DIY Easter: Realistic Robin Eggs & Colorful Watercolor Eggs

With Easter approaching quickly, I was planning to hard boil a bunch of eggs so I could try different decorating techniques. But then I saw these awesome faux eggs at Hobby Lobby and couldn't resist the idea. If I'm going to spend time painting these little eggs, they might as well last longer than the hard boiled variety!

They sell each egg for $1.69, which I think is a decent price for an extremely realistic fake egg. When you think about using them year after year, that $1.69 price tag seems pretty reasonable. You can find them in the section where they keep the plain items you can paint yourself, back by the t-shirts and cardboard letters. Bonus points to Hobby Lobby for selling them in an actual egg carton!

I bought myself a dozen eggs and decided to split them up so I could try two different painting styles.

First up, the realistic robin egg:

I mixed up two similar colors of light blue acrylic craft paint (Sea Lavender by Martha Stewart and Robins Egg Blue by Craft Smart) and painted each egg. You can use just one color, but I think the mix gives it more depth and a realistic look.

Once they were dry, I took a small paint brush and dabbed on small dots of brown paint all over each egg. It's important to do the dots randomly because you don't want them to be perfectly spaced out like polka dots. Try to paint the dots in different shapes and thickness; I think that's the key to making it look like a real robin egg.

I decided to display my eggs in this crystal tealight candle holder. It was the perfect size and shape for my six eggs! It would be a chic and minimal centerpiece for Easter brunch, don't you think?

Not bad, right? 

Once those were finished, I decided to try something totally different with my last six eggs. I wanted bright colors done in a modern way, so I figured I would try a watercolor treatment. 

I have a simple set of watercolors meant for an elementary school aged child, but I love them even more than my fancy watercolors. The paint doesn't bleed as well into each color on an egg like it would on watercolor paper, but I still think it produced a really pretty look. 

So, have you decorated any eggs this year? I'd love to hear what techniques you used!

If you're looking for simple Easter wreath ideas, check out this post from 2013. I have my cross up on my wreath again– it's so easy to bring it out every year!

Check out the other fun Easter ideas on my "Modern Easter" Pinterest board:

Reveal: Guest Bathroom Makeover

We are finally finished with the guest bathroom renovation! It's my favorite bathroom project we've ever done, and every little DIY headache we encountered throughout the process was totally worth it.

Are you ready for a really long blog post? I have a lot of details to divulge, so I'll get right to it! You remember our plans, right?

And before we see the good stuff, let's remember where we started!

And here we are now:

Much better, right?

This bathroom was a doozy. First, we tore out the former vanity (three 27" cabinets) and ripped out the tile floor. 

Then we put in this carrara marble-looking porcelain tile from Floor & Decor. Like the real deal but much, much more affordable. 

See that yucky moldy section behind the former toilet? We replaced that with fresh new drywall. 

Once the floor was grouted and sealed, the husband added bead board behind the former vanities to match the opposite side. Then we added the penny tile accent strip above the bead board, and I was the official grouter for this project.

After that was finished, we added a strip of moulding above the penny tile, added taller baseboards and cut notches in the chair rail and baseboards to fit the vanity perfectly.

 

This is when we began the plumbing fiasco. Because the new vanity was not the same size as the cabinets we had there before, we had to adjust the plumbing to curve in toward the new sinks. It proved to be a tricky situation, so we decided to hire professional plumbers to make sure it was done correctly.

Unfortunately, the plumber didn't do his job correctly. We ended up having to call his boss the next day to tell him the plumbing was leaking. The boss came out himself (at 8 p.m. at night, poor guy), and unfortunately the previous plumbing work was done so poorly that he had to remove the bead board and drywall behind the sinks (that we had just cut to size, painted and installed!) to fix the problem.

Long story short, the plumbing finally got fixed, but not before it set us back about 5 days of work! It was pretty frustrating.

I should mention that while we worked on the plumbing, we chose to replace the PVC plumbing with chrome since it would be visible from certain angles in the bathroom.

Once the plumbing was finished, the husband had to make cuts into the second shelf on the vanity so that the vanity would fit perfectly around the plumbing.

He also stained the inside of the cuts to match the wood perfectly. He's very detail-oriented, that  husband of mine!

Since the sinks were no longer in the same place, we also had to relocate the mirrors and lights above the mirrors. Naturally, that left holes in the wall where the lights used to be, so we had to patch that up.

(Would this project NEVER end?!)

Then we installed the brand new toilet.

Finally, it was time for the fun stuff! I wanted some vintage-y hooks to hang on the wall opposite the sinks, but I couldn't find any in the style I wanted for a decent price. I ended up taking some off of this $16 set of wall hooks at HomeGoods. (This was a huge bargain because I found some very similar hooks at World Market for $10 a pop!)

 

I completed the scheme with two pieces of art from Jones Design Company. The "Give Thanks" print hangs above the toilet (complete with DIY polka dot mat), and the pear art hangs above the hand towel. 

How about one more bathroom before and after, just for fun?!

Phew! It feels SO great to cross that project off our list. What do you think?

If you have any questions, hit me up in the comment section!

As always, thanks for reading. :)

Randoms & Happy Weekend

Phew! It's been a whirlwind week of hosting company over here. I'm happy to report that the bathroom renovation was finished just in time, but I still need to add the finishing touches. Art on the walls, sink accessories, those fun little things. I'll have the full reveal on Monday and I can't wait to show you. It's quite a transformation!

How about a bunch of random thoughts today? I've got a jumble of items floating around this brain of mine that I thought I'd share...

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House of Earnest is one of my favorite blogs, and I wanted to point you toward Erin's thought-provoking post she calls "Practicing Graciousness." I love the idea of substituting "Be gracious"with "Practice being gracious." The idea of practicing better character traits – whether it's patience, gratitude, humility, empathy, etc. – is an easier concept to apply than just flipping the switch.

We actually chatted about this at work yesterday. I truly believe the best testimony to someone's character is how they handle a bad situation. When things aren't going their way, do they handle it with grace? I'm always so impressed when I see someone navigate a rough patch with dignity and elegance.

Anyway, just something to chew on over the weekend. I'll be practicing my graciousness...

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How stunning are these wire sculptures by Gavin Worth? LOVE.

images via GavinWorth.com

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Can we talk about how adorable these polka dot oxfords from Gap? I've been on the fence about the oxford trend for quite some time now, but I'm being sucked in by the polka dots. You know they are my weakness!

 

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 This beautiful song by Hillsong United brings me an incredible sense of peace and comfort. I've been listening to it on repeat!

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Have you read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green? I saw the movie trailer and instantly wanted to read the book. I stayed up all night reading it one sitting, and I absolutely loved it! Did you enjoy the amazingly fast-paced and witty banter on Gilmore Girls? Then you'll love the dialogue in this book. Of course the content matter is heavier than Gilmore Girls, but what's better than a book that makes you laugh and cry?

Of course I'm counting the days until the movie...

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Well, I hope you have an awesome weekend.
 I'll be back Monday with the guest bathroom reveal– woohoo!