Creating natural arrangements for Christmas

Arranging natural materials creatively requires knowledge of balance and proportion.  Some people seem to have natural instincts in this area, but  the skills can be learned from floral arranging books. 

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By using the following four elements you can achieve a stunning Christmas planter.

1. Droopers (Spillers)

While there are many places/ways to start, I usually start with the hanging material  to cover the edges of the pot. These have to be set in almost horizontally  as the cedar in the above image.  You want it to droop gracefully and cover the edges of the pot. 
 

- Spanish broom

-  pine

-spruce branches
- cedar

2.Uprights (Thrillers)

Sometimes if I have interesting tall materials  I arrange them first to establish height and then work out and down.  Thrillers are always tall and act as the apex of the triangle design.

- dried goats beard stalks

- corkscrew hazel

- yellow - twig dogwood, red dogwood

- spirea with dried seed heads

- forsythia stalks (which are very light and work well with dogwood branches)
-birch sticks

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Twigs make great uprights, and don't forget that small potted trees can be placed in the middle of a planter and other materials can be added to cover the pot. A planter within a planter!

3. Fillers 

Once these two aspects have been arranged you need to fill our the arrangement (fillers) by applying the branches at roughly 45 degrees. I have lots of possibilities in my garden:

- boxwood

-yellow mound cedar

- holly 

- blue spruce

- rhododendron leaves 

- dried hydrangea blooms

 

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4. Accents  

These are the final touches that hightlight and brighten your arrangements.   The sky is the limit here. 

- sprayed grapevine spheres

- brightly coloured plastic ornaments 

- wooden Santas

- plastic ribbons 

- plastic Christmas flowers
- artificial birds 
-woven twig stars

-toys 
- small colourful lanterns
- large sphere shaped ornaments 
- ribbons

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berries, pinecones, pods

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fresh fruit or plastic fruit

 

 

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and even birdhouses!

Rich and Simple Table Settings

 Christmas entertaining calls for an extra effort  in the decorating department.  Don't let  a busy lifestyle and budget restraints put a damper on your table settings.  A little ingenuity and do it yourself  is all you need to wow your guests.

Rich and Simple

 The addition of gold charger plates, simple gold  ornaments,  and a puffy silver and gold garland can  tie a table setting together. Of course, it helps to have beautiful china  and crystal, but your could  use plain white tableware and spray assorted napkin rings with gold metallic paint. Dollar stores offer a range of inexpensive containers for tea lights.

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A Little Crafting

Your table setting can echo metallic decorating schemes with a little crafting. White  napkins can be decorated with metallic paint using a stencil.  Check out Lumiere fabric paint. Ribbon and simple gold decorations complete the setting.

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A winter theme

There's nothing like blue and silver to give you that cool, shimmery feel of winter.  The white snowflakes, small clear glasses,  and silver glitter balls can be found at most dollar stores. And who knows what other ideas you will get when you start to look around for inspiration. 

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 Do you have a favouite table setting you would like to share?

Do you love your laundry room?

Laundry is not my favourite activity so I think it is important to make it as enjoyable as possible. For me that means an inviting environment and there's nothing cleaner, crisper and more inviting than a blue gray colour scheme with white trim. Benjamin Moore's Gray Wisp is my answer.

The fact that I can dream up designs and my husband can produce them makes it very convenient and cost effective when it comes time to renovate.

Functionality and storage is a must . Under the counter is a recycling center, one bin each for paper, plastics and glass. Above the washer and dryer is storage for cloth napkins, and light bulbs. Of course, art is a must to set the tone for every room. Some people think it's insulting to hang "good art" in functional rooms. Not me. I spend a lot of time in this room and you can view it from my hall because there isn't a door. It has to be clean and inviting and art invites .
Across from the washer and dryer is my broom closet, gift wrapping center in the drawers and upper storage for cleaning products. To the left of the broom closet is storage for the vacuum cleaner and a place to hang at least five pieces of clothing to dry.

A tiny powder room is directly across from the recycling center. It continues the theme set in the laundry room. The glass mosaic tiles are iridescent and my big splurge for the renovation.

This mirror began life with a stenciled wooden frame. It was updated by covering it with a handmade paper and then adding four coats of Liquitex acrylic gloss medium and varnish.

And of course you need something to look at when nature calls! I created this landscape collage with various papers and acrylic medium to remind me of my summer house when I wasn't there.

....And that is my laundry room and it makes laundry enjoyable.

Something new

Welcome to my new blog. If you already know me as a visual artist I'm changing hats to highlight my second career in interior design. If you want:

• to know what's current in the world of home decor
  
• to spruce up your existing decorating scheme on a budget
  
• to take sneak peeks into different homes
• to engage in interesting discussions about home decor
• to learn about DIY projects

stay tuned.