part of a set of table and chairs

that my mom and dad bought for my second birthday.

(yep, it's beyond vintage, and just plain old!)

and since it was getting dark, I tried the carrier out on my dad's old dresser,

which holds my conservatory here in the sunroom.

The old painted concrete lambs are part of my garden collection.

so now I've learned to enjoy the candlelight,

but if I get too fancy, I need to have a fire extinguisher close by!

Nothing like a little excitement!

I'll be joining in for these parties:

No Minimalist Here for Open House Party

My French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

2805 for Potpourri Friday

At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday

LaurieAnnas Farmhouse Fridays

Stuff and Nonsense for Fridays Unfolded

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

My Romantic Home for Show and Tell

Funky Junk for Saturday Night Special

Shabby Art Boutique for Simply Christmas

See ya tomorrow for 

lots of Christmas hugs,

Milk Carrier Paperwhites

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

A little more with Paperwhites...

For me, Paperwhites are just the embodiment of a natural theme for Christmas. I usually buy about 75 to 100 each year of the Ziva variety and have them planted in containers between Thanksgiving and Easter. This year I was behind schedule in getting them ordered, so they didn't arrive until the week after Thanksgiving.

I love using vintage containers for them, from soup tureens to just stacking the bulbs in peat pots. However you do it, there's an instant feeling of Christmas.

I love candles, and have one burning almost every day, but the thrifty part of me hates throwing away a perfectly wonderful glass jar. I saved them for awhile, not knowing for sure what I wanted to do with them, but after a "clean out" of my stash this summer, I just had 3 from this season to use.

I like using pea gravel and a little potting mix with my bulbs. I just like the way it looks rather than seeing the roots...just me. Then I cover them with some moss to hold in the moisture. I Didn't get that far with these.

The main thing is just to cover the bottom third, otherwise the bulb will rot. So into the candle jars with a little burlap ribbon on the outside, and then into the milk carrier. 

Keep in a bright window. In order to keep the stems from getting too long and falling over, you can water with a mix of rubbing alcohol and water in a 10/ 1 mixture. Not too much alcohol, just enough to stunt it's growth. (so many jokes for this...but I'll refrain)

I wish I'd been saving my candle jars earlier, in order to make a full carrier of them. A lttlle faux greenery will have to do for this round. I imagine I'll do another set in January. (I'm saving my candle jars now!)

Here they are this morning, after my camera made it back.

here's a link to using an alcohol solution to keep them manageable.

A super easy little project, you can use any jar, or jars and put them in a grouping, no carrier needed, just have fun with them. I buy mine from Blooming Bulb, but you have to order early. They also have a huge variety of Fall Bulbs and lot's of gorgeous "green" Christmas ideas.

I'll be linking up with:

Between Naps on the Porch

A Stroll thru Life

Coastal Charm

A Time to Create

Cherished Treasures

Dittle Dattle

Savvy Southern Style

Faded Charm

www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

xoxo,