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13 In DIY/ garden/ home

6 ways to use lilacs from your garden

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I was invited to join some friends today for all the gardening ideas so get ready for all the pretty things and to be inspired! I am sharing 6 ways to use lilacs from your garden so scroll down to see them all.

Welcome to the third Fabulous Friday Link Party Blog Hop. The Fabulous Friday Link Party is where bloggers share their best home related blog posts every Friday. Quarterly, the Link Party hosts each invite a talented blogger who links up regularly to join us in a special Blog Hop.

6 ways to use lilacs from your garden

Growing up, my grandmother had a huge lilac tree in her yard. I used to love to stand under it and smell the fragrant blooms and clip some to bring home. To this day, every time I see or smell lilacs, I think of my grandmother. I’ve always had a lilac bush at our home and this year the boy’s got me 2 new bushes for Mother’s Day.

But did you know that besides clipping them to put in vases, there are other ways to use lilacs? Unfortunately lilacs only thrive for a few short weeks but there are other uses to make them last.

From edible confections, to using in your beauty or skin care regimen, here are 6 other ways to use lilacs from your garden.

1.) Lilac Lemonade

Lilacs add a nice floral touch to lemonade for a pretty and refreshing sip. Click here for my lilac lemonade recipe. It’s become quite the favorite over the past few years. And I think adding a splash of crisp rose goes well too!

2.) Freeze them into ice cubes

Not only does this make your ice cubes or water look pretty, but it adds that light floral aroma too! It just elevates your traditional water a little bit and makes you feel a little more fancy which I am all for.

You can also use these lilac ice cubes to roll on your face to help reduce any puffiness, redness, and brighten your skin. (I’ll link my flower ice molds here, aren’t they so pretty?)

3.) Lilac ice cream

Lilacs can be used in so many desserts from scones to cupcakes and ice cream. Have you ever made your own ice cream? It’s really simple to do, you can see some of my easy no churn ice cream recipes here. This lilac ice cream from Havoc in the Kitchen looks phenomenal and is on my summer bucket list to make this year. Click here for the recipe.

photo credit – Havoc in the Kitchen

4.) Make a Simmer Pot

If you haven’t hopped on the simmer pot train yet, what are you waiting for? (I say that with love of course). There’s so many lovely combinations you can do to fill your home with different seasonal aromas. And it looks really pretty on the stove too. I’m sharing my lilac simmer pot here.

You can use any pot but I love this glass one from Amazon.

5.) In the bath

Add a few lilac blossoms to your bath water and the steam will almost act like a simmer pot and diffuse throughout.

Or you could also dry some blossoms and mix with epsom salt to make a refreshing bath soak.

6.) For your complexion

Lilacs are a natural astringent making them great for your skin. Infuse some lilacs in a bottle of witch hazel, allowing to infuse for about 2 days and then spritz on your face or use a cotton ball. It helps treat acne, fine lines and wrinkles.

Lilacs are also really good for soothing sunburns and scratches. Combine the petals in a carrier oil like jojoba oil or even coconut oil to make a lotion or salve.

Let me know if you try any of these ideas or if you have any other favorite ways to use lilacs.

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And check out some of these other fantastic gardening ideas from my friends below

May 17, 2023 By Nicolle

16 In DIY/ home

Spring lilac simmer pot

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There is just something about the smell of fresh lilacs, it brings me right back to my childhood as a little girl, picking lilacs from my grandmother’s lilac bush. I would love to bottle up the scent. I have been really into simmer pots lately and got the idea for this spring lilac simmer pot once my lilacs bloomed.

What is a simmer pot?

A simmer pot is a basically a pot of water, fruits, herbs and spices that you simmer throughout the day to fill your home with a nice aroma. Simmer pots are really nice around the holidays with warm spices like cinnamon and clove but they can be enjoyed all year long. In the spring and summer I like to do more uplifting scents like citrus and thyme or rosemary. (Another one of my favorite simmer pot combos is rose petals, grapefruit, and peppercorn, you can see it here).

Spring lilac simmer pot

You will need:

a pot (you can use any but I love these glass simmer pots on Amazon, they’re so pretty)
fresh lilacs
2-3 slices of lemon
water

Directions:

1.) Start by slicing a lemon.

2.) Add the fresh lilacs and lemon slices to the pot.

3.) Fill with water.

4.) Put on the stove, bring to a simmer and then lower the heat.

5.) Allow to simmer for 3-4 hours, you can add more water as needed to avoid drying out.

Note – as the ingredients simmer, the lilacs will lose their purple color but will still hold their fragrance.

Linking my glass simmer pot below, click the photo

This would also be a sweet gift for Mother’s Day or a housewarming. You can see my holiday simmer pot gift I did in the past here to give you some inspiration.

If you love lilacs, then you need to try my lilac lemonade. Sharing the recipe here.

And for more ideas on how to use lilacs, check out this post here. I’ve got lilac ice cream, beauty reigmens and more.

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May 12, 2023 By Nicolle

7 In decor/ DIY/ Easter

DIY decoupage Easter eggs

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This is an easy DIY for decoupage Easter eggs. All you need are some eggs, napkins and a little Mod Podge! The best part is these eggs can be used year after year and are great in trays, bowls or a nice filler for a vase. Scroll down to see how to make these beautiful Easter eggs for your Easter and spring decor.

You will need:

Eggs (I used wooden eggs)
Decorative napkins
Mod Podge
a paint brush

What is decoupage?

Decoupage is the “art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf, and other decorative elements.”

In the past, I made these decoupage Easter eggs with napkins and some faux flowers I got from the Dollar Store.

I was feeling a little creative over the weekend and wanted to do something a little different with these beautiful chinoserie napkins I got. Scroll down to see how they came out!

How to make DIY decoupage Easter Eggs

Start by taking your napkins and ripping them in smaller pieces. Depending on the type of napkins you have, they may be 2 ply or 3 ply. You will just want to use the top layer.

When ripping the pieces of paper, you will want some smaller pieces and some larger pieces to form to your egg.

Next dip your paint brush in the Mod Podge and apply some on the egg. There’s really no right or wrong, my tip is just to apply a generous amount of glue underneath and over the paper.

Next apply a piece of paper on top of the glue, using your finger to carefully smooth out any wrinkles. Then apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper, continuing to smooth out the napkin. Be gentle so as not to rip the paper.

Continue your way around the egg being sure to overlap as you go and then fill in any spaces.

Allow the egg to dry completely.

How to display your eggs

Use a nice decorative bowl, dough bowl, or cloche. I’ll link a few of my favorites below.

I’m showing you another way to display your decoupage eggs here in this dough bowl arrangement. Click here

For more Easter decor ideas, check out

this adorable bunny door basket

and these DIY Easter treat jars.

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March 27, 2023 By Nicolle

30 In DIY/ Easter

An adorable Easter door basket with DIY faux carrots

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With spring hopefully around the corner very soon, and Easter next month, I was looking for a cute wreath or something to adorn my front door. I created the most adorable Easter door basket with some DIY faux carrots and I can’t wait to show you how I put it together!

But first, I am very excited to introduce to you The Cozy Creative Collaborative! A group of some talented women who love all things cozy home, a good DIY and delicious food. We will be gathering every month to share a themed idea. This month is all things Easter!

So be sure to give all of these ladies a follow!

Kelly – The Tattered Pew

Heidi – Eleanor Rose Home

Charity – Mornings on Macedonia

If you are coming from my friend Kelly at The Tattered Pew, thank you so much for stopping by! I just love the way she transformed that little bunny figurine don’t you?

Subscribe below so you get our DIYs and decor ideas right to your inbox every month!

Ok now for my adorable Easter door basket with DIY faux carrots…

I love using door baskets because you can easily swap out some faux florals and things for each season. In the past I’ve done a door basket with some of my dried hydrangeas (click to see it here) and I’ve also done a patriotic door basket (linking it here).

The options are endless!

How to create an adorable Easter door basket

You will need:

door basket
faux greenery
styrofoam cones
fabric
ribbon
a bunny
hot glue gun

Start by making the faux carrots.

You can certainly buy faux carrots but I decided to make my own. I took each styrofoam cone and rolled it up in some fabric. I did not measure out the fabric I just rolled the each cone until it was covered and then cut.

As you are rolling the fabric, be sure to fold down the top so that the whole flat part is covered completely. Same thing with the bottom, make sure you are folding up the fabric and tucking it in so that the point is completely covered.

Then I used some hot glue to glue the edges of the fabric to keep it secure.

A cut a little hole in the top of the fabric and punctured the top of the cone so that I could stick some greenery in for the stem.

Then group your carrots together and tie with a ribbon.

These faux carrots are a great filler for a spring basket or dough bowl too!

Now you are ready to fill your door basket.

I filled my basket with my carrots first. Then I added my bunny.

I liked this one with the cute flower crown but it was a little too wide, so I did have to trim the edges to make him fit. Good thing he’s made of styrofoam 🙂

Then I filled in the spaces with some faux greens. Have you ever heard of the Thrill, Fill, Spill method? I like to use it when I’m making arrangements, whether it be in pots or baskets. You choose one item that will be the thriller, next choose some fillers, and then spillers. I love the way these greens trailed down the basket.