Merry Christmas

Christmas Greens

The fresh smell of pine wafts through the house when the tree is brought in to be decorated.  It was an exciting time when we went off to find the Christmas, whether it was cut-fresh from a tree farm or selected from a local Christmas tree vendor it's what I imagine the bringing in of the yule log must have been like from the Christmases of long, long ago.  The stories of ancient Christmas traditions fascinates me.  I prefer to use fresh greens over artificial.  Fresh white pine that reminds of me of spidery fireworks in shades of green creates a base.  The legendary holly bearing plump red berries is so lovely to set upon window sills and add to garlands, wreaths, and in arrangements.  And then, English ivy, the little evergreen with so much spunk that it will grow up stone and brick walls.
  


So I gathered a few greens and those bright berries that wink at me outside my window. Placed in an English trug the greens and berries could be from the Christmases of Eleanor of Aquitaine or Anne Boleyn.  I love that about Christmas...the tradition, the legends, the lore, the memories.

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The textures used on the photo are Kim Klassen's new one for today, Providence layered twice, and then Edward to add a timeless look.  You'll find more tantalizing textured treasures at....

Celebrate Them Home

I've not done so well capturing 25 days in December, but maybe I can get in Kim Klassen's Twleve Days of Texture.  She's giving away a texture each day for the next 12 days.  It's amazing how a texture tells a different photographic story. 

The ornament hangs on my friend MJ's tree.  It's one of those lovely retro ornaments that we hold dear and inspires to recall Christmas past. Each year as I decorate I am reminded how I got this ornament, where that Santa came from, and mostly of those that are no longer near by. Oh how I wish I could celebrate them home. 


I fell in love with today's texture, Lily, by Kim Klassen.  Find more texture love here.

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!     

12 Days of Christmas: He's Everywhere

Yes, I know the 12 days of Christmas historically take place between Christmas and epiphany, but I'm taking my journey now with a small challenge:  post every day for 12 days which leads me up to the 22nd.  The weekend of Thanksgiving we hauled out the boxes and began decorating. I collected Santas for many years.  Each year the jolly old elves take up residence in a different area of the house.  This year it's the mantle.
 Oh yes, Santa is making appearances all around the house.  He's everywhere!

He's a tin ornament, and one of my favorites, on the tree.

He's peeking from behind greens, waiting in the snow for a glimpse of the naughty and nice.

He's driving his sleigh on to a vintage wrapping paper.

He's dressed all in green with a half-moon vibe and a favorite of my daughter. 

"He had a broad face and a little round belly.  That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly." 
       ~Clement C. Moore

The favorite of a son, the roly-poly Santa never failed to make us all chuckle.

On Christmas Eve, a brown-eyed boy will place cookies on the Santa bedecked plate, anxious for morning

"Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus."  
                           ~ Written in the Sun Times by Francis Church in 1897

An Amazing Christmas Gift

If you haven't seen this amazing youtube video, take five minutes to watch it.  It was so beautiful...the music for sure, but the pleasure of the faces listening to a surprise concert is simply enchanting.
 

Christmas Fairies

I needed a bit of Christmas magic this morning and the mystical ways of unknown good fairies delivered. One of the wonderful gifts of blogging is discovering blogs, websites, and creators that might never have been found, if it were not for stopping by an oft-read blog only to be pulled away by one in the blog list. I’m ‘rawther’ like Eloise skittering here and there, popping into rooms and the blogospohere is ‘rawther’ like the Plaza Hotel and as Eloise herself claims, “There are absolutely nothing but rooms in the The Plaza.”

Here is the path I took this morning:
I always start with the Ohio blogs, I’m a loyal Buckeye. This morning I couldn’t bring myself to comment, due to the mean reds. (If you’ve read Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s or seen the movie you’ll know what I’m talking about.)

Next come the latest entries on my Other Garden Blogs list.

Finally, I peruse the Because I Like them Blogs searching for a new post to read. The World Examining Works blog is an absolute favorite that I read faithfully. Looking at the wonderful photos of New York always make me sigh. A post I’d not yet read was up, so off I went.

Now… I found this blog through, From the Desk of Bee Drunken, another favorite blog that always leaves me with something…a recipe, a smile, or a literary find. After reading the latest post on The World Examining Works I read the comments and clicked on Rochambeau. I’ve never been to this blog, so I scurried over to take a peek. Gorgeous photos of Christmas displays around the world lit up the page, but one in particular knocked my wooly socks off…San Francisco from Fae Nation. Rochambeau’s creator is indeed a good fairy…she inserted a link and off I went to the Fae Nation Website, which in turn linked to Kat Soto’s site where I could steal a few precious moments and lose myself in enchanting Christmas fairies. These are the fairies of my child-like imagination with lovely faces, ethereal wings and period gowns surrounded by whimsical trappings of fairyland.

As a grown-up, I put away my wings so long ago that I sometimes forget that I can still fly. It takes a gentle nudge from adults who still fly with fairies to remind me that it’s ok to take a moment or ten and rediscover the child within…wide-eyed, curious, and so very tender.

Thank you good fairies, everywhere.

Graphic from Graphic Fairy

These Things I Love...

In the spirit of Rupert Brooke’s poem, The Great Lover, where he lists “These things I have loved…” and from the inspiration of Christina’s gentle lists on Soul Aperture, I offer these things I love…

Cold, blustery days with snow skittering into patterns

Big snowflakes that pile on the ground just waiting for a metamorphosis

The smell of gingerbread men baking in the oven

The tinkling sound my grandson’s laughter makes as he slumbers

The pink cashmere scarf I saw in Boston and still yearn for

Twinkling lights on a Christmas tree

A violin rising and falling in a lilting phrase

Rapid-fire wit from a dear friend

Frost-etched lace on the window

Expressive fingers that create, soothe, and dance

A lavender sky that melts into violet twilight

Hot tea in my favorite Christmas mug

A pyramid of wood glowing in a brick fireplace

A merry turn across the living room

Dreaming of you

What things do you love today?

Wreath Making Boot Camp

A friend of my daughter’s wanted to learn how to make fresh pine wreaths, thus the idea of wreath-making boot camp took flight. So grab your clippers, nippers, wire, and wine we’re about to embark on the decorate the home using fresh greens journey.

Get Inspired
We headed off to Candy Cane Christmas Shop outside of Archbold, Ohio. The shop, inside a defunct elementary school building, is chock full of decorated trees, ornaments and gifts. Sarah and MJ both found a delight or two to take home with them.

Over the river, through the covered bridge, and across the countryside we went until we reached Stoney Ridge Winery. After so much inspiration and to gird our loins for the meat of the boot camp we needed to stop for libations. After sampling four wines for one dollar, Sarah and Manda settled on a Riesling and MJ and I the Barn Dance Red. We sipped, gabbed, and soaked up the ambiance of the winery. Too soon it was time to get down to serious wreath-making business.


Back home, the first order of business…munchies! Meatballs simmered in barbeque sauce, toasty mushroom sandwiches, crackers, chips and dip kept our spirits from flagging. With bellies satiated, we dived into mountains of greens, spools of wire, and a constant chatter all while toasting wreaths, the holidays, and great friends.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, wreath making boot camp begins now…
Supplies

• You’ll need a supply of fresh greens. I like to use boxwood, white pine, and arborvitae, but any evergreen or pine can be used individually or with a mix.



• Box wreath frames come in an array of sizes. We used 12 and 18-inch wreath frames. You can find box wreath frames at craft stores like Michaels or Jo-Ann Fabrics.

• Green paddle wire, gauge 28, is what we used. I like a lighter weight simply because it’s easier to use.


• Clippers, or nippers as I call them, make a clean cut on woody stems.



• Wire cutters for…cutting wire.



• Scissors that cut fabric for snipping ribbon. I have a tendency to snip all sorts of things with a pair of scissors, so I keep one pair of Fiskars just for cutting fabric.



• Don’t forget ribbon; it adds color and a flounce to wreaths.



• Items to decorate your wreath: Pinecones, sweet gum balls, pods, rose hips, berried branches, dried flowers, fresh flowers in water picks, cranberries and other fresh fruits like apples, pears, whole nuts in the shell, and dried pomegranates add natural touches. Want a little shine and glitz, tuck Christmas ornaments, balls, and garlands into wreaths.

The Nitty Gritty How-To
Start with the wreath form facing up like a trough just waiting for greens. Line the curved part of the form with a bed of greens. We used boxwood because we had a large supply. Make sure the stems of the previous bunch are covered by the next bunch.

Once the bottom is lined with greens, wind the paddle wire around the greens leaving a tail at the beginning. When you get back to the beginning, twist the tail lightly with the wire you have in hand, but do not cut.

Mixed greens fashioned into fans or bunches create the next layer. Make certain the fan of greens covers the outside and the inside of the wreath frame. Think how a fan looks and spread the greens out, keeping them thick enough to cover the base. The thicker and wider the fan, the more lush the wreath. Lay the fan on the base, wiring the bunch to the wreath form base. Out of habit, I wind three times, letting the spool of wire lay outside the wreath frame. Fashion another fan from the greens and lay this one over the stems of the previous fan. Placing bunches closer to the top of the previous bunch creates a fuller wreath. Continue creating fans and wiring them to the frame until the circle is complete.

Hold the wreath up so you can get a good look at it. Add stems of greens to fill in any sparse areas. You can also add dimension by hot gluing small pieces of greens and poking them upright into the bed of greens. Make sure the stems are not too long otherwise the wreath will take on a shaggy appearance.

Decorate the wreath by attaching ornaments with hot glue or inserting wire ends into the base. Items like pinecones and apples can be wired on to the wreath. Wrap a long piece of wire around the pinecone and twist it tight leaving tails. Insert the tails into the wreath base and twist from the back. Cut off excess wire. Use the same wiring procedure for small red apples.

That’s it…wreath-making boot camp is now over. Sit back and raise your glass in a toast…Here’s to being surrounded by the natural beauty of handmade boxwood and pine wreaths!