Well, I misted it and misted it, and it looked (and smelled) great for about three days, but unfortunately the fresh-cut garland I created doesn’t look like much like this anymore:
It was fun for a minute though, and since I had never experimented with live greenery like that before, I really enjoyed getting a feel for it. (Mom- I thought about you the whole time I was wiring it all together! XO) I think it would be great for a special occasion or family dinner, but I’ll probably just stick with “fauxliage” from now on. 😀
I created the white garland out of crochet thread, a piece of faux wool (Jo-Anns) and some small paper doilies from Michaels.
I used a tiny glass to trace circles on the back side of the wool fabric, and then glued them (wrong sides together) around the crochet thread. Same thing with the doilies- I glued two of them together around the thread as well. I used a piece of super-thin floral wire to tie it onto the greenery:
I decorated the mantel with some things I had around the house: books (one wrapped, one not wrapped because I love the title!), a black & white photo of a farm, and numbers that symbolize our Sweet P’s birthday. November 23rd! 🙂
The boxwood wreath is still hanging in there. I’ve been misting it with water every day. I used a Command hook (thanks, Neighbor Suzanne!) to hang it from the window my great-grandpa salvaged many, many years ago.
I had the spool of the red ribbon, but the sides of it were wired, and I wanted my wreath bow to lay more loosely. What to do? Just cut the wire off each side of it and let the edges fray naturally, of course!
I was craving a simple tree this year. Little white lights, $20 worth of cotton stems from the curbside market, and a paper ‘Merry Christmas’ banner from Southern Homes & Gardens– that was all this tree told me it “needed”. 🙂
I used a couple of larger doilies and some natural elements on the wrapped packages, and I pulled in my picnic basket, one of my locker baskets, and my winter scarf to snazz up the poinsettias on the fireplace hearth.
(PS- not to fear, fellow cat lovers- after several days of close monitoring (and putting them out of reach at night), we’ve noticed that Kit-Cat isn’t interested in checking out the poinsettias at all.)
It’s been fun decking the “halls” this year, but all IÂ really want for Christmas is an invitation to meet our sonny boy.
Our adoption agency (Lifeline) has scheduled a phone call with us (and several other couples adopting from the same orphanage) tomorrow (Monday) afternoon to talk about how to prepare for our socialization trip. I’m pretty excited to even be *talking* about traveling at this point, so needless to say, I’ll be on the edge of my seat, watching for my phone to light up “Lifeline” this week! 🙂
I love how crisp everything is you do!! I love the pops of blue & not just all neutral !! So gorgeous as always !!!!
Happy Holidays!!
Paige.Rose
Oh Layla I am praying that this adoption adventure will end soon .i pray that sweet pea will come home soon. Have a merry Christmas .
Layla,
Your home is nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful and so so homey!
During this Christmas season I pray that you get your “All I want for Christmas” wish!
God is Good and knows the desires of His daughter’s (and son’s) heart!
Merry Christmas!
It’s all so pretty! Reminds me I was going to crochet a bunch of snowflakes and attach to a string to hang as a banner.
Oh, Layla, your living room looks so lovely!!!!!! Wishing you all the best in this process so that sweet P will be with you soon!!!!
Happy Holidays!
I love all the decorations but my favorite news is always adoption updates! Even my husband occasionally asks “what’s up with that blog couple adopting the little boy” so apparently I talk about y’all and sweet pea all the time! Good Luck, fingers crossed!
Gorgeous! Everything is spot on. I love the pops of color throughout the red and green. Your tree is adorable. Will be sending extra prayers your way as your plans for Sweet P to come home continue to move forward.
very cute, love all the plaid!
Your Christmas decor is beautiful and I especially love the globe incorporated into it, so meaningful as you wait for your sweet boy!! Praying for you that this long process will at long last be done and the three of you will be together!!
So pretty….Layla! If you need me I will be wrapping books in plaid all day:)
Love it all so much! So simple and festive, and the tree is just the sweetest thing. SO excited for you that you are getting closer to meeting your little boy!
Beautiful as always! I love how you incorporate simple things into your decor, you make it seem effortless.
Merry Christmas & prayers for all (3) of you.
Just lovely, Layla! Praying for your family and Sweet P – wanting him in his forever, loving home soon! I tear up every time you mention him 🙂
Thank you, Patty! You just made me tear up, too! XO
Hi Layla, thank you for keeping it real with the fresh garland experience. I have always wondered what people do to keep it from curling up and looking rather sad.
Great tip about the boxwood, I just purchased 2 to replace my christmas wreaths when i take them down in january , nice to have something green on the front door , and a chicago winter will keep everything crisp outside. I am currently keeping them in the garage , but will start misting them so they dont look too sad.
Best of luck with the conference call this afternoon.
gg
Sad! That is such a good word for what it looked like after day 3, GG! 😀
Happy misting and thanks for the good luck wishes with our conference call!
XO
Whenever I use the real deal I always let it soak in the bathtub overnight with just an inch or two of water before I hang it so that the stems can soak up some water.
I try to do this periodically with my wreaths also because they are not so difficult to remove and rehang.
They last so much longer that way.
Everything you do turns out so beautifully! I kind of crack up about the live foliage thing because let’s be honest – it doesn’t last long and it’s a fire hazard. I’ve tried many times and I give up. 🙂
Your tree is so pretty with the cotton in it!
Can’t wait for you to get your baby boy.
Thank you, Stacey! And I’m with you on the live garland- I give up, too! 😀
I use lots of fresh boughs every year and every year I remember why my mom never put them up until 2 weeks before Christmas. Mine are so dry already in dry, warm CO. I think I may change them all out next week as I get them mostly free from nearby tree sellers. Your whole decor is simply amazing and the special number melted me. Our son was adopted domestically and all I can say is maintain faith that your family is coming together just as it should. Happy Phone call!!
Beau-u-tiful! And I can’t wait to read ‘Front Porch Farmer’ when I visit next!! I got my hands all sticky on lots of fresh greens, too : ) I’m just using them outdoors – the humidity here usually keeps them OK for a week or two. I’ve found that it helps to soak all the cut ends in a big tub of water overnight first. Will be thinking of you this afternoon! XO
Very cute! I love the simple tree decor!
How adorable and easy, thanks I need some easy ideas now. Where did you get the brown buffalo plaid throw, have been looking for a throw just like it, thanks
Everything is beautiful, but I especially love the globe 🙂 Fingers crossed you get wonderful news today!
We have a spruce tree in our front yard so every year I cut off a few branches from the bottom and put them on my mantel. It stays fairly green but remember the scene in Charlie Brown Christmas where his tree dumps a bunch of needles at once? That’s a pretty good description of what happens with my branches.
As always, love your decorating, love your heart for your little guy, and I LOVE your birch bark wrapping paper.
Everything looks beautiful! On the fresh greenery, my landscape designer friend told me about a great product to extend the life of your clippings. It’s called Wilt Pruf. I found it at our local nursery. Amazon also sells it online. Spray the entire clipping with water or dunk them in a tub of water. Let them dry a bit then spray all over with Wilt Pruf. Works great!
Just gorgeous, as always. I see a tile project in your future, am I right? I don’t see that beige tile working with your decorating scheme. Nothing you touch with your decorating is beige.
You guessed it, Lauri! I’ve got big plans for that fireplace in 2015. 🙂
love the decorations….so fresh… I had a vision of you decorating next Christmas and how different it will look with a child in house…. best of luck to you… 2015 will be your year.
What a sweet little cotton tree! Adorable. Can’t wait to hear when you will be traveling to Sweet P! Praying!
I love how it looks, but even more how you decorate with a mom’s heart, tying in sweet P’s birthday. Enjoy your simple tree because someday it will be filled with grade school and Sunday school ornaments made by chubby little hands! Praying for you as you wait…. Jacki
Hi, I too have cedar branches on my mantel. So far so good but I have not tried to move them and am assuming they will be dropping needles by the end of the season. merry Christmas!
SOOOOO…. I saw something on pinterest the other day that may be helpful to your boxwood issue. They were wrapping the ends of their pine branches in wet paper towel and then putting them in a zip top bag and securing all with a rubber band. Could you possibly do that and wire them together above the baggies so if you need to you can take the baggie off and re-wet the paper towel? I’m sure it’s a logistical nightmare but it may be an option for a smaller swag?
Your Christmas decorations (like everything you do) are just lovely. That birch wrapping paper is amazing!
My Christmas and New Year’s wishes are that you get to meet your sonny boy very soon! With such sweet parents, he will just thrive! Merry Christmas – love your decorations.
Your tree is just the sweetest thing ever – well, with the exception of the globe underneath and all it symbolizes. Prayers as the meeting time gets closer with the passing of every day.
Lovely! Every last bit of it!
Here’s a tip that’ll get you farther with the real greens… mist it with spray snow. It hides the wilted stuff. 🙂 Just add a little more to poof it up and spray again. Done! And you’ll have a whole new look!
Praying you get the call and it’s a GOOD one!
Oh, Layla, it’s all so beautiful! I love your use of red and white and how you make it all so homey and welcoming. Gorgeous, girl! Wishing you and Kevin a very Merry Christmas and getting ready to see that sweet boy of your. THAT is going to be an amazing journey! xo
oh my stunning! what a gorgeous photo. i can appreciate how sad the live greens get when they are thirsty. i just can’t use them any more because they make my heart. i have issues!
praying so hard that you receive your phone call before christmas…
Had a free minute and I’m sure glad I read your post today!!! So excited about your call!!! I’ll be praying. And of course, your Christmas decor looks so cozy and welcoming! Love it all!!!
Layla,
I love your decorations and how personal they all are. I pray that you get your Christmas wish.
How beautiful! The greenery reminds me of our family decorations from childhood. Mom and Dad always soaked the branches in glycerin and water for the weekend before we displayed them on the mantle. We always did the same for our live tree (and added the mixture about twice a week to the water in the stand) – no artificial trees for my Mother! While it did extend the life of our evergreens, we still had to clean almost daily! As a kid, it was worth the effort!
Agh! I need more 😉 (pics that is)
Do you have any more pictures that show the whole room?
-Katie
Love your fresh look. You’ll find that the boxwood will dry naturally but will retain its green color.
What a cozy little Christmas retreat! I love the way you’ve decorated so simply, using natural elements and items you’ve repurposed. That’s the same approach that I take to Christmas decor.
Sweet P and I share a birthday! That special little boy is going to be placed in your arms at the exact moment that God has planned. Although I’m sure the wait feels incredibly long, take comfort in the fact that He knows the time and place and joy of the day.
Beautiful! Thanks for the heads up about the real greenery. I’ve always wanted to try it but in the dry Wyoming air I think it wouldn’t work either. I’ll stick to my real tree and be happy with that!
Love your wreath! Got so overwhelmed with the DIY wreaths this year – I decided on a green wreath with a red bow. Ha!!! Merry X-mas
You Christmas decor is just stunning. I love how you always create the perfect mix of vintage and new and make your home feel so personal and cozy. Simplicity is often the best design formula and your holiday home is the perfect example of that. Thank you for continuing to always inspire and uplift.
All the best,
Shelly
Wow! It turned out beautiful, Layla! I would be too nervous to even begin to work with real garland. I bet it smelled wonderful though.