CasaSugar

Open House: How Do You Decorate For Fall?

CasaSugar — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:30:16 -0700

I love Indian corn wreaths. When I was a kid, I remember visiting my grandmother in the Autumn and marveling at the dried cobs of Indian corn she'd grown in her garden. The kernels were all so fantastically colored.

Grandma would often simply secure the husks together with twine and hang them on her front door, and they imbued the entire home with a great autumnal feel.

Have you started decorating for Fall yet? How do you usually decorate? Do you put scarecrows out on the lawn? Pumpkins on your front step? Do you change the colors of bedding or throw pillows to reflect the season? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Oh, and if you're on the hunt for a gorgeous Autumn wreath, check out Oregon Wreath, which is where this one came from.

Do You Display Autumn Wreaths?

CasaSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:15:06 -0700

While wreaths are a given for the Winter holiday season, fewer people add one to their Autumn decorating routine. Decked out with bell cups, carved whole oranges, quince slices, red chiles de arbol, yellow tansy, and orange safflowers, this Williams-Sonoma Laurel Wreath ($99.95) is just lovely. Are you going to add one to your front door this Fall season?

Weekend DIYs: Holiday Projects

CasaSugar — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:30:47 -0800

It's never too early to get started on holiday DIYs! I've rounded up some projects that will make great gifts, as well as DIYs for making wreaths and wrapping paper. To get the lowdown, check out the slideshow.

View Slideshow ›

Midday Muse: Olympic Wreaths

CasaSugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:00:00 -0700

Come November, many people worldwide will hang wreaths on their front doors, celebrating the holiday season. But, who says wreaths should be reserved Christmas? One San Francisco city dweller decided to celebrate this year's Olympic games by making and hanging their very own set of Olympic rings . . . in wreath form! The symbolic five intertwined rings were reimagined with plastic fruits in the iconic colors white, red, blue, green, yellow, and black. Does your home have Olympic spirit? What other ideas for decorating like a champion do you have? At the very least, one of you must own an Olympic poster . . .
Source

Deck the Haus: Recycled Magazine Wreath

CasaSugar — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 08:15:35 -0800

Although the scent of a traditional-pine Christmas wreath can't be beat, the drawback is that it doesn't last year round, because it's both ephemeral and undeniably synonymous with the holidays. So when I happened upon this Brookish Recycled Magazine Wreath ($18), I knew I'd found a green, nonperishable, and seasonally-neutral solution to my door décor dilemma. For December festivity, you can tie it with a big, red bow, and then leave it in the buff until the next holiday comes around. If you've got a big stack of shelter magazines sitting around (as I do), you might even try to do it yourself.

Fabulous Fabric Wreath Roundup

CasaSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:00:53 -0800

I've been seeing some great fabric wreaths around the Internet this past week, and thought you might appreciate a peek at some of them, too.

I love SouleMama's wreath that she made from cotton, rickrack, and buttons. The little stuffed bird hanging from the wreath's center is precious.

To see two more lovely fabric wreaths, just read more.

Then there's Betz White's pretty woolen wreath, which she made from a stash of ribbing pieces left over from felted wool sweaters that she rolled up and secured onto a straw wreath with floral pins.

I'm also partial to these handknitted wreaths from Lulubeans. They look so lovely and wintry cozy hung together.

The great thing about these wreaths is that even if you don't have superb sewing skills (or any at all!), you can still make these wreaths with only a few simple supplies. With a foam or straw wreath shape from a craft store, some fabric or floral pins, and scraps of fabric, you're well on your way to having a unique and nonperishable wreath that you made yourself. If you've made any fabric wreaths this holiday season I'd love to see them!

Source, Source, and Source,

DIY: One Wreath, Two Ways

CasaSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:00:38 -0800

MyHomeIdeas has a wonderful DIY project called "One Wreath, Three Ways" that I'm a little late to discover. But, it's still valid for Christmas and New Year's, so I thought I'd share.

Here's what you need:

One 24-inch grapevine wreath
One red ribbon (4+ yards)
One other colored ribbon (2+ yards)
Two boxes of assorted glass ball ornaments
Small party trinkets
One package of plastic cocktail glass favors
One can of vivid green spray paint
Four sprays of brightly hued metallic branches
Florist’s wire

To learn how to make these versatile wreaths, read more

Here's how

Christmas Wreath:

Lay the wreath onto newspaper.
Spray paint it green.
Add your festive red bow.
Use the florist's wire to attach your ornaments.
Hang over your door with red ribbon.
Merry Christmas!

New Year's Wreath:

Remove the bow and glass ornaments.
Attach party trinkets and metallic branches with florist's wire.
Hang with your colored ribbon.
Happy New Year!

Source

Deck the Haus: Ikea Decoration Round-Up

CasaSugar — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:41:25 -0800

I noticed a handful full of wintry decorations at Ikea that I adored, and couldn't choose just one for a Nice and New, so I chose four! I like the minimalist quality to this wheat Ikea Isig Wreath ($20). It kind of says, "Fine. I guess I'll celebrate the holidays. But only if I can eek out my festivity and save my decorations for next year, so I don't have to think about it again." These Ikea Statist Trees ($5) are just cute and dinky, and a nice place to hang your jewelry or house keys. This red Ikea Isig Lantern ($13) is both classic and classy (how 'bout dem apples?), and fits your basic pillar candle perfectly. It can be used indoors or outdoors, or you could buy two and do both! These Ikea Isig Lanterns ($13) are Kewl with a capital K, and also fit your basic pillar candle perfectly. And in case you didn't already, Ikea wants you to know that you should "never leave a burning candle unattended."
Source

DIY: White Pinecone Wreath

CasaSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:01:05 -0800

I love this Jayson Home and Garden Maine Pinecone Wreath ($28) because it's simple, elegant, and looks great as is or tied with a red ribbon. Although it's inexpensive, I could never bring myself to buy it because it's such a simple DIY project. So, if you live in the vicinity of some pine trees and want to make your very own white pinecone wreath, you can learn the steps when you read more

Supplies:

1 grapevine wreath
Pinecones (35-50, depending on size)
Hot glue gun
Glue sticks
Can of white, or off-white spray paint.
Newspaper, or some sort of dropcloth.

Steps:

Hot glue gun the pine cones in two or three rings across the wreath, depending on the size of the cones and the wreath. If you want to be symmetrical, put the largest pinecones in the middle ring, and the smaller pinecones in the outside ring. To keep the pinecones stable, use a lot of glue on their bottoms.
Once all the pinecones are glued, let the wreath sit and air dry for a while.
Lay newspaper on the ground or on a table, and lay the wreath on it.
Spray paint the wreath until it is completely white.
Air dry.
Hang and enjoy! The wreath will most likely be heavy, so be sure to use a heavy-duty hanger of some sort.

Source

DIY: CB2 Ornament Wreath

CasaSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:21 -0800

The super stylists at CB2 DIY'd a stunning, colorful holiday wreath using ornaments from their holiday collection. The wreath can definitely be re-created with any standard ornaments, but I love the nontraditional colors and various shapes on this wreath. To make it, you'll need strong stiff wire to bend into a ring (like aluminum wire gauge 20 or a wire hanger), 30-90 ornaments depending on the size you want, strong tape or pliers, and ribbon. To check out the instructions, read more.

Here are the steps from CB2:

String one ornament at a time onto the wire ring, alternating colors, using smaller ones to fill in the gaps.
When the ring is completely covered in ornaments, fasten the ends together.
Use a ribbon to cover the spot where the ends are fastened together, and hang!

Tip: Best not to go too large in diameter as the wreath could become too heavy and stretch out.