Up-Cycle Christmas Lights

 

Winter display (I'm in the Southern Hemisphere) using wild daisies, owl candle, thrift-shop ceramic mice and up-cycled plastic Christmas bulbs.

 

There's need to throw away lights with broken bulbs or a faulty circuit.

Big globes like these ones are perfect for adding a little glam to your mantel or for use as vase fillers.

Simply snip them from the wire and use them according to your own tastes and theme.

How easy is that?

 Too sweet...I love this small display with it's stony, earthy colours. 

I can see these up-cycled balls being used at Christmas and at an upcoming coastal themed party. Can you see them as bubbles or beach glass on the shore? I can!

May your nest be blessed,

Lisa

In Lieu Of Flowers- Winter Mantel

It's winter here and the variety of wild flowers has dwindled. Luckily for me I was able to spot these berries from the road when I was driving. The tree they were growing on was quite big yet somehow I had never noticed it before. Now I wonder how I missed that POP of red! They are a perfect substitute for flowers and compliment the earthy elements I have around my home.

 

 I'm dying to paint this table white or at least sand it back to it's natural state. So far I am meeting resistance to the idea from the MotH so I will have to work on that!

Candles in glasses are a popular idea on pinterest lately, I added my won touch to them with mossy branches and a wee bird. Again, in lieu of flowers.

May your nest be blessed!

Lisa

Also posted to: Share the Joy Thursday

Winter Winners

 Pin this Pinterest Inspired Pin Board.

 

1. Found on a page entitled 'Nature Crafts for your Winter table"    I knew I had to take a look. Check out the sweet green bird!  LOVE!! The site has a tutorial for making the snowy candles too.

2. I spotted these while looking for mid winter Christmas inspiration. Being in the Southern Hemisphere with Christmas in summer the idea of a Winter Christmas is a bit of a novelty! Most of our major holidays in NZ fall outside of the cold months and mid winter Christmas celebrations have become more common. We started in out house a 2 Winters ago and started a new tradition of making orange pomanders. This site will show you  how to make these dried slices. I love them and think we might do these as well as the pomanders this year.

 Mid-Winter Christmas festival, Tauranga, NZ

A twig vase made from a coffee can has got to be a great addition to any style of decor. It's thrifty too! I have some cinnamon sticks left over from last years midwinter Christmas mulled apple juice so I am pretty keen to add them to my can..and maybe a few sweet, tiny pine cones to the bow.

 

4. This wonderful scene has been posted purely for inspiration! I adore the table, the owl, the books and the framed photos.  Unfortunately the link offers no further details or projects but I'm pretty sure the photo alone is enough to get the creative juices flowing!

 

5. When I was young my step-mother gave us pine cones and white shoe polish to make snowy cones with. I don't remember how ours looked but the memory is a warm one. This site will link you to a tutorial for a fantastic twiggy wreath and this link will take you to the fantastic Winter deco board I found it on. 

Drilling out the cavity for the candles will be a great project for my son...and I will end up with fabulous candles for my winter decoration! I love the mixed nuts spread around it too. Awesome idea! The original blogger was right when she said 'Naturally Beautiful'

DIY Bead Sticks for your flowers.

I used ladder fern. I found it growing wild along the roadside. It's already done a week in a vase with other wild flowers and now that it's looking a bit sad I thought I would cheer it up a little!

Simply pinch the stem between your thumb and fingers and run them along. The little leaves come off easily. 

 A op-shop bracelet, I think this one cost 50c. I simply snipped the elastic and re-used the beads. You can use any beads you want of course!

 It doesn't get any easier than this! Thread the sticks with your beads then stand around taking way to many photos because you love them so much!

The ladder fern intact in the vase below  with the bead sticks. These will keep me smiling until I have new flowers to add colour. Or I could leave them like this and change the bead colours to suit what ever my mood dictates!

 

 In my part of the globe it's officially winter although autumn hasn't left yet. There's still flushes of red and yellow among the naked branches. Slowly my displays will evolve with the season so I decided to make some winter bead sticks to compliment the natural shape of these Manuka branches. 

I am in love!

 There is only one problem with these DIY bead sticks...they're too quick to make! In no time at all you will have a bunch of them and will be looking for excuses to make more!

You've been warned!! Lol

May your nest be blessed,

Lisa

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