Thursday, November 21, 2013

Au Natural

If yesterday was manmade glory - does a sequin exist in the natural world - oh wait - hell dragonfly wing - then today is my beginning of Christmas decorating and it turns out it was all natural...

Amaryllis bulbs, newly planted, waiting to become the beautiful flowers of December that Barry and the kids will tell me "stink"!





I bought these bulb planters last Christmas and I love them!  Once the roots well, take root, it is so cool to watch them in the water below.

This is creepy to my family, but I love it!  They kind of remind me of those Mandrake things in Harry Potter:

 


But they don't scream (even if they do smell!)

I also had an idea for what I wanted to do with my greenery on my dining room table.  I saw some $5 mini ice buckets at Winner and picked up 4 and put baby Norway Spruce in each of them.  Eventually, those Norway Spruce will go outside and I will have 4 little ice buckets for parties!









Aren't they fun?  I am currently debating whether to put bow around, but I am currently holding myself back from doing so!

I am thinking of putting some moss and bow up above them on the chandelier and hang some silvery bobbles.  How fun, eh?

It is a funny place to start Christmas decorating, but one must start somewhere!  How about you - putting any bits and bobbles out yet?

Have a great day and stay safe out there!

40 comments:

  1. Love your bulb vases - I wish I could find something like them locally, they look fantastic on a window ledge (and laughing at the Harry Potter connotation, because they are a bit like Mandrakes). xx

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    1. They are sitting in the big window of my office and they might get to come out sometimes...

      The only problem is propping the flowers up when they reach a certain point! I need a plan for that!

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  2. They are beautiful, so they are tiny little trees and not just cut branches?
    I think they are perfect just as they are.

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  3. The bulb vases are great they remind me of those water pitchers they have at some restaurants and put ping pong balls as stoppers.

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    1. oh I forgot about those! always thought they were so cool!

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  4. Lovely Wendy! I love those tiny trees in ice bucket! I just have put one candle (large, white) with all sort of nuts and cinnamon around. All this in a natural basket... Not done anything more so far...

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    1. Steph that sounds lovely and aromatic.

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    2. oh you are giving me some good ideas Steph!

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    3. Thank you ladies... I hope you are doing well GetFresh... I apologize for not visiting you regularly.

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  5. Love the smell of Christmas, pine and spruce and nutmeg! But first we have to get past Thanksgiving and that will smell pretty darned good.

    Love all your bits and bobbles. The little ice buckets are adorable.

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    1. I was quite taken with them and for $5 a piece, a true bargain!

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  6. Wendy, hadn't thought of that, if you were American you'd get two sets of back-to-back holiday décor. I bought a miniature rosemary tree last weekend and put a Swedish star frame with lights in our window. Not much else doing this year, no time and will save it for the homestead. If I get my Christmas cleaning and cooking done, that will be happy enough.

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    1. I love those miniature rosemary trees! I gave one to a friend last year. i'm going to dig a few things out this weekend - probably the dishes so they a good month's worth of use!

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    2. I always have one of them-- aren't they perfect?

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  7. I'm loving all the green. It will look refreshing when everything is grey and cold outside. Another thing to add to your list of talents.

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  8. I have started thinking about it, I will begin with the outdoors. The garden shed has been repainted a darker green and will be a big focus this year, first I have to tidy the inside, my gardener (MrBP) is the messiest man EVER. Some greenery for the urns out front and my outdoor blankets in red plaids on the wicker for the neighbourhood cats... that's a start. We don't get our tree for the house until mid-December when Old Rascal gets home from Uni.
    I bought all of my ribbon and kraft paper for wrapping this week, that's over phew. Ordered 7 shirts for Old Rascal and I have detailed lists made for the other kids so I'm feeling better about things now.
    I really like those bulb pots, how cool. Hilarious HP pic!

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    1. I did my window boxes with cedar boughs on Sunday and red wicker balls and wooden twig stars and dud my urns. Barry needs to do the lights! We will decorate on the 1st as I have two big dinner parties here on the 6th and then our big dickens dinner on the 14th, which is shaping up nightly but can't share details till after so it a big surprise for the attendees!

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  9. Hello Wendy, I started decorating on November 12th. There's lots of gold and sparkles. I love the ice buckets and think hanging silver decorations from the chandelier would look lovely. I always hang gold ribbons and tree ornaments to match my gold chandelier and candlestick holders.

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    1. Hey G! Great idea! I love a little early decorating!

      I will call you later today - meant to yesterday to hear all about the press conference!

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    2. great, I am at Sue's @ 11:30, otherwise I am around.

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  10. I think no ribbons on the wonderful icebucket forest? They are Enough. I think you should do up your chandelier, so festive.

    Do you have winterberries up there? Ilex verticillata. I have slews of them dripping with bright red berries; soon they will festoon the mantels and tables with greens.

    This Dickens event is gonna be something!

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    1. I have no winterberries on my property sadly, though I do have holly and unlike xoxo, no trouble with spiders, thank god!

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  11. The mini trees are so cute, what a lovely idea. I picture them with some tiny ribbon woven through the boughs. I brought some holly into the house for a centerpiece one year. They are prone to spiders and you can guess what happened. They didn't smell but the bug spray sure did.

    We'll put up the outdoor lights this weekend as it is supposed to warm up. Once that happens I get into the spirit and will do a bit every day, starting with the nativity and the door wreaths. We get a real tree so it doesn't go up until December, just to ensure it stays fresh. It's such fun to decorate for Christmas, isn't it?

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    1. That's for this xoxo - we have a holly bush outside and I was thinking of bringing some in for a centrepiece this year. Perhaps not now!

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    2. Patricia, you could spray the leaves outdoors first and let the spray dissipate before bringing them in. Or just check them really well. May be more trouble than it's worth though.

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    3. Thanks xoxo! I have a holly bush as well and no trouble with spiders, but will give the sprigs a good washing before they come in!!!!!!! I hate spiders!

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    4. It may be the specific holly that we have in Georgia, or maybe the specific spiders. Anyway, I was young and didn't know but now when I see the holly at home I always see the webs.

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  12. I wish Thanksgiving here was earlier in the fall like yours. I like to decorate with fall items for Thanksgiving but then I feel like I'm behind on Christmas Decorations. I may try to get up my outside lights this weekend if it is not too cold. I never turn them on until Thanksgiving night. If I have the energy because it is such an Ordeal I may try to put up my Christmas in the city village houses Also this weekend. It takes forever because I have to take everything off my bookcases In my family room. I only get around to it every few years Since I have over 50 houses and it is quite involved. The green vases For your bulbs are so pretty. I like to force paper whites but the smell makes my family crazy. Amaryllis seem to work better For us since they are not so smelly.

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    1. 50 houses - wowza! I have about 6 Dickens Village houses from Department 56 - I can imagine that setting up 50 is daunting!!

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  13. We bought a pile of Christmas wrapping supplies from Ikea on the weekend. My husband is in charge of the Christmas decorating - every year, he puts up Swedish electric candoliers and a wooden welcome star in the windows. I love FunkySteph's idea of decorating with nuts and cinnamon. Love those ice buckets with the spruce trees!!

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    1. well the funny things is that a couple of days after I did them, I picked up the December issue of Style at HOme and they had done it in a big ice bucket, which made me smile as I am not a great imaginative decorator!

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  14. I think the outside lights will go up this weekend, so that should be the start of it. Your tiny ice buckets are adorable Wendy!

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    1. I hope ours go up, too! I am dying to see outdoor lights!

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  15. These are so cute! I love when people decorate with lights, candles and wreath. Here, we're still not over Thanksgiving and the biggest holiday of the year, Black Friday :)
    The little shops and downtown where I live have put up their Xmas decorations, and taking walks at night is delightful, save for the Southern California "cold"

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    1. hA! Tell us - what is the temperature - you will make us weep up here in the great white north!

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  16. I have not taken the ornaments down from the chandelier from last Christmas!!!!! I had my doubts in July/thereabouts, but now I can see the genius of it :)

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