Christmas Decor - Inside and Out

As in previous years, I took a walk out to the woods at the back of our property last weekend to gather branches to make a decorative planter for the front door.

I was lucky this year to find four different types of evergreen trees, along with dogwood, birch, and pine cones. I dragged my haul back to the house and laid it out in the basement to dry for a day.

The planter I use is already 3/4 full of soil as there are live plants in it during the rest of the year. I put scrap 1x6 pieces over the dirt to get a level surface and then added 3 florist foam bricks on top to anchor the branches.

My method is to start with birch along the back, then pine branches fanned out in front of them. I position cedar along the front edge as it drapes down nicely. I then randomly fill in the open space using all four of the different types. Finally I add in the decorations. This year I chose baubles and faux iced berries that I purchased during a Christmas open house at Bradford Greenhouses. I also added in dogwood branches for colour (love how it turns bright red in the winter!) and white poinsettia flowers.

On the door, instead of a wreath, I hung a rustic window frame that I also purchased at the open house. It has a metal wreath and stylized reindeer in the center. I added a big red bow to make it pop.

Inside, we have several areas of the house with vignettes. Our stocking wall is getting very full - with two new dogs this year we now have 6 stockings! Above the stockings is the Merry Christmas sign I made with my Silhouette cutter and scrap wood.

I would love to show off our tree, but it's been through an ordeal this year. The little dogs won't leave it alone so it's been stripped of ornaments along the bottom, and has been relegated to the dining room where it's safer. Maybe next year...