Decorating for Easter

From apothecary jars filled with eggs to bowls brimming with seasonal fruit, the perfect centerpiece is what brings your Easter table together. Decorating extraordinaire Julie Blanner of Martha's Circle presents nine breathtakingly beautiful (and simple) table decoration ideas that are perfect for your sit-down holiday meal.

Enliven your next buffet with an arrangement of eggcup bouquets displayed on cake stands.

Dyed in fresh spring hues, our egg chain makes a cheerful seasonal swag for a mantel mirror; the blown-out eggshells are light enough to loop across a doorway.

This fanciful green-meadow vignette seems a fitting home for a chocolate bunny. His eyes (dabs of tinted royal icing) and bow tie (ribbon with a glued-on rosette) match his surroundings.

Celebrate spring by bringing some greenery indoors. Embellishing pillar candles with blades of grass highlights a plant that's rarely appreciated up close -- and unifies an assortment of candles.

Set inside a rustic boat-shaped birch basket, this cheerful yellow hilltop vista is a breath of fresh air. You can practically hear the chicks peeping and feel the warm sunshine on your face.

White cotton or linen place mats are an ideal backdrop for a verdant lawn motif.

Are you "dyeing" for a new way to decorate Easter eggs? Here's a recipe for fun using basic crafts supplies.

For an Easter centerpiece, arrange several eggcups of spring flowers on a tray.

Symbols of rebirth in many cultures, eggs serve as the perfect star component in this festive wreath. To hollow out the eggs, working over a bowl, pierce one end of a raw egg with a pin. Pierce the other end, and use the pin to enlarge the hole slightly and break the yolk.

Bring a touch of spring into your home with a flock of colorful paper birds perched above coconut-fiber nests.

An oversize eggshell filled with flowers unites two symbols of spring in a single arrangement.

Inspired by an easy Japanese technique, we've created these delightful decorations to enjoy this Easter and next.

In Germany and Austria, it's customary to celebrate Easter by hanging hollow eggs from the branches of trees. This year, bring the tradition indoors by creating a unique display for blown and decorated Easter eggs.

This dramatic scene sets a new silver standard for Easter. There are whimsically polka-dotted and beribboned silver blown-out eggs, filigreed sterling silver "baskets," and, of course, dapper chocolate bunnies -- here, white chocolate, tied with ribbons to match the dots.

Adorned with artificial flowers and shimmering with Swarovski crystals, these hanging eggs make a dazzling addition to any Easter decor.

A whimsical flowering branch is a natural perch for these handmade baby birds. We wrapped a fallen oak branch with ivory perle cotton thread, and then glued on fabric millinery flowers. To make a centerpiece, bunch several branches, nestling chicks among the buds.

Bring the beauty of spring into your home with this speckled-eggs-and-nest display.

This oversize nest cradles an exuberant mix of blooms from spring-flowering bulbs -- the botanical counterpart to newly hatched birds.

Hollowed-out eggshells make naturally beautiful vases for tiny flower arrangements.

Eggs adorned with the delicate shapes of greenery and herbs announce the arrival of spring. Blown-out eggs work best for this project, but hard-boiled eggs can also be used.

This time of year, birds instinctively put the materials at hand to good use. Here, the downy gray catkins of pussy-willow branches soften a densely woven nest, while dried grasses inside cushion fragile decorated eggs. A trail of feathers suggests that the winged occupant has just taken flight.

Jump-start spring by forcing branches of early-flowering trees and shrubs and displaying them in a lush arrangement.

Try a twist on Easter baskets, and make a paper basket bouquet for every place setting.

Creating a spring bulb arrangement is a beautiful way to make the season come alive indoors.

Make this lovely pussy-willow arrangement for Easter, and when the holiday is over, remove the eggs and display with your spring decorations.

Deck arrangements of flowering branches with personalized pendants.

This delicate tabletop arrangement will be a great addition to an Easter brunch or dinner party.

No special flower-arranging skills are needed to make these brunch-table centerpieces -- just a few hallmarks of spring: blades of grass, muscari blooms, and a cache of pretty eggs.

Complete your Easter decor with a parade of fabric cutout chicks and bunnies.

Selected flower- and bird-themed artwork can transform a variety of eggs -- from naturally deep-green emu eggs to tinted and undyed ostrich eggs to painted wooden orbs -- into instant collectibles.

Why should eggs have all the fun? For one-stop decorating, dye the basket -- and everything inside it -- at once. A nice bonus: The pretty monochrome nests highlight subtle variations among the eggs.