Christmas gifts from your garden - cornucopia
Very few people think of using wall hangings as part of their Christmas décor - but they can be a fantastic addition because they add dramatic interest. They don't have to be hugely expensive either; you can use many plants that you've grown in your garden throughout the year to help cut costs and create a stunning display.
You need:
- Chicken wire and cutters
- Dried flowers, moss, leaves, twigs, seed heads and plants
- Dried foam or oasis
- Florist wire
- Wide ribbon in two Christmas colours
- Pomegranates or thick skinned lemons
The ideal base is good old chicken wire. Shape it into a large horn type shape, with the back flat so that you can hang it easily on the wall. Slice up the foam and slot it between the front and back of the shape and then press the leaves, flowers twigs and seed heads into it, filling any gaps with dried moss (if you don't have moss, deep green tissue paper cut into small squares, crumpled and pressed into the gaps gives a nice mossy impression).
Cut the base off the pomegranates or lemons and scoop out the flesh to use in cooking, fill the hole with newspaper and leave to dry on a radiator. Once dry, spray gently with gilt or sprinkle with glitter.
Use the gilded fruit, along with large flower heads like hydrangeas and nigella, or complete rose heads if you've been clever enough to dry them, to make the beautiful things that fill the top of the cornucopia and smaller and darker items to fill out the shape of the cornucopia itself. One colour of ribbon can be used to wind around the shape of the horn, and the other should be cut into large bows to decorate the top. Hang on the wall and wait for compliments!
Christmas Articles
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