Everyone gets bursts of creativity from time to time, but we often don't find...or make...the time to bring our ideas to fruition. If you're so inclined, here are a few time-friendly ideas for making pretty accents to your home and garden:
Outside:
*Illuminate a twig ball - Buy some wire or sisal (natural twig may show too much cord) balls, pry open the bottom carefully and then stuff the insides with some balled-up strings of mini-lights so that they fill evenly (choose white/light-coloured cords), pile up the balls in a planter, connect the lights to an extension cord & then conceal the plug within the globe; run the cord discreetly to an outlet. This arrangement looks pretty any time of year.
*Build an Inukshuk - The next time you find yourself in the ravine (so conveniently nearby in almost any part of Toronto) or countryside, pick up & take home some (minimum 4) large-ish flat rocks, and put them together as an Inukshuk (a traditional Inuit sculpture marking one's way home) on your porch, patio or garden ledge.
*Gazing balls - Purchase a good quality (mercury, usually) gazing ball (available at some garden centres, florists, home decor boutiques) and place it in any urn you already have sitting empty; the ball should be a little larger than the opening of the urn...any size planter will do. This is a particularly effective accent in the winter, when your backyard urns tend to be empty.
Inside:
*Make a mini green screen - Buy 3 (approximately 4") miniature evergreens, plant them in three identical planters (silver julep cups are pretty, but anything will do), place them on a matching tray if you'd like, and then use them as a table centrepiece in the kitchen/dining room/family room/powder room...wherever pleases you most.
*Ornamental bowl - Christmas ornaments can be used as a decoration at any time of the year. I keep a selection of ornaments of various colours, textures, sizes in a large silver bowl year-round on my dining room table. It always attracts attention and compliments, and as an added bonus, it makes for one less box of things to store in the basement.
*Rose/Carnation orbs - At a flower store, buy a bunch of roses or carnations that are fully open (and, therefore, often on sale); fill a planter (I like to use 2 matching ones) with moist florist foam, cut the stems of the flowers very short and push them into the foam so that they become one dense round mass...this looks much prettier than it sounds :)
Let me know what you think if you decide to try any (or all!) of these small projects; I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
