Peter Rabbit Spring Mantle

Disclosure: Thank you to Cost Plus World Market for sponsoring this post. Product and/or compensation was provided to me to share my ideas and tips, however, all opinions are fully my own.  #ad #worldmarkettribe

Have you seen the trailer for the new Peter Rabbit movie?  I am super excited to take my kids to the movie so they can watch mischievous Peter and all his farm and field friends get into a bunch of shenanigans!

My FAVORITE thing to do when I'm not busy with the hundreds of things going on in my life is to curl up in a quiet corner and read.  I am such a book worm!  I remember being a small child, in nursery school (does anyone else remember nursery school??? Was that a thing everywhere or just where I grew up.....I digress) and there was this lush bright yellow carpeted corner of the classroom that had shelves filled with books upon books.  I was always drawn to books with the brightest illustrations!  I didn't really 'read' at such a young age....but I certainly remember the images.  One of my favorite books to thumb through was The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. 

The images of Peter running through Mr. McGregor's farm, getting caught in a few traps, and finally returning home always stood out to me.  It's a book that I would always grab and look through during quiet times.  Suffice to say, I'm beyond excited to catch this tale on the big screen.  I'm also  inspired to start decorating my home for spring with all the fabulous items that Cost Plus World Market has available that are inspired by the new movie!

Recently, I was perusing the Cost Plus World Market site to see what items I could nab to decorate our home to create a Peter Rabbit spring mantle.


The first item that I immediately want to put on my list is this adorable Felted Wool Peter Rabbit Figure quite naturally, it's the star of the show and would be the perfect center piece for my mantle.  To give it some height, I would place the figure on top of a stack of Mini Peter Rabbit Story Books . 

The next item I found was this Peter Rabbit Snow Globe  it's a treasure!  You can see Peter doing what he does best -  sneaking vegetables from Mr. McGregor's garden!  This is such a fun collectible  - I consider this a MUST HAVE item....additionally, I would definitely add these Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail  Paper Pulp Peter Rabbit Sisters Figures and each figure has the character's name added to the base.  The Blue And Green Peter Rabbit Ceramic Egg Cookie Jars are DARLING!  I love the silhouette shape and that they can be used as a jar or vase!  They would look perfect positioned on opposite ends of my mantle!

This tale takes place mostly on a farm....so quite naturally my mantle will need to scream Farmhouse style!  When I saw this decorative Metal Wheelbarrow  I knew that it would be a perfect fit.  It would look so festive filled with Bright Green Exelsior, Faux Heather Bundles and these Peter Rabbit Candied Sunflower Seeds - I love that they are wrapped in a carrot shaped package - so fun!

Every mantle deserves certain key pieces that perhaps, wouldn't necessarily be used as decoration, but could certainly serve a dual purpose, whether that be a decorative plate or a tray, and these Peter Rabbit Melamine Egg Shaped Plates  or these Peter Rabbit Veggie Plates are and 'eggs'-cellent choice!  I'd either place some of these treat-filled Peter Rabbit Easter Crackers  on them or prop one up on a plate stand and present it as a display piece.   I also like the idea of stacking these Veggie Bowls on top of each other and filling them with decorative pastel eggs!  The good thing is that the bowls and plates are also great for kids parties and because they're Melamine, they're practically unbreakable! 

I'd be amiss if I didn't include either this vibrant and colorful Wood Happy Easter Garland  to the my spring mantle.  It would look perfect swagged across the front.  I would even add this Pastel Egg Wreath Decor  the twisted vine and leafy accents reminds me of the berry vines that Peter gets tangled in and it will work seamlessly into my Easter decor.

I'm so excited that spring is upon us and I can get my home ready for the Easter holiday.  I'm equally anxious to see this movie!  I'm definitely heading to my local Cost Plus World Market store  at Pentagon Row in Arlington, Va to zshush up my home, If you're as excited as I am head to your local store HERE.

1 Felted Wool Peter Rabbit Figure 2  Mini Peter Rabbit Story Books 3 Peter Rabbit Snow Globe  4 Paper Pulp Peter Rabbit Sisters Figures 5 Blue And Green Peter Rabbit Ceramic Egg Cookie Jars  6 Peter Rabbit Easter Crackers 7 Faux Heather Bundles 8 Peter Rabbit Melamine Egg Shaped Plates  9  Pastel Egg Wreath Decor  10 Pastel Eggs 11 Peter Rabbit Candied Sunflower Seeds 12 Veggie Bowls  13 Peter Rabbit Veggie Plates 14  Wood Happy Easter Garland 15  Metal Wheelbarrow 16 Metal Wheelbarrow  

How are you getting ready for Easter?  Are you excited to see the new Peter Rabbit movie?  Leave a comment below!  I'd love to hear from you.  

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Punny Valentine's Ideas

Today's post may be a bit random and sporadic, and that's because IT IS!  I don't often post about items in my Etsy shop.....but I'm so excited about this that I am putting it out there....

Last year, I created a huge handful of printable punny Valentine's to sell over in my Etsy shop.  This year, I created a few more.  Last weekend, I shared my first REAL Facebook live for my page and am getting a HUGE response to these tags.

I created them for convenience.  I know there are a lot of moms who are waiting until the last minute to get those classroom Valentine's and we can't always find what we're looking for.  So, I figured, make a few tags, that moms can download, print, then cut out and attach to some fun toys or candy...and hey, make them PUNNY!  So, if you're looking for some creative Valentine's that are super punny, head over to my Etsy shop and see if anything sparks your fancy!

If you need to get some ideas - you can watch my Facebook Live video here with tons of ideas on how I use the Punny Valentine's tags to make easy classroom treats!

and you can find my Etsy shop here.

Chinese New Year Pot Sticker Station

Disclosure: Thank you to Cost Plus World Market for sponsoring this post. Product and/or compensation was provided to me to share my ideas and tips, however, all opinions are fully my own.  #ad #worldmarkettribe

I'm  a celebration girl and love just about any chance to entertain.  With Chinese New Year fast approaching I wanted to share a few simple ideas for setting up a Chinese New Year Pot Sticker Station.

Dumplings (sometimes called potstickers) are a main staple of many Chinese New Year celebrations.  If you're hosting a Chinese New Year celebration this year, you may want to head to Cost Plus World Market to decorate your space.  There were so many beautiful Chinese New Year Decorations at my local store at Pentagon Row in Arlington, Va

We have an old vintage dresser that we converted into a buffet for our dining room.  It's typically where I set up all of our food and desserts when we're hosting gatherings.  Normally, it's just decorated simply with a bouquet, the kids schoolwork....or mail....but I cleaned it off nice for this post ;)

I set up my Pot Sticker station by hanging a black fabric over a curtain rod for a backdrop behind the buffet.   Most Asian design is very simple and minimalist and I wanted to keep to that aesthetic.  Red is a color of good fortune and a must when decorating for Chinese New Year, so, I  placed a Red Hexagonal Porcelain Jar on top of a wooden crate to display a dainty pair of White Velvet Plum Blossoms .   Inside the wooden crate, I added tasting square tidbit plates that displayed clementines, which are another symbol of good fortune. 

Blending nature into the design, a key component to most Asian design, I placed a woven fiber runner on top of a red table cover.  The dumplings were placed in bamboo steaming baskets.  I thought they needed a pop of color so, I added a Lucky Coin Hanging Decor onto each of them. 

Brown Ironwood chopsticks were placed on top of a Matte Black Sushi plate.  Also on the table, I added these Shanghai Dip Bowls for my dipping sauce (recipe follows). 

To dress up the chopsticks, I found a beautiful gift bag at Cost Plus World Market that I just had to use in this set up.  I cut a few strips and wrapped them around the chopsticks and I love how they turned out.

Since I am SUPER intimidated by making dumplings I ordered them from my favorite Chinese Take-Out restaurant.  What I do know how to make is a great dipping sauce to go with the dumplings. 
To make the sauce, all you need is:

1/2 cup  Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Marukan Lite Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Lee Kum Kee Chili Oil Sauce
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
2 sprigs green onions, chopped 
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional) 

TO MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE
Whisk all the ingredients together and enjoy (see.....I told you it was super simple!)  Tip: You can use low sodium soy sauce and skip the sugar for this recipe.

Prior to writing this post, I didn't know very much about Chinese New Year, but I know I love so many things about Chinese culture, design and cuisine.  So, I've also decided to share 10 Things to Know about Chinese New Year.

10 Things to Know about Chinese New Year

• Red and gold are common colors used through the holiday and are symbols of good fortune and prosperity.

• Clementines are often given as gifts of good fortune.

• Fireworks are used to scare evil spirits.

• Dumplings are a main food item in most Lunar New Year celebrations.

• Chinese New Year is a time to start things new and sometimes called Spring Festival....people will use this time to make amends, reconcile and clean house (but only after the 5th day - otherwise cleaning/sweeping is considered moving out the good luck!)

• The holiday is actually celebrated in many of Asian countries like, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia!

• Chinese new year lasts 15 days lasting from the new moon to the full moon.

• The last day of the Chinese New Year ends with the Lantern Festival.

• Red Envelopes are passed out as  a way to pass on good luck and a typically handed out to young children.

• The world's largest travel migration happens during Chinese New Year.

Don't forget to send your guests home with Chinese take out boxes filled with fortune cookies or chocolate coins- and don't forget to pass out red envelopes to children, they are perfect Chinese New Year Gifts.  I made these take out boxes and envelopes using my Cricut machine.  

Visit your local Cost Plus World Market for your holiday entertaining needs.  Find your local shop here:  http://stores.worldmarket.com/index.html

 Red Hexagonal Porcelain Jar

White Velvet Plum Blossoms

tasting square tidbit plates

 woven fiber runner

 bamboo steaming baskets

 Lucky Coin Hanging Decor

Brown Ironwood chopsticks
Matte Black Sushi plate

 Shanghai Dip Bowls

Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce

Marukan Lite Rice Wine Vinegar

Lee Kum Kee Chili Oil Sauce

LET'S GET SOCIAL!

Follow me @cwbdparties on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and tag me when share your best holiday entertaining moments using ideas from my site!