Expert Studio

Decorating for the Holidays – whether it’s Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah or any holiday - can be expensive – with the tablecloths, napkins, ornaments, candles and what have you – spiffing up our houses can also be stressful. I don’t know about you, but I want my home to be warm and welcoming to my holiday visitors – although  I don’t want to stress going here and there getting just the right thing.

I recently attended an event with my son – and while he did his thing – they had crafts for the parents to do – which totally got my creative juices flowing. Of course, the one I made I ended up giving away, but that didn’t stop me from making one for myself and one for a neighbor later. The craft that I made was a beautiful pine swag to hang on a door – complete with plastic berries, bows, metal bells, paper wrapped packages and plastic pinecones, not my  exact idea of a pine swag – but the end result was worth the effort. It was gorgeous and I was sad that I didn’t take a picture of it before I gave it away, haha.

After the event, several ideas kept percolating in my brain. Why didn’t I make more than one, I live in the forest – and I could make that with NO plastic and LOTS of free stuff!

I gathered up my Mom and my boy and we went foraging in the forest with a bucket to carry our boughs and treasures in  plus a pair of garden shears. It was a beautiful day for walking in the woods – and we had a great time looking high and low for branches with red berries, different types of pine tree boughs – and the elusive cedar branches. We sang Christmas songs, threw berries at each other and had a grand time.

When we thought we had enough supplies – we headed home and got down to business. The other supplies we needed were: green floral wire, wire cutters, 2” ribbon, and newspaper to cover the table with.

These swags are pretty simple to make – cut the boughs to length, mine were 14 to 18 inches long and layer them in a pleasing way. Mix boughs with long and short needles for textural interest – add as much as you want to create the perfect swag for your door. When you are happy with your base, wrap the ends tightly with floral wire, leaving enough wire to create a hanger.

Next use wire to add pine cones and other natural accents to each bough. Tie a double or triple bow and wrap it around the floral wire to hide it and you’re on the home stretch. The last thing I did was to stick some branches with red berries underneath the wire for some pretty color and my swag was ready to hang.

The afternoon was a fun time spent getting outside for some fresh air and exercise – and we used our bounty to create a beautiful holiday decoration – the likes of which are usually $20 to $30 in the florist shop. Think of all the FREE possibilities you have available for decorating in your surroundings – plus spend a stress free afternoon making holiday memories and new traditions with your loved ones. You’ll be happy you did!