How to Make Hand-Blown Easter Eggs

I love hand-blown eggs for Easter.

You can enjoy them year after year, and 

they make great gifts.

Here's what you'll need to make your own hand-blown eggs:

eggs

a bowl for the yolks

a corsage pin

a nasal aspirator [preferably new :)]
 

 This year I got some beautiful blue eggs from a friend,

thank you, Bekah.

Use the corsage pin to poke a pin hole in each end of the egg.
 

 Make the hole a little larger on the bigger end of the egg.

 Swirl the corsage pin inside the egg to break the

 yolk and mix with the egg white.

 Using the nasal aspirator on the end with the small hole,

blow the yolk and egg white through the bigger hole.

{Use slow, steady pressure; the egg can break with too much air pressure.}

 After all of the insides are removed,
rinse out the inside of the egg with water. 

You can insert some water with the aspirator, shake and
then blow out the water. Allow the egg to air dry before decorating.

I usually wait at least a day before decorating.

Decorate as desired . . . paper mache, glue on flowers, buttons, etc. 

or color as you would a hard-boiled egg.

{You will need to remove any colored water from the inside and allow to dry.}

Here are some pretty eggs to inspire you.

 
















I just love this romantic Easter egg created by the talented

Rosemary at Ozma of Odds. 
She used a paper mache egg with petals and pins,

but you can use glue to apply petals, pearls 
and other pretties to hand-blown eggs.

And . . . how about these beautiful eggs adorned

with buttons, lace and pretty jewels?

Made by Becky at Junk to Joy

and

love this idea of displaying eggs in silver candle holders
shared by Tammy at Beatrice Banks.

I gave it a try with some blue eggs . . . 

Have fun decorating your eggs for Easter.

Wishing you a blessed Easter week.

~ Julie

Linking with: 

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-party-link-up.html
http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/wow-us-wednesdays-11-and-my-fresh-cut.html 
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/04/time-travel-thursday-41-all-of-creation.html 
http://www.atthepicketfence.com/2011/04/sister-saturday-easter-edition.html 

Paper bird nests

Just sharing some things I've been working on this week.

I saw this idea in Country Living magazine and loved it,

so I got busy crafting and getting messy
with shredded paper and glue.

shredded paper mache bird nests

some with vintage sheet music

and an Alabaster dove

{This one is sold . . . thank you, Vyanna :) }

how about pink?

with a cute little sheet music bird ornament

and one of these

a cardboard letter covered with old sheet music

I just added these items to my etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit, and

Happy White Wednesday and Pink Saturday.

~ Julie

Linking with:

http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/2011/04/white-wednesday-95.html

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/wall-in-master-change-and-wow-us.html
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/04/mossy-logs-feathered-nest-friday.html 
http://decortoadore.blogspot.com/2011/04/springtime-craft-linky-party-and.html
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/04/pink-saturday-april-16-2011.html 
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/04/show-and-tell-linking-party-3.html 

Sunday Devotional ~ The Summer Will Come

The Summer Will Come

"Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you" (Isa. 30:18).

Where showers fall most, there the grass is greenest. I suppose the fogs and mists of Ireland make it "the Emerald Isle"; and whenever you find great fogs of trouble, and mists of sorrow, you always find emerald green hearts; full of the beautiful verdure of the comfort and love of God. O Christian, do not thou be saying, "Where are the swallows gone? They are gone; they are dead." They are not dead; they have skimmed the purple sea, and gone to a far-off land; but they will be back again by and by. Child of God, say not the flowers are dead; say not the winter has killed them, and they are gone. Ah, no! though winter hath coated them with the ermine of its snow; they will put up their heads again, and will be alive very soon. Say not, child of God, that the sun is quenched, because the cloud hath hidden it. Ah, no; he is behind there, brewing summer for thee; for when he cometh out again, he will have made the clouds fit to drop in April showers, all of them mothers of the sweet May flowers. And oh! above all, when thy God hides His face, say not that He hath forgotten thee. He is but tarrying a little while to make thee love Him better; and when He cometh, thou shalt have joy in the Lord, and shalt rejoice with joy unspeakable. Waiting exercises our grace; waiting tries our faith; therefore, wait on in hope; for though the promise tarry, it can never come too late.
--C. H. Spurgeon

***

"Oh, every year hath its winter,
And every year hath its rain--
But a day is always coming
When the birds go north again.

"When new leaves swell in the forest,
And grass springs green on the plain,
And alders' veins turn crimson--
And the birds go north again.

"Oh, every heart hath its sorrow,
And every heart hath its pain--
But a day is always coming
When the birds go north again.

"'Tis the sweetest thing to remember,
If courage be on the wane,
When the cold, dark days are over--
Why, the birds go north again."

                                                ~ Devotional from Streams in the Desert

by L.B. Cowman

April 10

http://www.crosswalk.com/

Enjoy your day of rest . . . it's Sunday!

~ Julie

Treasure Hunting

 Today we had the pleasure of treasure hunting

at a walk through estate auction.
It was a first for us, and there were so many wonderful
things kept in this home for so many years.

Here's a look at what we came home with.

 Lots of treasures, including an old bird cage holder,

and two vintage doors . . .

 one with this beautiful hardware on both sides.

 Love these old wood sewing machine drawers

. . . . . plan to paint them white.

Some old glass bottles and shoe shine brushes.

 Love this old drop leaf table. It will need some deep cleaning;

it was buried in the basement.

 And this old oval table, also buried in the basement. 

I'm going to try it in our kitchen nook.

Also a great vintage suitcase with blue check interior. 

Anyone know anything about this plastic flower pot with the glass handle on it?

{The auctioneer thought it was a lampshade, but the label says it's a flower pot.}

 This old spindle bi-fold door . . . . . 

plan to paint it white and line with burlap.

 How about this green Pepper shaker? Love it too!

More vintage display hangers for my etsy shop.

This is a keeper ~ Can you believe it? A fleur-de-lis trash can?

Perfect for my French mudroom or the Captain's office :).

And, the best thing about all of these treasures????

They only cost $38!

Thanks for checking out our treasures.

Everything that's not a keeper, of course, is for sale 

and will soon be listed in my etsy shop. 

 If you see something you want, just let me know.

I would love to see your treasures and your plans for your finds.

Have a great week!

~ Julie

Linking today with:

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2011/04/nifty-thrifty-tuesdays-no58-and.html
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2011/04/time-travel-thursday-40-step-in-left.html
http://lbratina.blogspot.com/2011/04/thrifty-thursday-109-plus-tablescape.html
http://www.bluecreekhome.com/2011/04/treasure-hunt-thursday-2-christmas.html
http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/04/vintage-inspiration-friday-33-new.html

The Fleur-de-Lis

I just love fleurs-de-lis, 
so I thought I would do a little research 

 and share it with you.

The fleur-de-lis (or fleur-de-lys; plural: fleurs-de-lis;  French pronunciation: 
 [flœʁ də lis]^[1]) is a stylized lily (in French, fleur means flower, and lis means lily)
or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same
time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic",
especially in heraldry.    ~ from Wikipedia

fleur-de-lis ~ French for Flower of the Lily 

The fleur-de-lis, depicting the stylized lily, has many meanings. 

Traditionally, it has been used to represent French Royalty,

and it is said to signify perfection, light, and life.

The fleur-de-lis is common to all eras and civilizations,

and there seems to be some debate as to its origin.

Although its most probable origin is from the lilies on the banks of the Lys River in
France, where well-known lilies, having only three leaves, called fleur de l'iris by the
French, called the flower of the rainbow or iridis, which the French call fleur-de-lis.

The fleur-de-lis has appeared on Mesopotamian cylinders, Egyptian base-reliefs,

Mycenean potteries, Sassanid textiles, Gaulish coins, Mameluck coins, 

Indonesian clothes, Japanese emblems and Dogon totems.

The earliest known examples of the fleur-de-lis can be found on Assyrian base-reliefs
from the third millenium BC. It is found on tiaras, jewelry, scepters, and on the

coin of King Louis VI of France (1110-30).

Coin from the Kingdom of France, Charles VIII (1483-1498) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the 12 century, the French King Louis VI or VII 

became the first French king to use the fleur-de-lis on his shield.

At the end of the 12 century, the fleur-de-lis took on a Cristic role 

representing the Holy trinity.

Joan of Arc carried a white banner that showed God blessing the French royal 
emblem, the fleur-de-lis, when she led French troops to victory over the English in 
support of the Dauphin, Charles VII, in his quest for the French throne. 

Here are a few vintage treasures found recently that

also have fleurs-de-lis.

Dominoes {but don't they look like little chocolate bars?}

Poker Chips

and some hand punched fleurs-de-lis from a vintage French book

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history.

Have a great weekend!

If you have items with fleurs-de-lis, I would love to see them.

Thank you for taking the time to comment, I love hearing from you.

~ Julie

Posting today with Voila French Inspiration Thursday

 Vintage Inspiration Friday, and Time Travel Thursday,  few of my favorite blog parties.

vintage items and fleur-de-lis punches are available in my etsy shop

Meet my Captain

You may, or may not know, that I have been wanting 

to come up with a blog name for my husband 

other than hubs, hubby, husband, Kevin, etc. 

None of those seemed right,

and he didn't care to be called hubs or hubby.

So, I've come up with an appropriate blog name . . . Captain,

and it is fitting since he is a Captain with the Fire Dept.

Let me take a few minutes and introduce you to My Captain.

He is committed to God and family

Father of the Bride, youngest daughter Whitney

Father of the Bride, oldest daughter Chelsey

Grandpa

Determined to help Tayvee draw her first Thanksgiving hand turkey

Sharing his job with our twin great-nieces

Henceforth in blogland, at Saltbox in the Country, Captain or My Captain
will refer to my wonderful, amazing husband, sweetheart and best friend, 
who has stuck by me through thick and thin for 33 years,

who knows what it means and believes in always and forever.

Thanks for stopping by today and

meeting My Captain.

Have a great week!

~ Julie