Christmas in July 2018 - Day Twenty-One

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PamelaG

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How to display: Natural items like pine cones, greenery, artificial and real flowers.
 

Lana

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Oct 13, 2007
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I put pinecones on my buffet along with a garland and white twinkling lights. Tuck them in every so often. I put them in my big pickle jar with lights and some years I have a wagon that dad made out of coke crates and I will string lights with pinecones in that and I put smaller wrapped boxes on top or some snowman.
 

Ahorsesoul

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I love the smell of pine. I use to go out to cut pine branches to make displays but haven't done so for a long time. I think it's time to start again. Do different pines smell different?
 

Myron's Mom

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I use artificial flowers mostly from dollar tree. Always have a center piece on the table and use picks in the tree in the entry way. They are also tucked in the mantel decorations. No pine cones. I had some large ones that would go in a basket by the fire place but they finally turned to dust after about 10 years of use.
 
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Holiday_Mom

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Some years I use pine cones from our back yard on the mantle garland. I add a bit of white paint to make it look like snow. I wire them on to the garland with floral wire.

The day or two before Christmas Eve, I like to go outside and cut some fresh greens from the pine trees and boxwood. Last year, we had a snow fall before Christmas and my winter berries were eaten by the birds. If time permits, I go to my mom's house and cut some holly. I like to put mixed greens in vases and bottles of all sizes throughout the house. I especially like small vases of them on the kitchen window sill. It makes me happy. :)
 
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Holiday_Mom

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I love the smell of pine. I use to go out to cut pine branches to make displays but haven't done so for a long time. I think it's time to start again. Do different pines smell different?

You know, I never thought about that. I will have to smell the various trees when we cut our tree down in December.
 

Rose94

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I will pick up a few pinecones to put on the table in the fall along with some for the children to craft with and than dry them in the oven. I have a artificial poinsettia that sits in my living room and a small artificial flower arrangement for the dinning room table.
 

PamelaG

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I use artificial flowers mostly from dollar tree. Always have a center piece on the table and use picks in the tree in the entry way. They are also tucked in the mantel decorations. No pine cones. I had some large ones that would go in a basket by the fire place but they finally turned to dust after about 10 years of use.
I forgot about a couple of artificial flowers I received on a gift basket - they are clip-on and quite large so I use them to fill in a couple of big gaps in our tree.
 

AuntJamelle

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The garlands I put up along the top of the kitchen cabinets all came with pinecones attached. I fill in with a few extra from a bag I have on hand. Picked up a large trashbag full of pinecones at a garage sale one year for $0.50?


I have a really pretty red glass vase set inside a metal frame that I fill to bursting with various artificial flowers and greenery – all thrifted from garage sales and assembled in one arrangement. I found really nice faux red amaryllis stalks at one sale, one really large arrangement at another, and so on…It is a really big piece but works perfectly up on the high shelf in our living room!




I use greenery EVERYWHERE but it is all artificial. I try to buy the realistic looking ones – or I will layer the cheaper ones and add branches from extra/old Christmas trees, picks and sprays until I have the look I want! May not have that nice smell of the real stuff but it works!


I have a few other pieces that incorporate artificial greenery and poinsettias. A wooden sleigh that I’ve used as a centerpiece, up on a high shelf or dresser, etc.

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Found a really pretty small urn type arrangement with various artificial red flowers that looks great nestled in greenery on top of our dresser, etc. $3 at garage sale J


I have one of those artificial “pots” that comes wrapped in green cello paper – the poinsettias are really pretty and have a shimmer to them. I slip the whole pot down into a pretty round basket with a handle – hides the “pot” part completely and you can just see the flowers. This sits on the floor in the corner in the entryway. And yes, the poinsettia pot was from a garage sale - $0.50? Can you see a theme here?

Honestly other than very occasional splurges at Hobby Lobby (sale or coupon!) I limit my Christmas décor purchases to garage sales or things I make myself! I just have fallen into that habit and am enjoying it!
 

Holiday_Mom

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AJ, I like your idea for slipping the poinsettias in basket. I'll keep that in mind for the future.
 

PamelaG

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There are a lot of products on the market today to recreate the pine smell. I have a couple of hanging sachets and I seem to remember seeing some long pine-scented icicle-type scent sticks at Michaels last year.
 

Andthenjust

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Jul 10, 2018
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My kids usually bring in a hoard of pinecones- sometimes they paint them with glitter glue, most often they're chucked around the house o_O
Sometimes i cut some sprigs of holly and put them in a clear vase.
 
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