Natural Fall and Winter Decor
Home decorating can be an expensive endeavor. Seasonal crafts and decorative home accents stress household and holiday budgets. Sprucing up your home decor, inside and out gives your house interest and shows how much you care about your place. There are many ways to decorate naturally with little or no cost to you, save a little sweat equity.
Being of the earth, natural decorations are friendly to it as well. Plastics pollute both in their production and disposal. When natural elements break down, they give back to the environment that created them.
A hike through your own backyard or a nearby wooded area (with the owner's permission) yields myriad possibilities for decorative elements for Fall and Winter decorating.
Evergreen Accents
Evergreen trees and shrubs provide an abundant source for decorating. Branches and twigs cut from evergreen spruces, pines, cedars and more are easy to use and look great from early in the Christmas season and throughout the remainder of the Winter. Evergreen boughs are an obvious choice for crafting Christmas and seasonal wreaths, but the sturdy, long lasting boughs can be used in many other ways as well. Make a striking container arrangement for inside or outside the home by standing boughs in interesting metal buckets or baskets. Small twigs of spruce or another evergreen placed in vases around the home add natural seasonal decor. Accent with a bit of ribbon wired to floral wire and sticks, add small decorations or leave plain. Fresh greenery gives you the added benefit of wonderful smelling decorations, too.
While harvesting your evergreens, look to the ground. Princess Pine, or Princess of the Pine as it may be called, is often found growing on the floor of the woods below evergreen stands. Princess Pine grows between four and six inches tall. Resembling a miniature tree, Princess Pine is much softer than the branches of spruces and pines. One central stem has several small "branches" stemming from it. Princess Pine is often used for making Christmas wreaths. Its softness and flexibility make Princess Pine somewhat more comfortable to work with. Princess Pine makes a nice filler for basket displays and small vase arrangements.
Do not forget your gardens and shrubs for Winter evergreens. There are many varieties of shrubs and ground covers that remain green through the winter, and retain their green color for a long time when used dried in home accents. Trimmings from Boxwood shrubs, Holly, creeping Periwinkle (a popular garden and landscape groundcover) and Ivy are just a few sources for decorative greens you may find in your own front yard.
Nuts and Cones
Tree nuts, acorns, and cones from pines and evergreens are abundant in the woods. Pick them by the bagful for your winter decorating. Add nuts and cones to potpourri and basket displays. Use in centerpieces and as accents on wreaths and swags. Simple baskets filled with pinecones make fragrant, rustic decorative accents. Mix in acorns and nuts for more interest.
Berries
Swamps and forests are frequently invaded by shrubs and vines of many different kinds of berries that make beautiful additions to Fall and Winter decorating, in all the right colors of the seasons.
Winterberry shrubs, a member of the Holly family, lose their leaves in the Fall to reveal bright red berries. Twigs and branches of Winterberries provide the perfect splash of color for Christmas or seasonal Winter wreaths and swags. Hang above doors and windows for color throughout the dreary Winter. Mix with lengths of grape vines or in floral arrangements and containers. Add Winterberry branches to your containers filled with evergreen boughs.
Staff Vines are wonderfully colored berry vines found throughout North America. Often, Staff Vine is more commonly known as 'Bittersweet', although it is a misnomer, as Bittersweet is a different plant entirely. Staff Vine is an invasive vine, essentially a weed in the forest, so you may actually be doing young trees some good by harvesting it for your home decorating. The berries of the Staff Vine are red, with a ladybug-like split coat of orange over the top of the berry. The dual colors of the Staff Vine berry add interest to grape vine wreaths, containers, swags, evergreens and more.
Winterberries and Staff Vine branches hold their berries for a long time, making them ideal for Winter decorating. Birds eat the berries, so using Winterberry and Staff Vines for your outside decorations serves double duty, helping winged creatures survive the Winter season. Be very aware when decorating with wild berries. Although they are great sources of hard to find Winter food for feathered friends, like many plants and wild vegetation, Winterberries and Staff Vine berries are toxic when eaten by humans. Be sure to tell children not to eat them.
Grape Vines
Grapes grow both domestically and in the wild throughout all regions of North America. Grapevines are an easy decoration for use throughout all the seasons. The effort you put into decorating with Grapevines can be enjoyed throughout the year simply by trading out any added accessories (although their rustic, natural charm is beautiful without adornment). Search the edge of your yard and woods for Grapevines, or ask a neighbor or vineyard for clippings. Use Grapevines to top windows, make swags, twist around basket handles or add to containers. Make a circle with Grapevines and continue to twist them around themselves to make quick and easy wreaths for your home and for gift giving.
Grapevines are easiest to work with soon after they are picked, while they are still green and supple. Should the vines begin to dry out, soak them in a tub of warm water for several hours or overnight before crafting your decorations to make them pliable again.
Birch bark
Birch trees, most noted as white, papery looking trees, are a great source of natural decoration. The peeled bark can be used to make lampshades, baskets, and to matte pictures. Trace cookie cutters onto birch bark, cut out and string for natural, rustic decorations. Hang them throughout your home or on your Christmas tree. Use greens and berries to embellish (you may prefer the fake variety here, as birch bark decorations can be carefully stored for future use).
When harvesting bark for decorations, it is best to gather birch bark from fallen or dead trees. Removing bark from live, standing trees will kill them.
The outdoors is the perfect place to "shop" for your seasonal Fall and Winter decor. Cover your home with these fabulous free decorations, and accent with removable accessories to carry you from Thanksgiving to Christmas and beyond without having to remove and redecorate each month. The natural elements you find in your backyard are earth friendly and reminiscent of a rustic colonialism that compliments our Fall and Winter traditions so well.
Being of the earth, natural decorations are friendly to it as well. Plastics pollute both in their production and disposal. When natural elements break down, they give back to the environment that created them.
A hike through your own backyard or a nearby wooded area (with the owner's permission) yields myriad possibilities for decorative elements for Fall and Winter decorating.
Evergreen Accents
Evergreen trees and shrubs provide an abundant source for decorating. Branches and twigs cut from evergreen spruces, pines, cedars and more are easy to use and look great from early in the Christmas season and throughout the remainder of the Winter. Evergreen boughs are an obvious choice for crafting Christmas and seasonal wreaths, but the sturdy, long lasting boughs can be used in many other ways as well. Make a striking container arrangement for inside or outside the home by standing boughs in interesting metal buckets or baskets. Small twigs of spruce or another evergreen placed in vases around the home add natural seasonal decor. Accent with a bit of ribbon wired to floral wire and sticks, add small decorations or leave plain. Fresh greenery gives you the added benefit of wonderful smelling decorations, too.
While harvesting your evergreens, look to the ground. Princess Pine, or Princess of the Pine as it may be called, is often found growing on the floor of the woods below evergreen stands. Princess Pine grows between four and six inches tall. Resembling a miniature tree, Princess Pine is much softer than the branches of spruces and pines. One central stem has several small "branches" stemming from it. Princess Pine is often used for making Christmas wreaths. Its softness and flexibility make Princess Pine somewhat more comfortable to work with. Princess Pine makes a nice filler for basket displays and small vase arrangements.
Do not forget your gardens and shrubs for Winter evergreens. There are many varieties of shrubs and ground covers that remain green through the winter, and retain their green color for a long time when used dried in home accents. Trimmings from Boxwood shrubs, Holly, creeping Periwinkle (a popular garden and landscape groundcover) and Ivy are just a few sources for decorative greens you may find in your own front yard.
Nuts and Cones
Tree nuts, acorns, and cones from pines and evergreens are abundant in the woods. Pick them by the bagful for your winter decorating. Add nuts and cones to potpourri and basket displays. Use in centerpieces and as accents on wreaths and swags. Simple baskets filled with pinecones make fragrant, rustic decorative accents. Mix in acorns and nuts for more interest.
Berries
Swamps and forests are frequently invaded by shrubs and vines of many different kinds of berries that make beautiful additions to Fall and Winter decorating, in all the right colors of the seasons.
Winterberry shrubs, a member of the Holly family, lose their leaves in the Fall to reveal bright red berries. Twigs and branches of Winterberries provide the perfect splash of color for Christmas or seasonal Winter wreaths and swags. Hang above doors and windows for color throughout the dreary Winter. Mix with lengths of grape vines or in floral arrangements and containers. Add Winterberry branches to your containers filled with evergreen boughs.
Staff Vines are wonderfully colored berry vines found throughout North America. Often, Staff Vine is more commonly known as 'Bittersweet', although it is a misnomer, as Bittersweet is a different plant entirely. Staff Vine is an invasive vine, essentially a weed in the forest, so you may actually be doing young trees some good by harvesting it for your home decorating. The berries of the Staff Vine are red, with a ladybug-like split coat of orange over the top of the berry. The dual colors of the Staff Vine berry add interest to grape vine wreaths, containers, swags, evergreens and more.
Winterberries and Staff Vine branches hold their berries for a long time, making them ideal for Winter decorating. Birds eat the berries, so using Winterberry and Staff Vines for your outside decorations serves double duty, helping winged creatures survive the Winter season. Be very aware when decorating with wild berries. Although they are great sources of hard to find Winter food for feathered friends, like many plants and wild vegetation, Winterberries and Staff Vine berries are toxic when eaten by humans. Be sure to tell children not to eat them.
Grape Vines
Grapes grow both domestically and in the wild throughout all regions of North America. Grapevines are an easy decoration for use throughout all the seasons. The effort you put into decorating with Grapevines can be enjoyed throughout the year simply by trading out any added accessories (although their rustic, natural charm is beautiful without adornment). Search the edge of your yard and woods for Grapevines, or ask a neighbor or vineyard for clippings. Use Grapevines to top windows, make swags, twist around basket handles or add to containers. Make a circle with Grapevines and continue to twist them around themselves to make quick and easy wreaths for your home and for gift giving.
Grapevines are easiest to work with soon after they are picked, while they are still green and supple. Should the vines begin to dry out, soak them in a tub of warm water for several hours or overnight before crafting your decorations to make them pliable again.
Birch bark
Birch trees, most noted as white, papery looking trees, are a great source of natural decoration. The peeled bark can be used to make lampshades, baskets, and to matte pictures. Trace cookie cutters onto birch bark, cut out and string for natural, rustic decorations. Hang them throughout your home or on your Christmas tree. Use greens and berries to embellish (you may prefer the fake variety here, as birch bark decorations can be carefully stored for future use).
When harvesting bark for decorations, it is best to gather birch bark from fallen or dead trees. Removing bark from live, standing trees will kill them.
The outdoors is the perfect place to "shop" for your seasonal Fall and Winter decor. Cover your home with these fabulous free decorations, and accent with removable accessories to carry you from Thanksgiving to Christmas and beyond without having to remove and redecorate each month. The natural elements you find in your backyard are earth friendly and reminiscent of a rustic colonialism that compliments our Fall and Winter traditions so well.
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