holiday decorating Archives - Darling Darleen

Planting Bulbs Indoor Containers

Force Bulbs Indoors in time for Holiday Flowers

Planting bulbs in indoor containers is an easy way to decorate for fall with organic natural textures but also can be enjoy through the holiday months ahead. Forcing bulbs in containers is easy and a beautiful natural centerpiece for a dining room table or end table or entry way table. Add texture with replanting orchids. || Darling Darleen #darlingdarleen

I’m in the Fall mood and have been decorating the house with cozy autumn touches. Instead of decorating the whole house with pumpkins and orange and brown, I’m going more a organic route with textures of wood, dried stems and natural materials. Usually during the holidays I like to decorate with paper whites, but I’ve never forced them inside because I usually don’t start them far in advance to do so. The bulbs need about 3-5 weeks to bloom after planting them indoors. Planting bulbs in indoor containers for holiday flowers should begin in early fall. The best bulbs to plant for the holidays are paper whites and amaryllis because they do not need to be chilled, whereas your spring bulbs need a chill period of about 3 months. Once paper whites and amaryllis are planted, they are easy growers and add so many beauty to a room, especially when the short, cold days come along. If you’d like to see how I’ve decorated my house last year, I posted all about updating my living space for fall.

Supplies for Planting Bulbs Indoor Containers

Bulbs

Soil/Dirt

glass container (wide opening)

moss

river rocks

sticks (optional–use for paper whites and if your container is low)

Paper whites and amaryllis are available at more local florist and cost about $1-$2 a bulb. Some things to keep in mind when planting the bulbs. Make sure to plant them roots down, stem up. You can plant them in soil, surrounded by rocks and moss to keep the moisture in. The bulbs stay above ground, except the roots. Make sure to keep the bulbs dry to prevent rotting and don’t put water over the bulbs, only on the roots. You can plant them in watertight containers with their roots in the water and their bodies above. Plant bulbs close tougher but with enough space between. And remember to always keep the the tips of the bulbs uncovered.

Fill your glass container with a little bit of soil them add moss and rocks to the perimeter so you can mostly see the moss through the glass container.
Before you place the bulbs on top of the soil, pour a cup of water on the soil so it is moist, but not oversaturated.
Next place the bulbs roots down, stems up. Keep them snug in the container but also a little separated between moss
If your container is low, place sticks between the bulbs so as the paper whites grows the stems will have a place to lean up against to prevent it falling over. I added moss to my sticks (found in my backyard) with spray adhesive!

For added texture, replant grocery-store orchids in fun containers and add moss and rocks.

Planting bulbs in indoor containers will be enjoyed through all the holiday months ahead!

A New England Christmas

A New England Christmas with Simple DIY

Christmas this year almost didn’t come! Pulling out Christmas decorations among moving boxes (yes, we are still getting settled in to this new house) gave me a feeling of bah humbug. But the kids negotiated with me, and said Santa wouldn’t come to an undecorated house, so we came to an agreement. Keep. it. simple. So, I didn’t pull out all of my Christmas decorations and instead pulled out only a few this year. The ones that add the Christmas glitter and cheer! Our New England Christmas is accented with simple DIY projects that add the perfect detail.

For my New England Christmas, I wanted to have a white flock Christmas tree. Real flocked trees are easily found in Georgia, but you do have to pay a hefty price. We had flocked trees the last couple of Christmas’s, and they just add a level of elegance to your Christmas decorating.

Well we had a hard time trying to find real, flocked trees here in Connecticut. So, to save money and time I decided to buy two cans of white flock snow spray for just a few bucks and spray our real balsam fir Christmas tree. It was a great idea, and so easy to do! I actually sprayed it right in my living room. I did cover the floors with a disposable paint cover, and I did pull the tree away from the walls. But it was very easy to do and to clean up I just wiped it away. Also, you need to let your tree dry for about 12 hours before putting on ornaments. I wanted to keep the trees with a light dusting. I did have enough spray to add more fake snow but liked the look of it with just the dusting.

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Candles are such a great way to bring a the holiday ambiance to a room. Love Anecdote Candles. They are a favorite.

Another easy, simple DIY project to create a New England Christmas is buy a can of copper spray paint and white pine fir garland or green clippings and seeded eucalyptus and spray them copper! I saw this easy and budget friendly idea while shopping at Terrain, and loved it! They spray painted most of their real garland around the store. I love the results and add the metallic accent real greenery all around the house–in my wreath, garland, Christmas tree and vase arrangements.

I love my thick wool cream throw from Mutze hats. It is hand knitted and one of my favorite winter home decorations. I linked a similar version from Serena and Lily.

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Modern Harvest Wreath

Modern Harvest Wreath

I don’t know about you, but it is hard to feel like it’s Fall when the weather outside is hot and steamy. Halfway through September, and I’m trying really hard to get into the mood of Fall so the best way to do so is with crafting Fall home decor. I love how these modern harvest wreaths came out, and they are the perfect crafting idea to get into Fall. These modern harvest wreaths are perfect to place over a mirror, hang off the back of a chair or decorate above a console table. Did I mention budget friendly? Except for a few berry branches, I pulled almost everything from my flower garden and around the house. And how can you not get over the geometric wreath style? It the best part of the modern harvest wreath! You may have seen similar modern harvest wreath styles on Pinterest, but these ones are made out of wire hangers!

A few of the items I used were magnolia leaves, eucalyptus leaves, wheat grasses, decorative berry branches and dyed dried natural berry branches. These modern harvest wreaths are made with real, natural flowers and leaves but using items that will completely dry beautifully and not wilt. They should be good the whole fall season!

Here’s the easy breakdown for the modern harvest wreath.

Materials for Modern Harvest Wreath

Three wire hangers to make a circle, square, triangle
metallic spray paint
floral wire
wire cutters
wire pliers
ribbon
leaves–magnolia, eucalyptus, boxwood, any kind of ever green leaves
natural dried dyed branches like wheat or berries
real flowers or berries that does not discolor or welt when dried

Instructions for Modern Harvest Wreath

To make the modern wire wreaths, I used a wire hanger and snipped off the hook part with wire cutters. Then I manipulated the wire into a geometric shape. You will need arm strength to bent and twist the wire ends around each other to hold the geometric shape. Use pliers to assist in the twisting and maybe another set of hands. Once the shape is secure with the wire hanger, don’t be surprised if the wire ends are pointing out. You will be covering that part with your flowers. Just make sure they aren’t pointing out too much that there is a concern with scratching a door or mirror. After you are happy with the shape of the wreath, spray paint both sides of the wreath with metallic spray paint. Let it dry.

Start with the leaves and then add three decorative flowers or berries. Cut the stems an inch from base. Wrap floral wire around the base of the flowers, then wrap the floral bunch around the base of the wire wreath, making sure it covers where the twist is located. Repeat about three more times. Hang the wire wreath with ribbon.

I love the look of hanging the wreath in other places other than a door. Get creative and have fun decorating your home with these modern harvest wreaths.

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A Southern Christmas

A Southern Christmas

This Christmas I wanted to brace the Southern style of the holidays. We have lived in the South for a while and are coming up on our fifth year. It’s about time to accept all the great things that the south has to offer. A Southern Christmas with my own personal styling is my first attempt. I would say that I’m not planning on a traditional Southern Christmas with red and green plaid and big red bows. But I somehow wanted to bring in elements of the south into the home. So, Christmas decorating this year was focus on magnolia leaves. Magnolia trees are everywhere around the South. They have huge beautiful thick evergreen leaves with a contrast of brown on the underside. In the spring, huge fragrant white flowers grow. They are such a beautiful flower and really don’t last that long once picked. We planted two dwarf magnolia trees in our backyard, and I pulled some of the leaves from there to make my wreath, but I cut leaves from my neighbor’s 30 foot magnolia tree for my garland. If I had my own huge magnolia tree on my property, I would made my wreaths and garland entirely out of the beautiful leaves. But instead I compromised by using it as a filler to make my southern Christmas come alive.

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So, I bought basic cedar garland and using floral wire, I added magnolia leaves along with boxwood leaves and a few eucalyptus. Adding additional leaves as fillers for your cedar garland really brings it to life and adds character. I used the garland for my mantle and stair rail and also on as part of my dining room table centerpiece. Our Christmas tree is also southern style Christmas tree–cut down right here in Georgia! The leaves are softer and floppier than the traditional balsam pine tree. But I did sneak in a white flocked tree in our entry way. Here are a few other southern styling and holiday decorating tips to make A Southern Christmas:

Potted Paperwhites–I love using paperwhites as decoration during the holidays. If you plan ahead you can plant the bulb in a pretty pot and then as you closer to Christmas, white blooms pop up. They are so festive and pretty. But if you are like me and don’t remember, you can usually buy them in a pretty pot and then by Christmas the tops will all be white. I love decorating paperwhites in my kitchen or as centerpieces on my dining room table. Line the bottom of the pot with shiny, little ornaments. These look great paired with potted tiny rosemary or cypress tress.
Fresh Garland–I love the smell of fresh greenery in the house during the holidays. I have quite a few artificial garland pieces, but I always sway for the real garland. To keep it fresh all month long, make sure to take a squirt bottle and spray the garland with water every couple days. That way it will still look fresh and alive come Christmas morning.
Choose a color scheme and stick with it. Don’t feel obligated to use all your decorations every year. There were many ornaments I didn’t pull out these year because it didn’t got with my color scheme. I have these brightly colored, adorable stockings that I use every year, but last year I wanted the winter white stockings. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on new stockings, I sewed these out of painter canvas sheets that I picked up from Home Depot and then sewed faux fur on the top. Used my cricut to cut initials out with silver glitter vinyl. I made all six stockings under $15. I’m sure I will be changing it up in the future so I wanted to keep it cheap.
Put a wreath on it. If all you did was add a wreath to your door for the holidays, that is a sign of “welcome”. The look of wreath hung with ribbon is one of my favorite Christmas decorations–on doors, or windows. I invested a few years ago on live freeze dried, preserved boxwood wreaths and topiaries and it is well worth the money. I have used them year after year and they still look brand new and real.
Add small Ornaments. A simple Christmas decoration is adding ornaments to the bottom of plant pots or scattered around the top of garland. I love the look of glass jar filled with ornaments or bowls. Fill the top of your stocking with ornaments peeking out for a touch of fun.

Hope these decorating tips might help you when decorating for the Holidays and for decorating A Southern Christmas. If you want to the look with magnolia leaves and don’t live near the tree, most floral shops carry the magnolia leaf branches.

Here are some other decorating ideas:

Check out my other Holiday decorating tips:

Indoor Christmas Ideas + Holiday Baking

Christmas Table Decorations

White Winter Christmas

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DIY Pumpkin Decorating Idea: Cover it with Tissue Paper

DIY Pumpkin Decorating Idea: Cover it with Tissue Paper. Oh yes! There are so many fun tissue paper patterns and prints out there that this DIY gives a styrofoam pumpkin a new look. I made these for Halloween decorations and am still enjoying them through fall and Thanksgiving. Plaid is everywhere this season. And perhaps you’ve seen this plaid tissue paper when you go shopping. It’s my favorite, and I’ve been wanting to use it some way. Then I saw Sincerely, Sara D. ‘s darling pumpkin decorations and knew the plaid tissue paper had a good use. These pumpkins would be perfect for a Thanksgiving tablescape!

I made my pumpkins with tissue paper a little different from Sara’s and instead of mod podge, I used spray adhesive. Most craft pumpkins are sold out, so use a halloween craft pumpkin that you might have laying around. There will be more next year! Spray your pumpkin, wait until it gets to tack (about 3 minutes) then cover with the tissue paper. Press it down with our fingers until it is smooth. Cut any excess paper. Spray down any tissue that is a fly away.

A easy DIY pumpkin decorating craft idea that will be perfect for your Thanksgiving table scape and will give it a modern style. Use it as a Fall decoration around the house prior to your big feast!

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