The Rural Legend- The Rural Legend
DIY Easter Table Scape
One of my favorite things about hosting an event or holiday at my home is decorating - especially the dining table! I love mixing and matching dinnerware and choosing a "theme" for my table. Spring and Easter are full of COLOR and this year, I wanted to try to add some easy and inexpensive DIY details to my table scape to make it extra special. What I love most is that the projects I chose are all things my son can help with!
I'm sharing 3 DIY projects that are so simple to make, they won't take you tons of time, and they are SO much cheaper than buying something similar at a store! My Easter table is filled with bold color this year, but feel free to customize to your own color palette! All of the materials are linked and are super affordable so you can create a gorgeous table scape in time for Easter or even just a spring party!
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Napkin Rings
I always say napkin rings are the jewelry of my table. We use cloth napkins for every meal to reduce our waste, but I have this gorgeous blue set I bring out when we have guests. And I love pulling out my collection of napkin rings to accessorize my table a bit. These natural wooden rings are such a deal at $7 for 15 of them! You could also paint these, but I love how the natural dyes allow the wood grain to show through a bit. If you saw my post on naturally dyed Easter eggs, these are the exact same dyes!
My dye recipes cost pennies compared to buying fabric dyes to stain wood. These rings are originally intended for macramé, so you could also use your dyed rings for a hanging planter, baby teether or toys, or heck, turn them into actual jewelry if you're handy!
You could stop right there and use these gorgeously dyed rings, but for a little whimsy add a few pom poms to each one! Here's what you need.
Materials
natural food dyes - find my recipes here!
paper towels and a spoon
Notes
Instead of my beet juice dye, I boiled 1 cup frozen cranberries for 15 minutes, smashed them, strained them and added 1 cup water to them for this beautiful pink color! The beet juice will work - I just wanted to switch it up!
My purple cabbage dye does not produce that gorgeous blue color that it dyed my real eggs. There must be something about the compositional makeup of egg shells versus wood. (any scientists out there???) In any case, the resulting dye color is absolutely beautiful!
How to Make it
Add your rings to the jars of dye. For subtle colors, leave them in for a few seconds. They will float so make sure you flip them for even color! For deeper hues, leave them in longer, flipping them every so often. You can also place them in one dye for a bit and then transfer them to another jar for different colors! For a cohesive look, you can always choose just one color to dye all of your rings, but I love the assortment! Don't throw out your dye because you're going to use it for another DIY table scape craft!
If you are using pom poms, select which color combinations you would like to use. Initially, I imagined I would glue pom poms the entire way around the ring, but decided to go with 3 instead. I chose color combinations that paired well with my rings and also with each other. Feel free to get creative here! This package of pom poms comes with so may colors, so you can choose which ever colors and however many you'd like!
Wouldn't these napkin rings also look stunning for a Cinco De Mayo party in May?! I plan to use them all summer! They would also make a lovely hostess gift! String a set of 8 together with a new package of cloth napkins for a lovely gesture!
Place Card Holders
I can't handle these adorable bunnies! Using air dry clay and a cookie cutter, you can make these sweet place card holders in any shape you want and any color you want! I selected acrylic paints that complimented my other décor, but wouldn't an antique gold look adorable too??? You can use this tutorial for any event you want! Let your creativity go wild!
Materials
cookie cutter of your choice - I used this
knife
paints - I have this set
Optional - wool felted pom poms
How to Make it
Roll out about half of the block of clay to a 1/2 inch thickness.
Using your cutter, cut out your shapes, just like you would for cookies. The red bunny cutter in one of the images above did not work because your cutter needs to be just an outline like a traditional cutter (this is due to the thickness of the clay) Continue with more clay until you have your desired amount of shapes. I made 6 bunnies and had enough left over for at least 2-4 more. The edges might be slightly jagged after your shapes are cut, so gently tap on the edges to smooth them.
Because of the bunny I chose, I knew it would not stand up on its own, so I decided to cut out 6 squares to use as bases. I also cut off the rounded part of each bunny so it would sit flat on the bases. I also used a straw to make noses on my bunnies. You could add texture, eyes, whatever you want!
Using the knife, cut a slit at the top of your shape - this is where your place cards will go. Insert a small piece of parchment paper, folded up, into each slit so that as the clay dries, the slit will remain open.
Let your pieces dry as per the clay package directions. To speed up time, I placed mine in the oven at 150 degrees F for an hour on a cooling rack. Speaking from my experience, I initially placed my bunnies on a parchment lined baking sheet to dry, but the parchment paper prevented the underside from drying out. Baking them in the oven on a very low heat worked really well for me!
Once your clay is dry, paint with any desired color or colors and let dry. For ours, Jackson painted 3 and I painted 3. He was so proud that he contributed!
Once the paint is dry, use hot glue to attach each shape to a base. I also couldn't resist giving them pom pom tails!!! Aren't they the cutest?!
Insert a place card into each slit and place at each place setting.
Easter Tree
Easter trees are a tradition in Germany. I just think they're beautiful! There are lots of Easter tree ideas online. For mine, you just need a large branch (My sweet neighbor allowed me to cut a small branch off of her magnolia tree - Thanks Bette!!!) and a vase. Dyed wooden eggs look stunning hanging from twine for a grand and inexpensive centerpiece! So take your family on a walk to get some gorgeous Spring sunshine and go on a branch or stick hunt! Or ask a neighbor!
Materials
natural dyes - find my recipes here
glass jars and a spoon
twine - or you can use yarn or ribbon
scissors
hot glue gun and sticks
any branch or large sticks
vase - this is mine
How to Make it
Just like with the wooden rings, place your eggs in the dye and let them sit as long as you like. To save on time, you can dye the rings and eggs at the same time! Let them dry.
Using the glue gun, attach a piece of twine to the top of each egg. You will attach the twine at the center so that both ends can be pulled together to tie a knot.
Place your branch or sticks in your vase. You may need to add some rocks to the bottom of your vase to hold the branch in place depending on its size. Hang your eggs from the branch and place in the center of your table!
I hope you found some Easter inspiration here! I am so thrilled with how this all turned out and my son is so proud that he helped to make our table beautiful! I've linked some of the other items I used on our table or similar items if they are no longer available. Are you hosting Easter this year? If you choose to make one of my crafts, make sure to tag #therurallegend so I can see it! And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any opportunity to be inspired! Happy Easter friends!
xoxo, L
Shop My Table
table runner - mine is from home goods a good 10 years ago! I found some options that would be gorgeous!
Parfair Dessin Runner - this one is close!
cloth napkins - mine are west elm and they are discontinued. These are similar
water goblets - antique
wooden tray - mine is out of stock, here are a few choices
galvanized tray - such a great deal!
votives - a dollar tree find!
blue vases - mine are from Hobby Lobby a few years ago
hand painted wooden rabbits - these are a family heirloom - aren't they darling?!
Love it? Pin it!
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