Saturday, December 18, 2010

Cranberry Inspiration


"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,
and behold everything is softer and more beautiful." 
~ Norman Vincent Peale

Try as I might, I cannot take a decent photo of the Christmas tree, so I looked elsewhere for inspiration. Last summer I read about placing items in the bottom of a glass canning jar and photographing the contents. So I thought...



I wonder...what if I frosted the cranberries and placed them in stemware?  One egg and a bit of water mixed together and brushed on to cranberries became the glue for sugar.

Frosted cranberries look so elegant. *snap*

I wonder...what if I put  a few frosted cranberries in the bottom of a martini glass...  *snap* 

I wonder...what if I dipped the lip of the glasses into water and then sugar to create an icy edge...*snap*


Hmmm...there's silver dragees waiting to be added to cookies.  What if?  *snap*

I had such fun experimenting and snapping photos.  I ended up making a centerpiece using the clear glass stemware with edges sugared. One glass even has drips that look like ice melting.  I filled the glasses with frosted and unfrosted cranberries.  Silver dragees line a flute and hold a candle in place.  The look is elegant and quite lovely on a creamy white placemat.  I'm thinking the same could be done using crushed hard candies and candy canes. 

I hope everyone is enjoying this last weekend before Christmas day!     

10 comments:

  1. these are all beautiful...i think the ice crystals are my favorite on the edge of the glass and the cranberries...when i see those silver things, they make my teeth hurt for all the times in my childhood, grandmother insisting she had to put them on her sugar cookies, and bang, biting down and breaking a tooth off....well almost, that's the way i remember it ;)
    Merry Merry
    xx

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  2. Hi Linda...thanks for stopping by. I hope today finds you feeling better. This was a fun photography experiment. My mom always used silver dragees to add sparkle to cookies and I do too, but I know what you mean about a surprise ouch when you bite down on one.

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  3. I just love the cranberry atmosphere of your photogrphs - brilliantly captured and so unusual; real creative instinct!

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  4. these are beautiful teresa! love the last one with the dragees in the glass. would love to see some of those beautiful frosted cranberries mixed in like a big holiday party!! :)

    your photography has become just gorgeous! i always love to see what you have created!

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  5. aguja...Hello! The color of cranberries never fails to grab my attention so I usually buy a bag with no idea what I'm going to do with them. This year they went from Thanksgiving centerpiece to a Christmas one. Talk about versatile and inexpensive!

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  6. Carrie..*Hugs* Many years ago I put frosted cranberries on a Sacher torte and they looked so lovely. I don't think they'd stay frosted for long in a drink. Thanks for your sweet appreciation of my photographic endeavors.

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  7. What a great experiment. The results are gorgeous!

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  8. Hello Spangle...thank you for visiting the Cottage. It was indeed a fun experiment and I'm delighted that the photos came out as well as they did.

    Have a grand day!

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  9. Hi Teresa. They do make the prettiest pictures all frosted up. Your Gingerbread cookies look so yummy and pretty too.
    Wishing you a Wonderful and Blessed Christmas.

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  10. Beautiful photos! Merry Christmas Linda!
    Constance

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