Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating 101

I love to decorate and present beautiful spaces in my home during the holidays. This year found me with little to no time to fully engage in decorating. With three jobs and the on-going development of my my upcoming web site, I had to employ guerrilla warfare and whiz-bang the house with pretties. It became "drive-by decorating" and actually turned out well.

The photos show some of the decorating"quickies." The side board had a runner from TJ Maxx that featured quilted velvet squares in jewel tones-which was my color palette this year. So having chosen the color, I selected the theme of fruit. So I gathered all the "sugar-dusted" faux fruit I've collected, with an emphasis on pomegranates (juicy and red!). I placed some fruit in two clear glass containers and put more in the repurposed lampbase with glass fixture I made last summer. To bring it together, I placed a small red sugared berried wreath at the base with a small fruited garland.

The dining table centerpiece was completed in less than ten minutes. I took a faux green wreath (about 18"), placed it flat on the table (yes, wreaths don't always have to go on the walls) and studded it evenly with sugared fruit picks (found at Michael's and JoAnn Etc. for a song). No need to glue as I don't have high winds or boisterous children/teenagers living at home. Then to add a different texture for emphasis, I tucked in small jewel-tone glass ball ornaments. The glass mosaic vase with candle placed inside was the finishing touch. Using the fruit on the dining table and nearby sideboard made for a oordinated look and both were completed in less than one hour..... next!

The arrangement in the hall corner went even faster. The large ceramic planter was already in place (has been waiting to be turned into a water feature). Out of storage, I grabbed the 3' tall red velvet tree (found at a garage sale) and generously placed faux evergreen boughs at the base. I then tucked stems of red silk poinsettias and peonies into the boughs. For sparkle, I added some lime green glittered picks. Again, no glue, no foam blocks.....just place and push.


Decorating on the fly is perfectly fine and it works. Yes, there are times when thoughtful consideration is in order, but one happily finds that the end results speak for themselves and
look just as wonderful. Yes, I will admit I have many of the pieces to pull together but with a little imagination and creatively looking at what one already has, vignettes and color palettes can be easily and quickly pulled together. We need to give ourselves permission to think simply and to ask the question, "how else can this be done?" It can be a great deal of fun and bring tremendous satisfaction. Try it.

Some tablescapes I have created can be found on my website: www.tigerlilysattic.com.