Bravely Bohemian

Breathe Deep, Be Brave

Make Your Own Upcycled Easter Display

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Time to decorate with something new this Spring without spending a fortune? Try making an upcycled Easter display.

Make Your Own Upcycled Easter Display

I LOVE the boho experience of thrift shopping. I enjoy the sport of never knowing what I’ll find and sometimes manifesting just what I want. And when I decorate, I love mixing old with new to create my own unique style. Can’t get much more bohemian than that!

We were ready to do something new with our beloved Easter decorations this year. We have a beautiful storage cabinet in our kitchen that needed a new display. I try and change the space out every few months.

We have a slew of velvet Easter eggs and Easter egg candles that I usually arrange in baskets around the house. This year I wanted to display them in glass somehow. So what an excellent reason to head over to our local thrift shop!

For about $10 I purchased a mix of miscellaneous crystal and glass wine glasses, champagne glasses, and cordial glasses. I selected a variety of looks and heights, enough to make an interesting display. After a bit of scrubbing, the glasses shined beautifully and here is what I came up with for my upcycled Easter display:

Make Your Own Upcycled Easter Display

I set eggs into the top of each of the glasses and arranged the glassware until it looked appealing. Then, I set a glass bowl full of additional eggs in the middle of the display and added the grass rabbits and other décor around it. I also added a tall glass vase filled with eggs and topped that with birds sitting on a nest.

To finish the display, I surrounded the decor in white lights. I set the lights up on an easy remote control clicker so they are easy to turn on and off at night.

I enjoy looking at the display especially at night with the white lights reflecting all the crystal glassware. This upcycled Easter display makes my boho spirit very happy I hope that it inspires your creativity too!

For more cool bohemian craft and decorating ideas, check out the DIY section of this blog.


Create a Valentine’s Day Grapevine & Heart Garland

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After pulling down our Holiday garlands in January, our 2 front doors always look so bare. So this year, I decided to dress up our doorways for two holidays in a row. Check out how to make this super easy Valentine’s Day Grapevine and Heart Garland.

DIY grapevine and heart garland for Valentine's Day

You Will Need:
Grapevine Garland
12 to 15 Glitter or Shiny Red Heart Ornaments
12 to 15 Twist Ties (Black or Brown Blend In Best)
Bucket & Weights
Nails or hooks

I found the grapevine garland and heart ornaments at Michaels.com or you can purchase them at Amazon.com.

Supplies_Glitter hearts and grapevine garland DIY

Step 1: Straighten Out Grapevine

My grapevine garland came in a roll so getting it to straighten out was a challenge.

Here’s the trick: Soak the vine so that it is completely submerged in warm water overnight.

Soak grapevine garland to straighten

*The vine likes to float to the top of the bucket, so use a weight such as an old plate to keep the grapevine submerged.*

Straightening grapevine garland

Once the vine is soaked through, gently start to coax the garland out of it’s spiral. I highly suggest doing this outside or over a large drop cloth. The grapevine is messy and pieces will fall off as you try and straighten it.

Step 2: Hang Garland

Use nails or hooks around the framework of your door to hang the garland. Continue to manipulate the wet garlands into the desired shape once it is hung around your door. You can see they still have some curl to them but I thought it gave the garlands character.

Step3: Add Heart Ornaments

Starting in the middle, I began adding the heart ornaments. I used twist ties to attach the ornaments to the garland. This way, the hearts can be easily adjusted until they look nice from the road. By using twist ties, you can also easily remove the hearts and replace with other holiday themes, such as shamrocks or Easter eggs.

Looking for more DIY crafting ideas? Check out our DIY section of the blog for further inspiration.

DIY grapevine and heart garland for Valentine's Day

Make This Very Merry Cork & Burlap Christmas Banner

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We decided to decorate our screen porch for the Holidays this year. After adding a festive Christmas tree done up in red bead garland, white lights, red and gold mini bulbs, snowmen and Santa ornaments, the porch needed something else. So I created this fabulous Cork and Burlap Christmas Banner.

DIY Christmas Banner_Cork_and_burlap

Our main Christmas tree is decorated with natural ornaments, most of which I’ve made over the years, so working with cork and burlap makes this Boho gal very happy!

You will need:
4 Cork Christmas Tree Tags or Cutouts
8 Cork Snowflake Tags or Cutouts
Burlap Banner on a Rope with 5 Triangles
Colored Burlap (Red and Green)
Burlap Letters (2 packs to spell “Merry”)
Acrylic Paints in Metallic Green and White
Hole Punch
Extra Rope
Paint Brushes
Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Most of these supplies for your Christmas banner project can be purchased at Michaels.com and Amazon.com.

DIY_Christmas_Banner_with_cork_and_burlap

1. I started with a pre-made burlap banner, but you can certainly make your own. My banner came with 12 triangles, so I cut it at 5. The rope on the banner was not adjustable, so I attached additional rope to make it long enough to hang the banner once completed. If you don’t want the rope knot to show, you can trim the banner rope back to behind the last triangle and then glue new longer rope onto the back of the banner.

2. I then cut 5-inch circles out of red and green burlap- 3 out of the green and 2 out of the red burlap.

3. Next, I gently painted the 4 cork Christmas tree and 8 cork snowflake tags on both sides with the acrylic paints. (Cork can be a little fragile to work with so you may want a few extra tags on hand).

4. When dry, I punched holes into the top of 4 cork snowflakes, top and bottom of the 4 Christmas trees and then JUST THE TOP of the remaining 4 snowflakes.

5. I assembled the painted cork snowflakes and Christmas trees onto rope mobile-style and then attached each set to the rope between the triangles of the burlap banner.

6. Next, I fired up my trusty glue gun to layer the burlap letters spelling “MERRY” and the green and red circles onto the burlap banner.

7. Once dry, your very Merry Christmas banner is ready to hang!

DIY Christmas Banner_Cork_and_burlap

You can really create this Christmas banner for any Holiday by changing the cutouts and letters. For more fun, boho crafting ideas, click here!

HAPPY CRAFTING!


Welcome to BravelyBohemian.com…

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Welcome to BravelyBohemian.com and the adventure ahead of us! As you’ve probably figured out from my bio, I live a pretty eclectic life. I have many interests and have crafted a bohemian lifestyle for myself whenever possible.

While I have spent much of my life dressed up and undertaking type-A work, my real personality is much more bohemian. I sometimes describe myself as an “earth baby in a suit” or a “holistic gypsy,” which often surprises people. They don’t expect the laid-back, spiritual side hanging out under my well-tailored clothing.

Bravely_Bohemian_Karen_McMahon_and Bear_BravelyBohemian.com

To me, a bohemian is someone who:
• Quietly, but confidently, makes their own way in the world,
• Is unafraid to think out of the box,
• Is game to try new things,
• Wants to know what lies around the next corner,
• Enjoys finding humor in their life,
• Loves to immerse themselves in their surroundings,
• Thinks and feels deeply,
• Loves wholeheartedly,
• Ultimately follows their own path.

Karen_and_Al_McMahon_Bravely_Bohemian_BravelyBohemian.com

Bravely Bohemian is a journey to uncover more of myself as I share my work, interests and spiritual experiences with you. And get ready to laugh as I share quirky adventures along the way! Life is never dull around here, that is for sure!

Are you game to start your bravely bohemian adventure? Start here!