Colorful Easter Table Decorations

Pull out your broad-brimmed hat, and pour the Champagne; this is the look to create when a special get-together is in order. Spring is here. Need there be a better occasion to throw a party? All you have to do is pick the guests; we've already figured out the decorations. Our tabletop pops with season-drenched hues and signs of new life.

1. Start by positioning water-soaked florist foam in a pedestal bowl. Any ceramic container will work.Cover the top of the foam with decorative sheet moss, hiding all edges.

2. Cut snapdragon stems at an angle, and insert them into the foam. The flowers and stems should be 12 to 15 inches long. You will need about 12 stems spaced evenly.

3. Repeat with ranunculus, varying the stem lengths. Use taller flowers in the center and shorter ones on the sides.

4. Carefully hold the bottom of each ranunculus stem when inserting it. If it is crushed, insertion will be difficult and blooms will wilt quickly. You will need about 24 ranunculus.

Finish by adding silk butterflies. We found ours at www.silkfever.com, but most crafts stores carry them.

1. Taking a ball of green Spanish moss in your hands, hollow out an opening with your thumbs.

2. Hold the formed nest in place by wrapping a single strand of florist wire around the outside edge of the moss.

3.Place twigs cut from the garden on a salad plate, top with the nest, and fill it with pastel Jordan almonds.

4.Finish with a silk butterfly.

Wire silk butterflies to the stems of Champagne glasses.

If hosting a shower, make a take-home gift for the honoree. Assemble a second, smaller arrangement, leaving room for a ceramic statue in the center.

1. Tie pretty bows on the backs of chairs. Do it in two steps. First loop ribbon over each chair back, and tie it in a knot.

2. Then for the bow, make two loops with a length of ribbon, and secure by tying with the tails from the first knot. Insert a silk butterfly.