async='async' data-ad-client='ca-pub-1704385665578974' src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js'/> April 2019 - Welch House 1900

French Country Easter Table

Today I would love to share with you my Easter table. I have to admit setting a beautiful table is not one of my strongest talents but I am trying to put more effort into my styling. This Easter table is one of my very favorites so far. I've really been on a mission this year to try my hardest to not spend any money on new holiday decor and use what I already have, mostly because I'm trying to save my money to put towards refreshing the house and other home improvement projects.

For this particular table I started by using brass chargers and layers of beautiful mixed patterns of china. The sweet little egg cups are TJMaxx finds from last year and I absolutely love them! 
I think they compliment the china plates so nicely!



I used my favorite antique crystal stemware with the floral swag etchings that I recently found thrifting.  Next to them I used some smaller stemware to hold my favorite Cadbury chocolate eggs.


But the star of the show I think is the floral arrangement. I spotted this three tiered vase at the thrift store recently, it was partially hidden behind a bunch of junk. I really wasn't impressed with it at first but as I looked at it more closely it started to remind me of the Seventeenth century Tulipiere Vase.


While an authentic or even a reproduction Tulipiere vase is currently out of my budget...this little guy was not. So for only $7.99 I was getting a Tulipiere look alike vase to bring a bit of seventeenth century European charm to my Easter table... yes please!


I picked up a few discounted grocery store rose bouquets and began to fill up the tiers. Whenever I encountered some empty spaces I just filled them in with a few sprigs of faux lavender that I found at Wal-Mart for under a dollar. I think it turned out so pretty!


The little brown bunny I was thrilled to find while thrifting last summer. It is extremely old and is actually a money bank! I also love it because it looks so similar to my real life bunny Antoinette who you met in my last post.










I always get so many compliments and questions on my lace tablecloth that you see here. Its actually not even a tablecloth! Can you believe that they are Martha Stewart curtain panels from close to twenty years ago?!! When I was a teenager they hung in our family room.


 I love the elegance and romance that they bring to the table.


 After twenty years and many washes they are still in perfect condition!


I'm also loving the embroidered antique panel that I hung in the doorway that leads to the kitchen.


I'm really pleased with this sweet Easter tablescape. Aside from the napkins and pink table runner,  most everything on my table was thrifted.



Do you love to go thrifting? Will you be using any of your thrifted finds/treasures to set your Easter table this year?


I hope you enjoyed this post! So many of you enjoyed seeing our bunny Antoinette in my last post...I have to tell you that this past week we brought home another bunny to keep her company. He is very little and gray colored. We named him Louis. If you follow me on Instagram @larissa_jenkins you    will see lots of him in my stories. I will have to do a photo shoot of him soon for the blog...you will love him.


Thank you again for visiting!

-Larissa

Parade of Bunnies




Easter is such a fun holiday to decorate for and I was so excited to be included in this wonderful "Hop into Easter" blog hop hosted by my dear friend Amber at Follow The Yellow Brick Home. Thank you so much Amber for hosting!
If you are coming over from Emily's beautiful home at Le Cultivateur  I would like to welcome you to Welch House! 

I do love Easter and springtime, but I have to be honest when I say that I have such a hard time decorating for this time of year! I don't have a lot of Easter decor or spring decor, and the items I do have seem to clash with one another. This year I decided to only bring out my very favorite items for the holiday and those items were my small collection of Faux chocolate bunnies.



I have been collecting these cuties for a long time now, and as much as I love them, I have the hardest time blending them into my Easter decor. 


After some thought, a light bulb went off in my head...why don't I group them together and create a sweet bunny vignette  instead of spreading them all over the house!?


I really didn't want to spend any money on this idea so I started "shopping" my house. As I started digging through cabinets and armoires I realized that I had quite the collection of urns and other "urn-like" items...but how would I be able to make them all flow together? Another light bulb goes off in my head...gold paint. I absolutely love gold gilded mirrors and dressers, why not gild my urns? So I did just that and added a bit of dark wax to age them. Perfect!


I decided to showcase each of my bunnies in their very own urn pedestals. I filled each one with some Spanish moss and a few colored eggs. I absolutely love the way it turned out! Everything you see on top of my piano aside from the bunnies, I have thrifted for just a few dollars each. In fact the mirror I found at a garage sale for $12 and the chandelier for only $5 at another garage sale last summer.


These two sweet little bunnies I grouped together and they look like they are giving each other a kiss.


The tall bunnies on the ends are my very favorites. I bought them at JoAnne Fabrics years ago and I love their vintage vibe.




With all of the bunnies lined up on the piano it just reminded me of an Easter Parade line up. I am going to do this set up every year I think. It will be fun to search for more chocolate rabbits and pretty containers to display them in, throughout the year.


On the dining room mantel I decided to display another chocolate rabbit in a very rustic basket. 



I added soft pink satin ribbons to the sides.


Speaking of bunnies....


There seems to be one more that popped up recently here at Welch House.


Meet the newest addition to our family...a sweet girl that we named Antoinette.
We've had her since late February and she is much bigger now! These are just some of the very first photos that I snapped a couple of weeks after she arrived at her forever home.


We love her! 


Also here is a sneak peek at my next blog post...I cant wait to share it with you.


Thank you so much for visiting! I hope you enjoyed seeing my "Parade of Bunnies!"
Next up is Decorate and More with Tip where I'm sure you will find more beautiful Easter inspiration!!

-Larissa






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Buttered Easter Lamb






Today I wanted to share how to make a buttered lamb for your Easter table. Now I have only been making these for seven or eight years and once a year at that. Many people are taught at a young age to make beautiful buttered lambs and it is a cherished tradition passed down through the generations for the Easter holiday. Fun fact: I showed my five year old a picture of my buttery masterpiece and asked him what he thought it was....after thinking very hard, his first guess was a unicorn with crazy hair. Geez...lol.  I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder...lets get started so you can create your own unicorn, I mean lamb. lol


Supplies needed:

-2 sticks of cold butter

- 1 Tablespoon of butter, softened

- 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

- 2 whole cloves

- garlic press


-toothpicks






First thing you need to do is cut a third from the end of one stick of butter. Place the larger piece of butter on the serving dish to use as the lamb 's body. Spread some of the softened butter on the cut edge of the smaller piece and position on top of the larger piece of butter to create lamb's head. Your lamb should look like the photo below.



Cut a diagonal slice from two corners of the second stick of butter as shown in photo below. These pieces will become the ears of your lamb. Spread some softened butter on one end of each piece and attach to lamb's head. At this point my butter ears began to get soft so I was able to mold them a bit to make them more realistic looking. If the butter gets too soft to work with just refrigerate for a bit to firm it up.


Next you will need to cut a 1/4 inch slice from the other end of the stick of butter. Then you will cut that slice in half diagonally. You will now have a triangle. Spread some softened butter on the flat end of the triangle and attach it to the lamb's head to create a nose.


Your lamb now should be looking similar to the photo below. What I would do next is go ahead and insert the cloves right above the nose for the lamb's eyes. I did this step last on my lamb and ended up disturbing some of the curls, so I think it would be easier to do it at this point.


Cut remaining butter and reserved triangle to fit into a garlic press.


 Squeeze butter through press in batches. Use toothpicks to curl pieces. Beginning at the top and working down, place curls on body. 



Your lamb should be starting to look more "lamb-like"! This project can be very tedious so be kind and patient with yourself. Remember perfection is not the goal...its the memories!


Once you have completed  your darling Easter lamb, you will need to dip your toothpick into the ground cinnamon to create some nostrils.


He is finished!! This buttered lamb is a wonderful addition to an Easter table. When I bring mine to Easter dinner I always get a lot of compliments on him even though he is not perfect!


This year I'm hoping to make another one with my little boy. I think kids would really enjoy this project and I bet their little lamb creations would look so sweet!!


I had to include a photo of some pretty blooms!


I hope I have inspired you to create a new Easter tradition of your own by making a buttered lamb. They really are the sweetest looking lambs.


Thank you for stopping by!!

-Larissa



Fireplace Makeover

This is the view of the dining room when we first viewed Welch House. There was a small amount of wall space situated between the patio door and the large doorway leading into the kitchen. After we had lived here for a couple of years I started envisioning a fireplace mantel for this space. While browsing Craigslist one night I stumbled upon a gorgeous tiger oak mantel for sale in a neighboring town. I jumped at the chance to buy it, as the mantel would fit perfectly in my space and the wood was the exact same color as the woodwork throughout Welch House!!


This photo shows what the mantel looked like after bringing it home. I just propped up the heavy cast iron fireplace cover against the wall. Can you believe the seller was going to take this part to the junk yard!!!??



I was living with it, but I wasn't very happy with the propped up look. Since we are working on a dining room refresh I decided to create a budget friendly fireplace makeover.
I had a hard time deciding what to use in the makeover...tile, brick..or even embossed tin?
My talented friend Amber at Follow The Yellow Brick Home suggested faux brick paneling. It was the perfect solution!


 The faux brick paneling was only $28 at Home Depot. I decided to paint the brick the same color as the walls in Simply White by Benjamin Moore.


 My Husband was able to box in the opening of the fireplace and attach the brick to the frame he made. Now the brick looks like it is attached to the mantel. My Husband then attached the cast iron cover directly to the brick.


The mantel finally looks more realistic, as though it was always in this space, and it was so affordable!!!


The new look is very elegant and simple. I love that now the focus can be on the stunning details of the mantel. Just look at the amazing columns and the beautiful "tiger stripes" in the 120+ year old wood.


This mantel is a bit older than Welch House by a few years. The sellers owned a parsonage from the 1880's and this beauty was original to that home.


P.S. if you look closely at the top of this photo you can see that we are still working on the dining room putting up moulding on the walls. I haven't had the chance to paint some of it.


The detailing on the cover is also incredible. There are large torches on each side as well as a maiden in the center.


I could get lost in the details...


The Parsonage Mantel fits perfectly here at Welch House and has added a great deal of romantic charm and beauty to the dining room. I am so grateful that the universe sent it to us! It was love at first sight for me and I will treasure this beauty forever!


I hope to have the dining room reveal coming soon in the next few weeks! lol oh my goodness its taking me forever to complete it!

 Thank you for stopping by and visiting!


-Larissa