Different Doors

Summer's corn husks become a winter welcome.

 

 

Curved sprays of greenery invite passers-by to throw open the doors.

A round wreath of greenery with a red bow is a tried-and-true Christmas tradition, but it's not the only way to welcome guests and invoke a festive atmosphere at the doorstep. 

A cornhusk wreath calls to mind those warm summer fields. Dry cornhusks, soak them in a bucket with warm water and Rit dye, fold them in half and stick them to a purchased straw or florist foam wreath with u-shaped tacks found in any craft store. A bronze ribbon completes the reminder of sunny summer days. 

Wreaths need not be round, either, especially on large doors. A pair of curved sprays of greenery crowned with red velvet and fruit shaped ornaments invites visitors to throw open the doors and join the singing at St. Stephen's lovely stone church on the green in Middlebury.   

 

Cows and Good Cheer

Cow banners designed by local artist Woody Jackson add cheer and a sense of place to Middlebury's holiday season.

 

Christmas cows? Why not? Local art and local iconography add to the strong sense of place that underlies a Vermont Country Christmas. But the holiday cheer doesn't end with the new year -- lights and greenery stay up in many Vermont towns all through the snowy season, making post-holiday local sale shopping all the more festive! 

 

January Resolutions: Ornament Production

Eight Sheets of Felt Makes Dozens of Ornaments

 

 

In November, I had a hankering to make felt ornaments. My husband promptly took an errand run to Ben Franklin, and bought seven sheets of craft felt for me. He also found a full, new sheet of red felt - with a threaded needle stuck in it -- lying at roadside on an evening walk. Clearly, a sign... 

December came and went as Decembers do, and the sheets of felt remained intact as days filled with visits and baking and wrapping. As we packed away the Christmas gear, I reached for the felt to stick it in the box with the wreath supplies. Then I stopped.

If I packed the felt away, it would just be one more unfinished project, to be pulled out next year amongst the holiday rush and probably left unfinished yet again.  My New Year's resolutions included finishing all those half-done projects languishing in my closets, so why not start here? 

And so I have whiled away the bitterly cold hours of January, snug by the woodstove, stitching away at felt, adding the miscellaneous contents of the bottom of my button box, some leftover beads, a few drapery trims. It looks like when I'm done I'll have close to three dozen ornaments  for our tree and for gifting next year. Not bad for a few sheets of felt -- and a little resolve. 

 
 

Gingerbread House

The Gingerbread House -- White Lights Add Holiday Magic

A gingerbread house -- holiday magic, in miniature! And all that candy to boot. 

But lest we forget that the holidays are about people, not things -- use a gingerbread house as the focus of a family or friends get-together.  

Mix up several batches of gingerbread dough and hit the discount stores for inexpensive candy, then host a gingerbread house construction party! You can even bake up the basic building blocks ahead of time, so your party can skip straight to the fun part of gluing on the goodies with sticky frosting. 

A neat trick -- gingerbread house dough freezes just fine. Make up several batches on a rainy day any time during the year. Pack it into a large zipper-sealed freezer bag, remove the air and seal it up, label and freeze. Take it out of the freezer the day before your gingerbread construction event, and you'll be all set without added holiday stress!  

Blue and Silver Wreath

Blue and Silver, Like Snow and Winter Skies

Christmas doesn't have to be all red and green. Silver and blue reflect the icy snow and crisp clear winter skies. 

Here, a large carton of plastic silver balls from the local hardware store, along with a few dollar's worth of ribbon from the deep-discount bin of the chain craft store, turn a plain wreath into a work of winter elegance.

Rosemary Topiary

A Rosemary Topiary Adds Cheer -- And Flavor!

Scents are the hidden soul of the holidays -- gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies, balsam tree boughs, a golden drop of frankincense. The gentle smell of sweet pine arises from rosemary, and surprises the palate when tucked into gingersnap dough or a glass of sparkling cider. 

Rosemary is easy to grow, and planning ahead means this culinary delight can do double-duty as a holiday centerpiece or accent for the buffet table. Select a young rosemary plant at a garden center in the spring. Set it in an attractive pot -- here, a glossy square black ceramic pot adds decorative drama -- and bend heavy floral or copper wire into your desired topiary shape.  This one is two intersecting hoops, about 8" in diameter, to form a globe shape, but you could make triangles for a miniature tree, or spirals to invoke the mysteries of the season.

Add a long 'stem' to the armature and stick it deep into the center of the pot -- it should go nearly to the bottom of the pot for stability. Keep your rosemary in a sunny spot all summer. Water it frequently to prevent the soil drying out, and add a nice organic fertilizer in with the water every few weeks. 

As your rosemary grows, twist its main stems around your wire frame -- using little bits of extra wire loosely looped around to encourage it to follow the frame direction if necessary -- and keep pinching back the tips and cutting off side-branches to spark lush, thick growth.  Use these cuttings in summer salad dressings or dry them for later use.

By the time frost arrives, your rosemary topiary  should be ready for display. If it hasn't fully covered your wire frame, continue to nurture it in a sunny window through the winter, set it back outside next summer, and it will surely be complete for future holidays. 

Add a ribbon or a red ball, and sprinkle clover seed around the base for a whimsical woodland look! Keep pinching back the tips through the winter to maintain thick growth and release that heady rosemary scent.
 

Simplicity and Sparkle

Simplicity Itself -- A Flour-Sifter Birdhouse and Sparkling Lights

Sometimes the simplest things are the best -- like a birdhouse made from a re-purposed flour sifter and painted in those signature John Deere tractor colors! Sparkling multi-color lights set the scene of whimsy, wonder and magic for the holiday season.