Tag Archives: spring

Spring Fling Craft: DIY terracotta coasters!

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Crafts & Decor and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I had been wracking my brain trying to come up with a spring craft to try for the Spring Fling party today. Then I remembered a Pinterest pin I had stashed away a few months ago. It was a short and sweet tutorial from a blog called Joy Is At Home, with an EXCELLENT idea on how to make custom coasters. She used small terracotta pot saucers, spray painted them, added some scrapbook paper, and voila! Cute, cheap, and simple!

On my way home from work, I stopped by the craft store and picked up the saucers ($0.99 each), and a piece of springy floral scrapbook paper ($0.59). The rest of the materials I had on hand (except for felt dots for the bottoms…I forgot to pick up those).

Below is everything you will need, minus the felt dots. Saucers, paper, something about the size of the inside of the saucers to use to trace on the paper (drinking glass), Mod Podge decoupage glue, small brush, spray primer, spray paint, and spray sealer.

Spray prime and paint your saucers.

Trace and cut your paper.

Once the saucers are painted and dry, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the back of the circles.

Center the circle onto the saucer and press firmly to ensure that it adheres. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes to dry a bit.

Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper circle. Make sure the edges of the paper are sealed. Carefully wipe off any excess around the edges of the saucer while still wet.

Allow this to dry for another 20 minutes or so. Spray the whole coaster with the sealer and allow to dry again.

Then you get to the step that I haven’t gotten to yet…Apply dots of felt to the bottom with a little hot glue to keep the coasters from scratching your furniture. I will be adding these to my coasters tomorrow.

And there you have it. Springy new custom DIY coasters. Total cost to me was about $4.50 for the whole set plus whatever the felt costs me. These would make great hostess gifts for a party, or housewarming gift. I also love that you can make as many or as few as you need.

Linking up with the Spring Fling craft party at CentsationalGirl.com!

Also linking up to the Drab to Fab Link Party at Sugar and Spice!

And the Addicts Not So Anonymous party at Addicted 2 Decorating!

And the It’s a Cinch Link Party at It All Started With Paint!

Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival 2012

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Local Central Florida and tagged with , , , , , , ,

As promised, below are pictures from the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, which we got to see this past Saturday.  I think everyone agrees that this is Epcot at its best.  The topiaries and extra flowers everywhere really make the park look beautiful.

These special events are the reason that I am a Disney passholder.  You can go back to the parks month after month, time after time, and there is always something new and interesting to see and do.  I love all of the seasonal events so much!  For me, it just wouldn’t be springtime without a visit to the Flower & Garden Festival.

Enjoy!

Spring Fling: My spring entry table.

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Crafts & Decor and tagged with , , , , , ,

I just put away the few St. Patrick’s Day decorations I had out, and was inspired by the Spring Fling Link parties going on over the next few weeks to very quickly throw together a springy vignette for my entry table.  Nothing special, and all put together in about 10 minutes with stuff I already had around the house.

It was dark outside by the time I took these pics, so again, I apologize for the poor quality.  When you work during the day, it’s hard to find time to take good pictures during daylight hours.

The birds were a Briar Patch clearance deal a couple of years ago.  I think it was about $8 for the set.  I think they are so cute!

These are Target Dollar Spot eggs, in a bowl that I got in a gift basket many years ago.  The “pedestal” is actually just an electric tart warmer (unplugged, of course).  I think it’s so pretty, and works great to give some height to the bowl of eggs when we aren’t using it as a tart warmer.

I used these same little vases as part of my Valentine’s Day decor last month ($2.50 for the set at Target), but I think they are springy enough to stay for a little longer, especially with the flowers.  The tray is from Dollar Tree.  The little bunnies are a new find at JoAnn Fabrics.  I think it was about $3 for the pair.  I love the medley of pastel colors.

Like I said, this was really quickly thrown together.  I hope to tweak and add to it over the next couple of weeks.

Happy first day of Spring!

The Lettered Cottage

Instagram Link Party: St. Patrick’s Day at Epcot.

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Local Central Florida and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hope you had fun this weekend, especially Saturday for St. Patrick’s Day!  We spent ours at World Showcase in Epcot, celebrating many different cultures around the world.

My St. Patrick’s Day celebrating started early…Friday night, I was drinking iced tea from one of my favorite pint glasses…Mickey makes a cute leprechaun, don’t you think?

Saturday morning, we woke up, put on some green clothing and accessories, and hit the road for the 45-minute drive to Walt Disney World.

We spent pretty much the whole day in World Showcase, starting with having one of my favorite beverages, a blood orange margarita at La Cava de Tequila in the Mexico pavilion.  We got our favorite booth against the back wall of the bar, and chilled out in the air conditioning for awhile.  I really love that place!  So cozy (and so air conditioned…it was HOT that day!).

In addition to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at Epcot, we also got to take part in the International Flower & Garden Festival, which runs from now until May 20th.  Everywhere you looked there were fun topiaries, like these pandas outside the China pavilion.  I have many more pics of the various topiaries around the park from my regular camera that I will share later this week!

While in “China” we stopped to check out the Tomb Warriors exhibit, which I love.  These are smaller replicas of the life-sized Terracotta Army sculptures that were buried with China’s first Emperor Qin Shi Huang back in 210 BC!  What I love about them, is that, while they are all in uniform and appear standing in a regimented fashion, no two warrior is the same.  They all have different expressions, facial features, etc.  Read more about the Terracotta Army on Wikipedia.

Eventually we made our way over to the UK pavilion, and of course, we had to stop in for an Irish beverage.  I had a Guinness (Wish a shamrock drawn into the foam!  Wish I could have gotten a good pic of it…), and Tadd had a green beer.  Some of our group of friends had green cocktails, Irish whiskey, and even one green Sprite.  We were all very festive with our beverages.  And, of course, as expected, this was one of the most crowded spots in all of Epcot that day!  But we just had to brave that long line…  Well, technically Tadd braved the line for the both of us while I waited off to the side and took pics of the madness.

As I stated previously, there will be more Epcot Flower & Garden Festival photos to come this week!  So stay tuned…

This post is linked to the weekly Instagram Link Party over at a {little} dash of ash!

Things I am excited about this spring.

Posted by sunshineandsometea in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

I was just sitting here thinking about all I have to look forward to this spring.  I thought I would share.

St. Patrick’s Day at Epcot

Click for source...The Official Disney Parks Blog.

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival (click for source, wdwinfo.com)

When I saw that St. Patty’s Day fell on a Saturday, I knew we had to take advantage and do something fun.  What better place to celebrate than Walt Disney World?  Especially Epcot!  Chances are there won’t be anything big or special going on for the occasion, but I hear they might have some kind of small celebration or acknowledgement in the UK pavilion in World Showcase.  Even if they don’t, we will be wearing green and drinking Irish beer in a multicultural atmosphere.  Works for me!  As a bonus, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is going on right now (through May 20).

Easter

It might sound dorky, but Tadd and I exchange Easter baskets every year.  It’s something I always have a lot of fun with.

Visiting friends and family!

We have a couple of short trips planned to see some of our favorite people this spring.  One trip for family and one trip for friends.  I can’t wait!

Star Wars Weekends

We got to meet Warwick Davis! Remember him from the movie Willow (Harry Potter too)?

Another one of our springtime traditions.  This is a special event held every year at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  It includes chances to meet celebrities, cute photo ops with the characters, and a great parade.  It’s fun to see everyone all geeked out at the parks.  We pretty much always go the first weekend, which is almost always right near my birthday, and it usually marks the last time we go to the theme park until mid-August (we skip visiting Disney during the summer, too hot and crowded!).

What are you most looking forward to this spring?