11.30.2008

"Could You Please Pass Me The Cranberries?"

Here are some more Holiday decorating ideas from the wonderful people at Better Homes and Gardens Online~
Draw attention upwards with this inventive leaf and cranberry topiary. Cover a foam ball with leaves and stud it with cranberries. Add a ribbon, hang it up, and admire.

Position tiny trees in a bucket and then fill with cranberries. For an extra touch, bend bits of wire as hooks for cranberry "ornaments" on mini trees.
Personalize your mantel with cranberry initials. Cut out a cardboard letter of your choice (or purchase a pre-cut letter from a craft store) and glue cranberries to the surface. Accent with instant snow for winter flair.
Spruce up your mantel with evergreen garlands and clear glass containers. Try cylinders with cranberries and candles or votives atop vases holding floating cranberries.
Start with cylinders of varying heights. Place red flowers, such as roses, amaryllis, and greenery in a metal flower frog. Attach the frog inside the cylinder using double-sided floral tape. Cover the flowers with water, float cranberries on top, and place a floating candle amid the berries. Change water daily. The piece should last up to seven days.
It's easier to make than it looks. Start with an 8-inch-square clear glass vase. Cut a piece of floral foam to a size that lets a layer of cranberries fit between the foam and the vase. Cover with water. Into the foam, insert red roses, striped 'Hocus Pocus' roses, red tulips, gold-tipped cedar (all available from florists) and silvery ornaments. Thread cranberries on thin floral wire to loop above the arrangement.
Fill a vase half full of berries and fresh water and insert an arrangement, such as these roses and holly leaves. Add more water and cranberries to hide the stems.
Using half toothpicks, skewer fresh cranberries to various sizes of foam balls found at a local crafts store. Cover the foam completely with berries. Rest the balls on top of shapely glass, silver, or mercury glass candlesticks to create statuesque topiaries.

For more Cranberry decorating ideas from BH&G click HERE

To Subscribe to Better Home & Gardens magazine click HERE



42 comments:

  1. I love cranberries Robin. The color the shape. They just make everything look so festive and great. Fantastic ideas to use them. I put them at the base of my paperwhites. Love that look alot. And stung is always nice too. :)

    Have a great holiday season planning and preparing.

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  2. What beautiful ideas. I love the mantelscape with the cranberies in the cylinders with the white candles on top. I may have to try that one!! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  3. Very good ideas! Gotta love BH&G! Lucky you to get Starbucks before your "madness" Friday morning... I had to wait until 9am :) I was sweating in WalMart though so I probably would have overheated if I had coffee before that crazy mess!

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  4. It was so great to hear from you tonight, Robin! I love your cranberry ideas and plan on doing the round balls in place of the pumpkins I had in my candlestick holders. I was wondering what I would do with them... Thanks for the advice on shots, too. I am almost sick about tomorrow- the guilt! Lori

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  5. Lots of great ideas here!! Thanks!!

    Monica

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  6. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, too, Robin...ours was very nice, thanks. Love all these beautiful decorating ideas!!!

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  7. Oh my..I love these ideas..so cute!
    -sandy toes

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  8. Hi Robin,

    Those are all great ideas. I LOVE the big initial!! I can't wait to see your decorations and crafts!!!!

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  9. And we missed you! I love the cranberry ideas. I have used them in hollowed out orange halves with a votive in the middle one year when I had to set my table for a Holiday Tour.

    DIL and son are in Disney for the long awaited honeymoon and she is feeling pretty good - how is your DD??

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  10. Thanks for sharing the neat ideas, Robin. We definitely missed you; hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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  11. Hi Robin....from Robin...LOL!
    I don't know if I can get used to this!
    Love the Styro Ball Idea...you've meade me start rethinking my drywall mud snowballs I don't want to do and maybe go with YOUR idea instead!!!

    Anyhoo...I don't know if you've been "notified" that I TAGGED you on my site...first-timer, and a SICK one at that...so have Mercy, and if anything, if I'm doing this wrong, please advise me! LOL!

    Ahhhh...the WWW of Blogging! Always something to learn, huh?

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  12. Missed you also! Love all the ideas from BHG...I have been on that site the last couple of days....

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  13. Love the cranberries in the candles! What a lovely idea!

    How have you been?

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  14. Great ideas! Thanks for sharing...And I will be trying out the cranberry monogram...That looks wonderful!

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  15. Hi there!
    I am so glad you're back, and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! :) I LOVE this post! I bought cranberries last week to string together for our tree, and so I was so excited to see what you found! These are all amazing ideas, and I really want to try a couple of these out! Thanks so much for the instructions on how to do them! Have a fantastic Monday! :)

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  16. Welcome home! Missed you. Beautiful ideas. Some of them even look kid proof! If there is such a thing.

    When can we open our Christmas stocking boxes? I can't wait. But I will if I have to. M

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  17. Hi Robin
    Thanks for sharing all those wonderful cranberry decorating ideas. I love them all especially the floating candle one.
    Best Wishes
    Lindsay

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  18. Its amazing how many ways cranberries can be used!!
    Its so exciting, can't wait for the arrivals!! Maybe they will go on the same day!!!:0) Have a great day!~Wendy

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  19. Oh, Robin!
    Everything is too beautiful! Thank you for doing the research and sharing!

    I was reading your bio and it says that you're 44 and a grandmother?!?!? I'm so jealous!
    I want to be a young grandmother, too! I just love your newest grandbaby's name -- our baby girl's middle name is Noel (she was due December 23rd!)

    Sorry to have rambled... I do that...

    Blessings,
    Julie

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  20. Whatever happened to stringing popcorn and cranberries on thread to hang on the tree? Cute cute ideas.

    If I could have anything it would be new windows (that actually OPEN) Throughout my whole 969 home!

    YOur stocking swap was too much fun! Thanks again Robin for hosting.

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  21. How beautiful. I especially love the "W".....Pretty much anything red though will turn my head!

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  22. I love this!! (I'm having a slight change of heart since it's now December)
    I love the Center pieces, but don't do much entertaining at my house, but I would love to do those vases on my mantel.
    Thanks for the ideas!

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  23. that's so interesting about the cranberries! I did that years back and loved the bright bold reds in the cranberry colors in my candle holders! It really pops with anything creme and white! Just like these photos in the magazine!
    :O)

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  24. I love BH&G online!! I get their emails and look forward to all the great ideas!!
    Elise

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  25. I love all the cranberry ideas! Thanks for sharing!

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  26. I could spend hours on BH&G online. So many ideas, so little time. :-)

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  27. Didnt know there were so many things you can do with cranberries.
    Blessings, Karen

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  28. What beautiful photos full of inspiration. Thanks for taking the time to look them up and share them with the rest of us. I'm going to try the one with a vase full of cranberries and a candle. : )

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  29. Robin, The cranberrieslook delicious. Such cute ideas. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

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  30. BEAUTIFUL! And what a fun blog you have!

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  31. I love all the red! Cute ideas.

    I have a ? Can we open our stocking swaps? Or do we need to wait until Christmas?

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  32. Hi Robin, thanks for visiting. I really love the cranberry decorating ideas. I'm so glad that you like the idea of Stella--I can't wait until she gets to me, maybe even by the weekend!

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  33. I wish I had the time & money to decorate like that!

    Merry SITSmas

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  34. Oh my goodness! These are BEAUTIFUL decorations. I am getting ishloads of cranberries tomorrow. I like all of the projects. That topiary ball is to die for : ). I am glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  35. Robin,
    Thanks for the prayers! I really appreciate all the ideas that you share with us all. Have a blessed day!
    Juanita

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  36. Excuisite! Love that pop of color. They are good for ya too rofl. cherry

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  37. Wonderful ideas- very elegant yet simple. Red is my favorite color!

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  38. Those are so pretty, Robin. I love cranberries and pomegranates in holiday decorating.

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  39. Those are Beautiful!
    Cranberry-licious!

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  40. Robin, What a fabulous blog. I love all your ideas,all the cranberry items, even the snow falling in the background,cute pics of you and your cute mom and grandma. I will checking back often. Thanks for stopping by today.

    Karin

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