The Second Day of Christmas

Back on my unofficial First Day of Christmas, I shared that I wished I had more time to decorate for the holidays, but at the very least I'd plant a few paper whites.  The good news is that I haven't killed them yet. Bad news is that right now while they are still growing they just look sort of phallic and inappropriate.  What?  Just me?

But I didn't just stop there. I'm not promising that I'll have 12 days of Christmas decor, because well, that's just a whole lot of Christmas, but I did try my luck at a second project.  After shopping with my Mom recently and complaining about how expensive temporary, seasonal decor can be, my parents dropped by my house some natural items scavenged from their area, and that had me plotting how I could create a natural, holiday display on zero dollars.  I started with this old pot, which once upon a time was tera-cotta, but I spray painted it a deep red with a metallic gold finish a few years back.  For all that work, it's just been sitting out in the garage.

I filled it with some extra sand I had on hand, (actually left over from the previous owners in the garage) and stuck in some evergreen branches, dogwood sticks, and some other pretty white sticks they brought up.  I know they told me the name, and I should remember, but I should also shower daily.  Life is just a string of disappointments.

Coupled with a few birch branches that Ry and I found on a walk through the woods in our area (laying on the ground already cut people- I swear!), I was able to make this for our front step.

After I was done I had a bunch of extra sticks and twigs left over, but no evergreens, so I scavenged from the tree in my front yard.

And created this little masterpiece for the fireplace, since we don't have a mantel in the new house, I thought I should dress up this area.

So I guess that's really the third day of Christmas.  I'm claiming it.  Three 'big' holiday decor projects, and a few more to go.  Eventually.