The holly bears the crown...

I often thumb through magazines looking for ideas either to decorate the house or to make crafts.  My favorite magazine is Pottery Barn because usually the decorations and furniture are highly overpriced and it always presents a challenge to replicate the 'PB' look.  Recently I came across a holiday decoration that I really liked but with a $200 price tag that wasn't happening! 



So I started to visualize how I could make this and also sent my mom a picture of it and she started helping me gather the supplies.  In fact my mom got me everything but the burlap and twigs (I do have the best mother) so I was ready to put together this decoration.

Faux holly and berries + twigs + styrofoam cone + burlap + twigs + hot glue = one sophisticated decoration!

Now it as time to put the project together.  I started with covering the styrofoam cone with the burlap using hot glue.  The styrofoam did melt a bit but not enough to affect the way the burlap fastened to the cone.

Once I covered the cone I needed to glue a few taller twigs that would be higher than the holly and berries as the twigs were going to be the highest point of the arrangement.

Next I had to strategically place the holly and berries. I had three different types of holly and berries so I needed to space out each variation.  I secured the twigs and holly to the burlap using hot glue as well.  It was important to hold down the stem with the glue until it dried or else the stems wouldn't stay attached to the burlap.

Once I attached all holly and berries it was time to cover the base with the remaining twigs.  This proved to be the most difficult task in creating this arrangement.  The twigs I purchased were not all straight so it was hard to attach those to the burlap.  I actually removed a few strands of burlap and tied it loosely around the top of the cone to hold the twigs in place so I could glue them evenly around the burlap covered cone.

After all the twigs were attached I tied 4 strands of burlap tightly around the cone towards the top to secure the twigs and holly as well as replicate the one originally seen in Pottery Barn.

And there we have it folks...for a small fraction of the cost!

(I will explain the plates on the wall in the background in a later post - an idea from PB as well)

Until next time...Stay creative!!