This is a favorite picture of a corner of the studio. I love the lavender bundles mixed with the soap sacs and snow-berries. I believe a home dressed in lavender and snow-berries for the holidays would be beautiful. Mix in some huge Coulter pine cones and ta-da, a perfect natural Christmas. Brown paper packages tied with assorted velvet ribbon and maybe a few dried hydrangeas. That's my style of decorating. As natural as I can get it.
Remember these stems of foliage?
Clipped from the crab apple tree in our back yard.
On Saturday a customer fell in love with the sugar plum berry branches. I'm going to request another tree climb to salvage more of the stems before they shrivel up and die.
A trip through the woods this time of year and you can find everything you need to embellish your home with holiday twigs and vines.
You may recall the huge bundle of dried wild flowers I picked from the outskirts of town a couple of seasons ago. My mother taught me to wait until the mornings became crisp and then head to the woods and pick the naturally freeze dried blooms. I added some eucalyptus sprigs to this bouquet and some pine cones from our white pines.
I still have this arrangement. The dried flowers last a very long time. Since a trip to the country with a pair of sharp scissors is all that is needed how could you resist.
The large mountain of dried naturals became a centerpiece at a fall show several years ago. Everyone asked about them.
So you see, you don't really need to spend a dime on your holiday decorating and packaging.
You may remember this picture taken a few years back of some packages embellished with dried hydrangeas I picked from my garden. Once again, no cost decorating.
Of course how could we leave out Bittersweet. It's that time of year when the twiggy plant is visible along country road fence rows. Watch out for the poison ivy! It's usually growing alongside Bittersweet. When you get home wipe your arms and hands with alcohol. That will get rid of any poison ivy oil left on your skin. A landscaper taught me that years ago. It's really the only thing that eliminates the poison ivy oil from you skin. Believe me I have lots of experience!
Enjoy caring and sharing days.
Warmly,
Jill 00 (two hugs are better than one)
