My Hand-made Christmas

We wanted something different and special to decorate our island home for Christmas because we didn’t want rummage through our storage pile of boxes to the artificial Christmas tree.

And with ingenuity, we have created a beautiful Christmas tree from half dozen dead pine branches still with pine cones attached, which we sprayed silver. They were fixed into an empty  red tin flower bucket filled with polystyrene filling for packing boxes.

Piled to the rim, they looked remarkably like snow and around the bucket I wrapped a  pretty Christmas ribbon.

We shopped for baubles light enough not to snap off the twigs of the pine branches and found eight hand-made Christmas decorations for an average of $2.30 each and a tube of red baubles from Ned’s at Victor  Harbour (the cheapie shop).  They were dangled strategically from the branches to create a beautiful thing.

The most poignant decoration on the tiny tree, though, was a lone felt cut-out of the word “Peace’’, so light, it might float away.

As if a magic potion, there the tree sat on the sideboard and that word “peace’’ prevailed throughout our Christmas Day celebrations. It witnessed all the joy of gift-giving, making  ham sandwiches for a packed lunch at the beach, and the mayhem of preparing the evening Christmas meal for seven.

And sitting around the table, the joy of the family gathering for our roast turkey Christmas dinner, was reflected in those small red baubles.

The pretty floral centrespread, too, was my handiwork after Olivier and I picking foliage from the verges of Hindmarsh Island.

The colors – the emerald greens of pencil pines and three gloriously yellow Banksia flowers with sprigs of holly  and other leafy natives – toned in with the French Provincial table cloth.

How wonderful it is to be retired to have the time to make these embellishments to give our home creative style at Christmas.

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5 Comments to “My Hand-made Christmas”

  1. By Vanessa Williams, 26/12/2010 @ 5:20 pm

    The tree gives a great australian feel to this christmas. Very creative Nadine.

  2. By Tyson Williams, 26/12/2010 @ 5:42 pm

    The tree look fantastic, i thought you bought it not made it. Well done, Merry Christmas.

    • By nadine, 27/12/2010 @ 4:00 pm

      thankyou dear son. It gave us such delight to create it. XXX

  3. By Marie Jonsson-Harrison, 29/12/2010 @ 10:11 pm

    Oh I better watch out someone is trying to take over the creative side, she will be having her own exhibitions soon!!! I agree with the above comments Nadine, very lovely. Love Marie xx

    • By nadine, 31/12/2010 @ 12:02 am

      I am thrilled with this new creative discovery. I will keep it up until you can come down and see it. We are goingto KI on Jan4 and not back until Jan9 or 10 and busy Jan17…but one day during the week will be ok.

      Happy new year darling friend. (The most comments even tho it’s my family and friends.)

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