Ashbee Design: Avoiding Cutesy For St. Patrick's Day

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Avoiding Cutesy For St. Patrick's Day

I am into this blogging thing for over a year now and there is a rhythm developing. Part of it is based on tablescapes and another part is tied to the calendar. I am having creative fun changing the arrangement on my table often but reality is that it needs to reflect the seasons. It is an emotional thing and I expect we all recognize it.

And March means St. Patrick's Day. This is a challenging theme and I have always skipped it. Daffodils are appearing in the market and it is great for the soul to have a brilliant yellow bouquet on display. Easy and springlike and helps me avoid the problem. But this year I am challenging myself to try and create something that meets my aesthetic and reflects the holiday of good luck. I have been thinking about it since I removed the Valentine's Day centerpiece. My challenge is I don't like cute! No leprechauns, shamrocks, or pots of gold. I also am very picky about the color green. There are many shades especially in the kelly range that I find less than wonderful. Combine them with the glitter of St. Patrick's stuff and it is an objectionable color.

This morning while checking in on blogland I noticed a post over on Tatertots & Jello with "26 Great Ideas for St. Patrick's Day". I hopped over and found one I really liked. (Note - 1 out of 26, yeah, St. Patrick's is a tough one!) Check out this idea by Chelsea at TwoTwentyOne...

Several things I like about Chelsea's approach to St. Patrick's Day...

Not Cutesy- no leprechauns!
Incorporates natural materials - and a different one. I would never have considered split peas!
The handmade hurricane lamps! Chelsea gives credit to the idea of combining vases to MyBlessedLife blog. Both locations have a tutorial.
Split peas are made up of many shades of subtler greens.

These combination hurricane vases would have helped my seed pod centerpiece from last year here.

Here's to sharing! It is a basic cornerstone of blogging. Thanks to Tatertots & Jello, Two Twenty One and My Blessed Life for leading me to inspiration today. Let's see where I take it!

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