Sometime last summer, I made a new shelf for the kitchen wall over my stove. It is the longest wall in the kitchen, and a shelf with a peg rail seemed to be the perfect thing to fill the space. But, most importantly, it allows me to change out the decor for every season, and decorating is right up there with gardening as my two great loves and hobbies.
Prior to the shelf, I hung matching pictures over the stove, made from torn pieces of paper napkins that were applied with Mod Podge onto a canvas. The large black and white bee canvas in the middle is a holdover from that decor, and the centerpiece of the shelf.
And still obsessing with my newest, inexpensive way to add changeable art to my home, are two downloadable prints from Etsy on each side. This bright honeycomb print is from the Etsy shop, AdamsPrints.
On the opposite side is another Etsy print from PrintableRose, that I think is my favorite. It was a challenge to pick prints that would compliment the main bee canvas without competing with it. This green print does that well.
The green in this print picked up nicely the green in my spring kitchen hand towels, which both surprisingly were found “new” at Goodwill.
Even though it may change from year to year, my spring decor in the kitchen is always based on a bee theme. Because years ago, I was a beekeeper, I have quite a large collection of bee themed items and there is no better time to use them than spring.
Bright yellow bee themed salad plates, is the simplest of changes made on the open shelving where my dinnerware is kept.
And what brightens a room more at this time of year, than a vase of daffodils and honeysuckle tree branches showing signs of life?
The harbingers of spring, bringing hope, sunshine, and smiles.
What a wonderful collection of colorful spring elements, beautifully coordinated but not matchy-matchy, Cindy. I love the fact that you were once a beekeeper. Is that something you’ve considered doing now that you’re retired?
Thank you kindly Kris.
I loved being a beekeeper, but things were much different back then. Every year it seemed a new disease or parasite was attacking bee hives, requiring new forms of medication for the hive. And I was younger. I have more time now, but certainly not the strength to lift the heavy hive boxes when they are full of bees and honey. My back is certainly way past doing anything that requires that level of lifting. I can still lift a 50-lb. bag of soil, but lifting a 50-lb. plus hive of bees with the potential to sting, is a whole different matter.
I love your bee decoration scheme, Cindy, it looks bright, fresh and subtle. How interesting that you kept bees. We have several friends who keep bees and it’s intriguing to hear abou the different experiences. Whereas some have huge harvests others keep losing their bees. I wonder how much of it has to do with radiation and pollution. We certainly have fewer birds and insects. How is your little girl settling in? I sent you a photo of our new family member via Telegram but you don’t seem to hang around there much anymore and rightly so, I also will reduce my news consumption as it drags me down big time. There’s so much beauty in nature, so let’s enjoy it and make the most of every day. Happy spring days 🐝🌷