we are on a tight budget this year which means i needed to get creative with the holiday decor.
i am always on the look out and keep a sturdy pair of clippers and a pair of gloves in the car at this time of year.
my girls moan and groan when i swerve off the side of the road for that perfect fallen branch or crop of pine cones on the ground.
my goal is to not buy one single green and so far i am keeping my promise.
today i helped a friend prune back a very overgrown juniper which filled the entire trunk of my car.
i used it to fill my window boxes and pots.
i still hope to make my own garland to go around the front and back door and adorn it with magnolia seed heads.
i saw a bunch of them at the library the other day and plan to fill up a basket tomorrow.
i am also inspired to make a wreath like this one.
what are some of your favorite things to decorate with?
Magnolia leaves! I love their deep glossiness. Last year I made a wreath entirely by hand (wreath form included) with cuttings from the woods. It was fantastic and great fun. I’ll probably do it again next year.
My favourite is pinecones. We live near the ocean and have a lot of pines here.( In Sweden.)
Hahaha!! I’ve kept clippers in my glove box for yeeeeaars too – and I get the SAME groan from my kids when I pull a U-y for “monkey brains” or fallen branches, etc. So funny! I gathered a ton of fallen greens last year for my outdoor pots and was thrilled with the result. 🙂
Gorgeous! You are truly an inspiration!
oh, i love all the juniper you used! so beautiful. i wish i had window boxes to fill like yours. just yesterday i ventured through the woods to see what i could find. i grabbed just a couple spruce branches (we don’t have too many in my wooded area), a hemlock, and these mystery berries that i love. end result: http://statigr.am/viewer.php#/detail/603127403706566499_46898824
These are lovely! And I like the lit branches–where did you get those? Such a nice way to light up an evergreen display. I’d love to find some!
red twig dogwoods and birch bark! We are in MN and it is cold and white already (4 degrees today, all day) so we are freezing ice in ice cream buckets and adding candles for the front porch…it is really pretty.
I love your window boxes. So simple and pretty with the lights. I’m going to copycat and do mine like that 🙂
When we get our live tree, I keep the branches they clip off the bottom and use them to make swags for the cemetery. I became the designated grave visitor, somehow, but I don’t mind taking a moment to think of happy memories of loved ones. I use ribbon I buy in the after-holiday sales to bind them and it makes me happy to share a bit of our decor with them in that way.
I am enjoying your blog–thank you for sharing your creative ideas and photography!