Bringing The Outside In with Natural Holiday Decor

by Myra on November 16, 2010

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The following post is from Myra of My Blessed Life:

source: cottage living

It’s hard to believe that November is halfway gone and the holidays are quickly approaching! I love decorating for the holidays. Who doesn’t, right? Festivities, parties and giving {and watching my son’s face light up} inspire me to cozy up our home for this special time of year.

One of my favorite ways to prepare our home for the holidays is to bring a bit of the outdoors in.  It’s hard to beat the beauty, frugality and style of nature. Since temperatures are cooling, bugs, hopefully, aren’t living on the natural beauty that I want to use in our home.

Here are just a few ways to take advantage of the free holiday decor that might be right in your backyard…or in your neighbor’s:

source: tonimi

Magnolia Leaves: These beautiful leaves can be used in many different ways.  You can wire them together as a garland, apply them to a wreath,  or use them in a floral arrangement or centerpiece.  I especially love that the leaves are two-sided: one is shiny green and the other is like a brown velvet.  Decorating glamor at it’s finest!

source: JasonMayoff

Pine Cones & Fir Cones: I love the versatility of pine cones and their narrower, feathery relation – the fir cone. They can be  used natural, glittered or painted. I’ve seen pine cones made into ornaments, wreaths, garlands and topiaries or keep it simple and fill a glass vase with them. Pine cones naturally evoke festivity!

source: Made by BeaG

Sticks and Branches: If you’re looking for a chic, simple way to decorate for the holidays…sticks and branches are where it’s at!  They can be tied together {see picture} or arranged in a vase.  Ornaments or pine cones can be hung from the branches with fishing line. Sticks bring a fabulous architectural element to any holiday decor.

source: myrahope


Berries and Nuts: Decorating with berries and nuts adds brilliant color and great texture.  Surround pillar candles with nuts, string berries together or add them into an arrangement.  Fill a vase with nuts or berries for understated, simple decor. Please be sure to keep wild berries out of the reach of your children.

source: cottage living

Evergreen: This year I’m hoping to try something different…maybe, if I get brave. Freshly cut evergreen branches are beautiful and their scent is incredibly festive. They can be wired into garlands for your mantel or into wreaths for your front door and windows. Evergreen is the perfect addition to a holiday arrangement or vignette.

What is your favorite natural element to decorate with for the holidays?

Myra has a B.A. in Interior Design, is an allied-member of the American Society of Interior Designers and is currently self-employed. When she’s not spending time with her little man, thrifting, creating, shopping or working on a project, Myra enjoys date nights with her husband and blogging at My Blessed Life.

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Tagged as: myra

  • Lindsey Roberts

    Mmmm I love evergreen branches and garlands. That’s what I did last year instead of a tree, and I think I’ll do it again this year.

  • Guest

    This is something I have never thought about. A No-Do List. I love it – thanks for sharing!

  • http://joyceandnorm.wordpress.com/ Joyce

    This is great!

  • Marianne

    Totally a “Now-Why-Didn’t-I-Think-Of-That?!” moment for me…this is absolutely brilliant – like, seemingly simply common-sensible…but at least for me, I get SO caught up in my To-Do lists or in time-wasters to which I escape or with which I busy myself in order to put off things I’m better off actually doing…that this awesome No-Do List idea would just never have occurred to me…. So THANK YOU so much for sharing this!! Cheers!

  • Marianne

    Totally a “Now-Why-Didn’t-I-Think-Of-That?!” moment for me…this is absolutely brilliant – like, seemingly simply common-sensible…but at least for me, I get SO caught up in my To-Do lists or in time-wasters to which I escape or with which I busy myself in order to put off things I’m better off actually doing…that this awesome No-Do List idea would just never have occurred to me…. So THANK YOU so much for sharing this!! Cheers!

  • Gillsinclair2

    Hoping to make this longer than my to-do list:)

  • http://www.facebook.com/sweetmelissa818 Melissa Nicole Walker

    I’ve done my own taxes since my first job. I have a strong preference for TurboTax which hasn’t let me down so far. I don’t itemize, so they’re pretty simple returns anyway. I sure hope I’ve never missed a deduction! People don’t realize how easy it really is to do your own taxes, and the only person you have to pay is yourself!

    • Anonymous

      I think it helps when you start doing them early. I started when I was a
      teenager too, and so as things have gotten a little more complicated, I’ve
      only had to learn new things a little at a time!

  • Marissa

    I laughed when I read this post as I’m having a problem with our taxes this year. Up until this year, I had always done my own taxes using either TurboTax or the H&R Block software. I got married in July and my husband insisted we go to H&R Block because that’s what he’s always done. So I gave in. We went on Saturday and I’m 99% sure that the guy made a mistake. I even told him when he was doing it that I thought he was mistaken and he gave me some drawn out reason why he wasn’t. So I just thought well I’ll go home and look it up online. And of course everything I’ve read is telling me I’m right. So I called H&R Block and they’re looking into it. I can already tell they’re going to try to get out of refunding me my money even though it says on their website that they guarantee their services or you get your money back. My husband has apologized however and said he will let me do them from now on.

    • Anonymous

      Oh, what a mess, Marissa!! I hope you get it straightened out and get your
      money back without too much trouble!

  • Kristy

    Hubby does ours on Turbotax. We do itemize and it walks you through it. He’s a CPA though and I wouldn’t want to be the one doing it!

    • Anonymous

      That’s always convenient, Kristy — although I know being married to a CPA
      isn’t always easy this time of year!

  • Kristy

    Hubby does ours on Turbotax. We do itemize and it walks you through it. He’s a CPA though and I wouldn’t want to be the one doing it!

  • Kate

    I use turbotax. If you are a USAA member, go through the USAA site to get a discount. :)

    • Anonymous

      Gotta love USAA!

  • Karen

    I’ve always done my own taxes. But then, I’m a CPA, I do it for a living. I haven’t missed a deduction on my own return, but I have amended many past years returns for clients to correct errors in reporting and for missed deductions.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve done ours on my own for YEARS on TurboTax.com. Super easy and free! We always get money back so I’m happy!

  • Missy June

    I’m a TaxAct fan myself. I have used their program online for approximately seven years now with no problem – even through addition of children and divorce.

  • http://christinashaw.com Anonymous

    We use a CPA then file electronically with TaxAct ourselves…CPA is $70 and TaxAct is free. But it is worth it to us, he finds things we didn’t know about. Just went yesterday and discovered a credit for buying a car last year! =)

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  • Anonymous

    I’ve used TaxAct a few times too, and I really like it as well. Last year,
    oddly enough, I could NOT get it to play nicely on my new computer, so I
    finally just switched to a different program!

  • http://christinashaw.com Anonymous

    You know, I’m not sure! When we started using him, he didn’t have internet (lives in the country), although I know he has since gotten access to internet, so I guess I need to ask him for next year!

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