Tutorial | Spring Centerpiece Sleigh

A few days ago I showed you all the picture of this rusty, metal sleigh I bought at one of my favorite local flea markets.

Well, today I had a burst on inspiration and was ready to “spring” it up a little bit for a spring centerpiece display.  While my Dad was in town visiting for spring break, I took advantage of the free babysitting and ran to Hobby Lobby to get my materials.

I came home with a bag of moss, 2 purple flower stems, and one larger small berry bush.

The egg cartons I had on hand. The good, gray cardboard ones I save throughout the year because they make fantastic Easter displays in my booth.

With a little bit of naptime left, I went to work.  First into the sleigh went some burlap ribbon I grabbed out of my craft drawer, and the moss.

I layered it a little–ribbon, moss, ribbon, moss–to give it some height and visual depth.  Next went the small berries.

I separated the bush into individual branches.  Buying just one bush and pulling it apart costs less than buying several smaller floral stems.  Wire cutters work great at this step, or just bending each branch back and forth until the wire snaps will do the trick too.

Those were then stuck in various places, some draping out through the metal.

Then it was time for the egg cartons.  I cut 2 of the cartons I had in half, thinking the scale of the smaller carton would work better in the arrangement.

Another thing I keep on hand in my craft drawers is shredded music sheets.  It’s so easy to find piles of old sheet music at estate sales.  Some of it I package up and sell in my booth, some I keep and shred for filler.

I took a small bit of music, wadded it up into a ball in my hand, then gently separated it out with my fingertips in each egg carton.

It makes the perfect little nest!

I set a few pastel eggs leftover from last year’s Easter displays onto the music sheet “nests.”

Last are the few purple stems.  I wanted them to add a little more height and color. I ended up only using one stem, and like the bush, I pulled it apart into separate pieces.

Here is the final product:

A Christmas flea market leftover is now an Easter garden.

I’m happy with how it turned out.  When thinking about seasonal decor, get outside of the box sometimes and add something surprising into the mix!

Welcome spring 🙂