Easter Egg Wreath

So first. 

Sorry it's been like three weeks since I've posted. 

Greg and I have internet. It's legit. But it's free. 

It's hard to explain. It's a little box from Sprint, that my Dad set up.

It works off a 3G network. So basically...we have internet that runs only about as fast as your average cell phone. So as you can imagine, trying to upload 20 pictures to a blog post sometimes takes a LONG time. If it even works. So that's my excuse. 

But the other day for some reason it was running REALLY fast! So I took advantage and loaded pictures for like 5 posts all in one day. It was a good day. 

The other day at the nature center feeders I saw a red breasted nut hatch, male and female purple finches, and saw my first tohees of the season. That too, was a good day. 

Remember a few posts ago I showed you this slightly amazing wreath I got for 2 dollars at a thrift shop?

It's not very vibrant in the picture. But it's a nice green color. It was the wreath I placed on my front door during St.P's season.

In case you can't tell, this wreath is already a DIY project wreath. Someone bought this round wreath probably at someplace like hobby lobby (where these go on sale 50% on a fairly regular basis) and then they sprayed it with some craft spray glue and shook all these green plastic flakes onto it. 

Was that explanation detailed enough for you? 

Good. Glad were on the same page about the "details". 

One thing I knew about this wreath when I first bought it was that it had some versatility! If I can buy one wreath, and use it for several different holidays just by tweaking it a bit, I'm a happy camper. So that's what I'm going to show you here. I obviously first took some thin wire that I found in Tuna's tool box.

This. Is a cut piece of wire. 

This. Is a cut piece of wire folded in half.

This. Is a cut piece of wire, folded in half, twisted, and a small piece bent to a 90 degree angle. 

(look at that bokeh. oh yea!) (if you don't know what bokeh is....look it up)(how many parenthesis can I fit?)

(however, I have to downsize these pictures so much, the quality really stinks, the originals are much better)

A plastic egg. Bought at hobby lobby because I had a gift card from my generous mama. If you're looking for bang for your buck on plastic eggs, my bet would be a dollar store. Or even better. A dollar store a few days AFTER Easter and store them for next year. Everyone does that like me right?

Now I took that piece of wire, and glued the bent piece onto the egg.

 

Then I took the egg, with the wire on it and stuck it onto my wreath by twisting the two ends of the wire together from the back of the wreath. Get it? 

Now my wreath went from being a plain green wreath, to a green wreath with random Easter eggs on it. 

Why did I twist them on with wire when it would have been just as easy to glue them straight onto the wreath? 

Versatility. 

I now have the option, if I want to, to take the eggs off and add something else or just use it as a plain wreath again. Will I bother to do that? I don't know. But the point it, it's worth the little extra effort so that I have the option in the future to change it.

Tada! It looks pretty cute from the road if I do say so myself.

 

This is my one and only longaberger basket given to me from my mama when I first went to college (she would be ashamed if she knew I had to google how to spell longaberger, she's a tad obsessed with them). It's kind of got a pink tint to it. Cute for extra Easter eggs left over. I bough the tri-colored tacky moss at hobby lobby too with the gift card. At least now I've got something in the middle of coffee table that's Easter-y! :)

I hope you all are enjoying the first teases of Spring! I am enjoying the weather, and the upcoming song bird migration has me antsy with anticipation! ;)

Love,

Nerdy Birdy Little Tuna

Arts and crafts

Last week I volunteered at the Mill Creek Metroparks Ford Nature Center.

Isn't their building just beautiful? I love it. It's old, secluded, and has tons a history and character.

I am hoping to be more involved with the nature center in the future...so involved they might actually cough cough PAY me. But....their budget is of course slim to none as of right now even though they are down two positions. Curse the bad economy!

I was called upon to help sort and label the over 400 photography entries to their annual photo show. I moved to the area a bit too late to enter myself, but I had such a fun time sorting and admiring it made up for it. :)

Next, on the list. Valentine's Day decor! Woo Hoo.

This is a "fire and ice" crystal vase my mom got me for some reason. Don't get me wrong, I like it. But often I don't really know what to do with it? So....this year I was thinking that I would like to put something valentines-y as a center piece on our new coffee table. I thought of this vase....and....of all things....FLOWERS.

If you don't already know. My aversion to flowers runs deep. Very deep. I used the minimal amount of flowers at my wedding the mothers would let me get away with. Greg has only bought me flowers once, when he proposed. Because I dont like flowers! I think they smell bad. All of them. And I don't have allergies. Just a prejudice against these silly things that grow out of the ground.

So what did I think of when I wanted a V-day centerpiece? Flowers. I don't know why. I don't like flowers. (have we established that?) So since, I don't like flowers....I don't know why I thought it would a good idea!? But I did. And I had a Michaels gift card that had been in my wallet for about 3 years. (seriously.)

So. Off I went. I bought the silly little flowers you see my picturing here, and I brought them home to chop up. They were a dollar a bundle. Since I had a gift card, it really didn't bother me. I spent $10 on them all.

Apparently normal scissors wouldn't work. Luckily I have a burley husband who owns amazing pliers that cut flowers like the best of them. ;)

Macey didn't want Tuna to feel left out, so she brought him some flowers.

The white ones (I don't know what flower they are supposed to be...yes I worked at a garden park and don't know all my cultivated species. The shame!!) stuck out too far. So I chopped down the scraggly ones.

My finished product on my coffee table. I really actually don't like it. But for some reason feel slightly satisfied that I arranged it myself. It is absolutely the day that pigs fly.

These are pine cones. In case you've never seen one before. And at dollar general this week, all their Christmas items still left were only 25 cents! Woo Hoo! So even at the general, these were originally 4 dollars. So I bought two bags for .50

This cute little doggie jar was a quarter too! Apparently it used to have a lid with a dog on it. But for a quarter, I like it enough. I also got some grape vine "brooms" for a quarter each, but they are not pictured. They will go great for Halloween and Christmas too! :)

This is the wreath above my couch. I got it a yard sale for 2 dollars I think. I love it.

At Michael's, I also bought some cutie little fake cardinals. And now one of them is hanging out in my wreath. In case you forgot. Or didn't know....I love birds. I hate flowers. Love birds.

Speaking of which...I went to my first mahoning county audobon meeting last week too!! Met some amazing people that I am way excited to go birding with in the spring! Also really excited to be a in a much greater shore bird habitat than I was in Dayton. It's gonna be a good migration.

Next.

This heart was 50% off, so I got it for two dollars. I love it.

But how could I love it more??? Why I just add a bird of course!!

I walked into my kitchen thinking how am I gonna secure the toule on here...oh great! This bread twisty that is sitting out will work great. Hot glued and perfect. 


This cardinal is actually about half the size of the one I put on my big wreath. In case you can't tell. Yay for hanging hearts and birds.

And finally we're at the end!
I went grocery shopping today...so get ready! Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll post my marathon grocery day!

Hope you enjoyed my long picture blog.
Much love,
Little Tuna