Spring garden~ Happy White Easter~& a surpise parcel

Welcome back to Boxwood Cottage on Easter Sunday morning! Since my dear daughter did all the yummy vegan backing and cocking for today I had the chance to put a new post together. I got a beautiful surprise parcel from my friend Julia of Vintage with Laces who currently lives in Albania a few days ago, but before I share all the goodness she created for me I'd like to show you this vintage inspired cone that I made for my mum's b-day which was last Wednesday.

 In used waxed paper around the whole cone and then embellished it with some of my precious paper doilies and love how it came out.

 Of course I did my best to make it pretty from all sides, above is the backside. I had fun filling it with vintage goodies like an old china doll head, old cabinet card and velvet millinery as well as one of my soldered hearts.

Something else that I'd like to share with you today are a few pictures from my early Spring garden which I took during the first week of March:

This is what I think that early Spring should look like. Horned pansies/Violas and cats alike enjoying the warmth of the sun after a long cold Winter. And blue I just love a blue Spring!

 Above is our Riley napping on his favorite blue garden chair and below our black neighbor cat Tommy who took advantage of my deckchair as soon as I left it lol

 I also took out some Easter decor, like this wire rabitt filled with marble eggs:

the rusty iron rabbits below reside outside all year round though:

And these aqua glass bells do look so springy don't you think?

I took two days off work to take full advantage of these sunny early Spring days on my patio and started cleaning of the flower beds.

I was so happy that Spring was finally here and of course was absolutely sure it was here to stay.

 Ha! I was so wrong. Little did I know during these two happy early Spring days that Winter would come back full force just 2 days later.

 This is what I woke up to the next Morning, well that was still some how okay with me for early Spring days since it melted away quickly during the day. But since then it kept snowing every second day at least and not only that, we got an icy cold east wind along with another period of strong frost which lasts for 3 weeks already now and there is still no end of it in sight. Yesterday I heard in the news that this March is the coldest March ever since 130 years here in Germany brrrrrrrrrrr

Well my dear blogging friends and readers I think we better go back into the warm cottage:

 Just two more pictures of the cone because I think it looks so pretty in front of my white glass cabinet and I also wanted to bring your attention two my cute new birdie stamp door knobs. Aren't they just too cute and springy?

Okay but now it's time to share with you the handmade goodness that came as a belated surprise parcel for my big round birthday which was two months ago. When you get a parcel from Julia you just know that you're in for a real treat because everything she creates is just perfect in my eyes. Below is an overview about all the loveliness dear Julia has sent me before I'm going to show you some close ups:

For me a beautiful parcel always starts with beautiful packaging and wrapping and Julia really is a master in doing this. I'm really smitten with the way she's making it all so personal like the parcel below with my first names initial C in the gorgeous heart with the stitched edges:

Or with the stamped and aged paper envelopes she makes:

It's all in the details like in the gorgeous round tag below:

 

Or in this pretty bow with old lace and an aged button on top of a fabric rosette:

I also love her stamped tags and below is another personalized gift package with small fabric stamped tag:

 of course inside of these parcels you'll find true treasures. My heart skipped a beat when I opened the large one and found this fabulous, dreamy, fabric Easter/Spring collage inside:

Isn't it a wonderful piece of artwork? I'm so happy with it! I love the image Julia has used from Karen our Graphics Fairy and also the tiny number tag she glued on the egg in the image and the springy light pastel blue border and of course all the lace and the details like the button flowers and the pretty edging. For now it found a perfect place hanging from a white wooden shutter in my parlor where I can see it and marvel over it all day.

Julia owns the most beautiful stamps and uses them so well in her creations like on the reading mark above which she has also personalized with a C at the back side.

 The sweet paris inspired lace note pad above has a great way to stay closed with an elastic rubber band which is inside the lace wrapped around topped of with a beautiful flower button.

Oh and I love this all white fabric heart in the picture above. It looks so very fresh and pretty the white really kind of shines!

Thank you su much sweet Julia for making my week in this cold long Winter which is supposed to be Spring.

If you happen to not now my friend Julia yet, hop on over to her blog and be sure you're in for lot's of eye candy and beautiful inspiring ideas: http://vintagewithlaces.blogspot.de/

Well my friends I'm going to leave you now with these last two pictures of a vignette in my parlor. For the black chalkboard egg I used a candy box which already had a cut out bunny shape and I glued a wooden bunny I had in the same size, which I glittered with silver German glass glitter before, beside of it.

Wishing you all FROHE OSTERN ~ HAPPY EASTER ~

See you again when real Spring has finally sprung around here. Fingers crossed that will be very soon before we all end up with a depression. Who would have thought that we'll be having a White Easter this year?

xoxo~ Carola

Sharing with:

Becky's Blissfull Whites Wednesday at Timewashed blog
Debra's Inspiration Friday at Common Ground blog
Vintage Interior blogs VI ~ God helg
Angies Knick of time Tuesday at Knick of Time blog
Paula's and Pattie's What's it Wednesday @ Iviy and the Elephants blog

The bunnies are loose ~ pre Easter deco ideas & a winner!

 

Welcome back dear blogging friends and readers to Boxwood Cottage in March which of course means it's all decorated for Easter by now and I like to share with you this years ideas for my Easter decor and going to reveal the winner of my Valentine's Day Give Away at the End of this post.

 

At this time of the year you'll find signs of Spring and Easter everywhere you look around here

 

Easter is my favorite holiday to decorate for well apart from Christmas that is. The crate shelf above looked like that for the last two or 3 weeks, but last weekend I redecorated it again as you'll see in my pictures further down this post. Oh btw did I mention that this is a long post with 35 pictures? So you better make yourself comfortable and go get a cup of tea before continuing ;-)

The mantle is always the first piece I decorate and I like to decorate it differently each year so I really had to think twice this time until I came up with the idea of putting the two wooden brown bunnies under my two higher glass domes which I really like now and also to embellish the goose eggs (of my sisters geese) with cut out letters spelling Frohe Ostern/Happy Easter. I'll show you more close ups of the top of the mantle later.

I cut some pussy willow branches from my garden to decorate with the chicken blue eggs which I handpainted and decorated with wire and beads many years ago:

Around the rusty crown ( a gift from my colleagues for my b-day in Jan.) I put some of my old wooden Erzgebirge German folkart (ore mountains in East Germany) bunnies.

Below at my window sill sits a plaster hare from my friend Anja of Mathildas Design which I also put under glass with another goose egg. I just seem to have a thing this year whith putting hares and bunnies under glass and I just like the antique apothecary bottles in front of it.

Below is my small wall shelf invaded by sheep/lambs and bunnies too:

 

Crocheted eggs, white birds and an old bunny candy container as well as an iron stone egg are decorated on my white three tired iron chandelier:

And another plaster bunny and plaster egg I sat in this glass terrarium (which is a fabulous b-day gift from my dear neighbors and was filled with blooming bulbs when I got it in Jan.) along with nature materials like moss, birch bark and feathers:

Oh and last week we finally had some days with sunshine as seen in the photo below:

Now we come to the close ups of the mantle and of course as always my pictures are really large and you can click on them and then right click on show graphic to see the original size with even more details.

The glittered Happy Easter garland from my dear friend Madai of course is a must on the mantle at this time of the year. I also love the white hare in front of the white urn with the ostrich egg. And here you can see the letter decorated geese eggs much better:

The sewing machine table is also decorated with a variety of eggs most of them decorated by me. The red eggs in glass box I hand painted over 10 years ago. My favorite is the large pink foil egg in the back which was an antique market find:

Before we come to some close ups of this wall in my parlor I show you this wider view of it:

You can very well see my compassion for black silhouettes in these pictures so of course I had to make some more silhouette Easter eggs, this time I embellished the huge paper maché eggs. The one in in the old wire basket with the stick in the hand is my favorite.

I also painted some cardboard eggs and paper maché eggs with black chalkboard paint, like I did with the big hanging bunny last year and it's fun to write on them also my chalk lettering isn't very pretty I must admit.

I just like to spell words with my Anthropologie letter cups like HARE and then I used them as nests:

Some of the smaller eggs I glittered with the silver German glass glitter and embellished them with silver Dreden borders. All in all the neutral colors rule my Easter decor and I really love it, don't you?

I think the huge egg needs some more embellishments, or what would you say?

The big and quite heavy white plaster hare in the middle shelf looks as if he wants to jump out of it. I hope he's not gonna break my glass box then ;-)

Now I'd like to introduce you to my latest antique market find!

Please meet Manni my new old Steiff bunny! Isn't he just the cutest pet?

 

A white Easter bunny also sits on top of my topiary on the kitchen window sill:

Last week I really thought that SPRING had sprung here after 3 warm and sunny days in a row and that my cups under the kitchen cupboard spelling it had helped, but I was so wrong, because last Saturday we woke up to a new blanket of snow outside and since then it is here to stay along with heavy frosts again.

Since I never showed you these sweet antique iron stone cutting boards that my mum gave me for Christmas before, I thought I'd share a close up of them today. Aren't they just wonderful with the fairytale silhouettes?

From a close up back to some wider views of my parlor - both photos taken this Sunday:

With all the snow outside it was at least very bright inside too.

This small and very old, already glued together candy container bunny was another recent antique market find, that I just had to give a new home:

And of course I changed out the vintage postcards in the iron card holder from Winter ones to Spring and Easter ones:

Another cardboard egg which I embellished with a white bunny and gold Dresden foils hangs from a window up in my studio:

Talking about my studio I just have to share with you some pretties from other artist friends that I got recently. Dear Tina from Tinybears in Denmark surprised me with this beautiful fabric book for my birthday in January:

Thank you so much sweet Tina, I absolutely love it! :)  

Then this week I got an e-mail from another dear friend, Julia of Vintages Laces, who now lives in Albania and she wrote me that she also has sent out a belated birthday parcel to me. Wohoo Julia I'm so looking forward to another surprise! :)

 

And before I tell you the name of the lucky winner of my Valentine's Day Give Away I have to share a give away that I recently won with you. It's the wonderful lace cuff from artist Sandy Babb over at Quillcottage that my wooden hand is modelling here for me. Isn't it gorgeous with all the intricate details? I feel so lucky to have won it! Thank you dear Sandy!

Well and finally without further ado the winner of a soldered arrow and heart made by me is: 

Miss JENNIFFER!

Congratulations Jenniffer! Please email me your address to Carolinchen39athotmail.com!

Thank you very much to everyone who played along!

Since I probably wont get around to do another blog post before the official beginning of SPRING next week and Easter just around the corner at the end of March, my mums b-day and many other things inbetween I'd like to wish you all a happy beginning of Spring and a very Happy Easter Holiday!

xoxo~ Carola

Sharing this post with:

Blissful Wites Wednesday at Timewashed

What's it Wednesday at Ivy and the Elephants

Inspired Friday at Debra's Common Ground

http://vintageinteriorblogs.blogspot.de/

Knick of Time Tuesday