Succulent Wreath from Jade & Co

I wanted to show off my favorite purchase from the Pinology Market in Seattle. A company called Jade & Co had these simple living wreaths for sale. Several succulents attached to moss on a grapevine wreath. I love it for its simplicity and the nod to my love of plants. Right now I have it hanging in my kitchen, and every week I bring it to the sink and give it a mist of water. It still looks as good as the day I bought it.

The company also had beautiful succulent topped pumpkins for sale. I think these are stunning. I may experiment next year and try to create a living arrangement for myself. I would love something like this on our front table.

Holly Wreaths: Incredible Old World Christmas Touches

I can't believe I have access to these beautiful handmade, fresh holly wreaths for sale at Squak Mountain Nursery and Greenhouse in Issaquah, Washington. They are a Christmas dream come true. 

I have always loved holly and how a touch of it can suddenly convey Christmas. Holly can transform a tiny Dickensian lamppost in a train set. It can appear in the corner of fine stationary. It is favorite cookie shape with red cinnamon candies conveying a cluster of holly berries.

Holly just might be my favorite Christmas touch. This year I am having fun with our new house and experimenting with how I want to decorate. This week I bought bundles of cut holly from Squak Mt Nursery for just $3 each. That should give me the raw materials I need to enhance a wreath and tuck some Christmas touches here and there.

The time and talent it takes to make a full wreath of holly is incredible. The $50 price tag makes these exquisite holiday touches a bargain. Go to Squak Mountain Nursery right now! 

#christmascheer #decoratingforchristmas #hollyjolly #realholly #wreath

Holly Wreath: A Magnificent Holiday Decoration

I had never seen a wreath made of real holly before - what an accomplishment! The many points of each holly leaf is sharp and I am sure that constructing these wreaths is a challenge. But it is oh so worth the effort! 

I took these photos on Nov 27, 2015 and at the time, each wreath cost about $55 at Squak Mountain Nursery and Greenhouse. When I returned a few weeks later (looking for amaryllis bulbs about to bloom), I noticed that they were all but sold out. If you are thinking of buying one as a give next year, shop around Thanksgiving for the greatest selection.

Have a HOLLY jolly Christmas! 

Pepper Wreath Perfection

What's hot, bright and packs a punch? A fresh pepper wreath! I absolutely love these vibrant wreaths and I intend to buy one the moment I have a house. I simply do not have the wall space to show it off properly. But when I do...

I have seen multi-color pepper wreaths for sale in the Seattle area farmers markets beginning in September and I am happy to report (late November 2015) that even though the local farmers markets have closed for the season, you can still find wreaths in perfect condition at Pike's Place Market - both inside in a permanent stall, as well as outside the main building in a tent vendor.

Ribbon-Wrapped Wreath

A ribbon-wrapped wreath.  Say that 10 times fast!  My front door has a fresh coat of dark green paint and I wanted a bright and happy wreath in a contrasting color to really show it off.  Enter apple green.  I am drawn to apple green this season and when I came across this 1 1/2 inch apple green satin ribbon at Michaels Craft store, I knew it would be perfect.

I bought an 18" foam wreath form and 4 rolls of ribbon.  I secured the beginning and end of each roll onto the wreath with flat topped straight pins pushed directly into the foam.  It works like a charm.  The bow is made from one roll of ribbon, plus about half of another roll.  I tied the ribbon onto the bottom of the wreath with a simple knot and then tied two basic loop bows. Then I attached another piece of ribbon and tied another basic loop bow. I made sure to leave long ribbon tails hanging down.   

To finish the look, I used a short piece of ribbon to cover the series of knots (I placed it over the front and tied it gently behind), which makes the bow appear to be one complicated knot.  You too can make this easy but stylish holiday wreath in about 20 minutes.    

Holiday Wreath

I wanted to show you these really fabulous wreaths I saw in a shop window in Houston.  It exemplifies the idea that a disparate group of items (different sizes, shapes and colors) can work together visually.

The artist that put this together hot glued a mish-mash of old holiday ornaments, candy canes and vintage floral picks (holly, mistletoe) to a wreath form and the results are beautiful! 

Book Page Wreath

When I feel like I need a little drama in my life, I make something like this!  From the street, my book page wreath practically jumps off the front door. 

I was inspired to make a book page wreath when I saw this collection of them in a shop window at BEE in Atlanta.  It is such a cute store - full of gorgeous decorative elements and beautiful gifts in a natural color palatte.  I saw a lot of woven textures, soft linen and white on white.  Such a pretty shop!

The wreaths have been on my mind ever since and I finally "made it happen" this weekend and I love the result!

The project is easy, but time consuming.  I started with a wooden wreath frame (you can use any frame that will accept hot glue), a college text book, a glue gun (keep ice water on hand in case you touch the hot glue - ouch!) and some Zots adhesive dots. 

• Tear the page from the book
• Roll the page, top to bottom - I used a small piece of tape to keep it rolled
• The "torn" end of the roll will be the decorative outside, the other end should be flattened and glued to the wreath form.  This makes the outside row.
• Add more pages and overlap pages as necessary to fill in holes.
• Then start the interior row.  You'll notice that to make the next row shorter and build the staggered length effect, your roll is about 2 inches too long.
• Place it where you want it.  Let the excess flap into the center, wrap it neatly through the hole and use an adhesive dot to hold it down on the back.  Then come back to the front and use the glue gun to glue the roll in place.  Repeat for this row.
• Start another, shorter interior row and do it exactly the same way.  Continue folding the extra flap through the center of the wreath and use a glue dot it to keep it attached to the back.
• The last interior row is actually made up of rolled pages folded in half.  Glue one side to the wreath and make the roll stay folded with an adhesive dot.
• I fashion a "hanger" out of a length of duct tape folded in half (for strength) to make a "U" loop and then stapled it to the back.  Voila!

I hope you like it and in turn, feel inspired!

Country Living Fair 2009, Part 3

I was lucky enough to get a seat front & center for a "Seasonal Wreath" presentation at the Country Living magazine's Country Fair.

The hour-long seminar was hosted by famous design team, Richard Kollath (left) and Ed McCann (right).

Richard used an Oasis wreath base (which, once soaked in water, provides moisture to the flowers/leaves allowing the arrangement to last up to a week!) to make a fresh flower arrangement bursting with Fall colors. It had a beautiful combination of mums, cockscomb, mini gourds, hypericum and bittersweet. So pretty!

Meanwhile, Ed gave suggestions for making in-home arrangements last longer. For example, he recommended "Butchers Wax" as the perfect medium to rub on clean gourds & pumpkins to improve and seal them for an indoor display. Remember when I bought my white pumpkin here?

This weekend I am going to the farmer's market to get a white pumpkin for my front table...and I have added Butchers Wax to my shopping list!

Thank you, Richard & Ed! I had a delightful time.