Holiday Decorations

I have to admit, I normally skip right over Thanksgiving. We’ve rarely been home for it, and our Halloween and Christmas over-the-top-ness tends to just swallow it whole. But this year I’m actually hosting, so I had to at least do a little something.

I’ve got a great centerpiece idea for tomorrow, so stay tuned, but for today I thought I’d share the first holiday impression my house makes.

That big black line down the middle is so distracting. So here’s one wreath on its own.

By the time I decided I was going to throw up some Thanksgiving decorations, all the fall stuff was pretty much gone from Michael’s, and I had zero time to make a trip down to my favorite floral design mart, so I had to make due with what I found.

I started with a cheap pine-like wreath, and to try to tone down some of the green, I dunked the ends in gold glitter. Then I raided the Christmas pick section and looked for anything in the copper family. I knew I was out of luck if I wanted fall leaves, but I thought that there could be enough glittered leaves and acorns and berries that I could still pull something together. I bought enough picks to completely surround the wreath (agian, trying to tone down that bright green).

After I finished the glitter process, I wrapped a glittery brown swirl ribbon around the wreath a few times, tucking the ribbon in among the branches, and hot gluing the ends down. Then I just started adding the picks and smearing hot glue all over the place. After I was about half done, I wasn’t loving the look of it. So I looked around my studio for something else I could toss in there, and that’s when I came across the feathers.

I’ve had two enormous boxes of feathers sitting in my garage for about six years, another left over from that legendary failed business attempt. They come sewn together on a string like a garland, so I cut some off and stuck it around wherever I thought it needed a little something. I know I’ve seen some sold the same way at Michael’s. Look in the floral design section by the grapevine.

To finish it off I tied a bow out of that same glittery swirl brown ribbon and one from a solid copper ribbon I had lying around. Nothing fancy, just the same type of bow you’d use to tie your shoes, and then I fussed with it till it looked nice. I glued those ribbons on top of each other with a little feathery rosette and the look was complete.

Back when I worked at Michael’s I got to be friendly with the floral design person, and she taught me a ton. The most important lesson was: this stuff is not hard. It really couldn’t be any easier. You just take a bunch of stuff that you like and think looks good together, and you tie it up with a bow. There’s absolutely nothing to be intimidated by.