Bring the natural beauty of Mother Nature indoors this holiday season with a few easy decorating ideas anyone can master.
Bright red dogwood branches can be cut and placed in a clear glass vase for a starkly beautiful decoration. Or cut some interesting branches from any old tree or shrub and spray paint them red, gold or silver for a similar adornment. Red or gold beads in the bottom of the vase for “soil” add even more beauty.
Place evergreen sprigs or an evergreen branch in a tall glass vase with straight sides. If you like, intersperse small red or gold ornaments with the evergreens. Tie or glue a colorful half-inch ribbon around the top of the vase and fill it with water.
The same thing can be done with a large wine glass with a pretty ribbon tied around its stem. A grouping of three would make a lovely centerpiece. Change the water every few days and your decoration will last for several weeks.
A simple wicker basket filled with pine cones makes a nice display. To jazz it up, spray the cones with gold spray paint or spray snow. The cones can also be painted with white glue and rolled in cinnamon, nutmeg or other spices to scent the room.
Cut some dried ornamental grasses, native plants such as echinacea, black-eyed Susan, bee balm or liatris, or weeds with interesting seed pods like velvet leaf. Tie them with a red ribbon and display them in a simple vase. The grasses will look wonderful left natural; the other plants will add a bit of glitz to your décor when spray-painted gold.
Greenery cut from your Christmas tree or the evergreens in your yard can add simple elegance to any room when placed among knick knacks on a shelf, tucked into the tie back of a curtain, or slipped into a napkin ring beside a place setting.
Do you still have that Indian corn from your fall decorations? Shuck the corn from the cobs and use it to fill a pint canning jar. Stick a red taper candle in the corn and tie a red ribbon around the neck of the jar. A small pine cone or other simple ornament tied or glued to the ribbon finishes it off.
The December 2006 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine has a wonderful idea for making a small table top forest. Place pine cones upside down in small silver cups, bowls or candlesticks. Cut a cardboard star and cover it with glitter to stick in the top of each cone. The entire small forest could be set on a decorative tray and interspersed with candles, greenery and small round ornaments.
Take a walk around your yard and look for dried flower heads, weeds, rose hips, twigs and branches, bird nests, stones and rocks, even a few branches you can nip from the back of your evergreen trees or shrubs. A little imagination and Mother Nature make for simple holiday beauty.
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