Fruitful Decoration
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday December 15, 1988
IF you have the time and the inclination to make your own Christmas decorations, here are some ideas to play with:
Table centrepiece. Take a small plastic lid and secure a piece of dampened floral foam on the inside with sticky tape. This holds the flowers, ferns and fruits firmly in position. (Floral foam is available from florists and some department stores.) Position your base on a mirror or flat glass dish, to make it look more attractive on the table.
Pick or buy a variety of foliage. Not a great deal is needed, but a variation of greenery adds to the design; asparagus fern, fish-bone fern and ivy are a good mix. Soak these overnight in a tub of water and you will ensure longer life for your floral arrangement.
Place the greenery at the back of the display, with a variety of fruits through the centre, some on the mirror or glass dish. Five flowers are needed for decoration. They can be anything you choose - roses, carnations, Christmas bells, lilies. Small bundles of nuts should then be added.
Note the way that the glass motif with a candle is placed inside the rock melon (illustrated left) to make an interesting and novel setting to light your dinner table on a summer evening.
Door garland. Take two wire coathangers and bend them round so that the hooks are in the middle. Wrap six to eight sheets of tissue around the hangers to serve as padding. Spray gold or silver.
Lay pine or holly branches on the wire base and secure them with twine or floral wire. The branches should be between 20 and 23 cm in length. Use as many as you need to cover the base, working both ends into the centre of the hanger towards the hook. Add red velvet bows, then wire cones and baubles at the centre and you will have another original festive decoration.
© 1988 Sydney Morning Herald
