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WINDOW DECORATING DRAWS ATTENTION
If your time for holiday decorating is limited, or if you’re planning a
trip in December, you might consider foregoing the usual Christmas tree
in the front window, and just decorate the window itself. It takes less
time, less material, has great impact, and you probably have all the
necessary ingredients.
This year I’ve decided to free up space by not setting up a tree in the
living room window. There are two bays at the front of the house that
make an ideal setting for holiday decorating, but even without bays, you
can adopt the idea of window dressing. Adding a sofa table, bench,
pedestals, or a combination of such items will provide the necessary
depth to put a simple, but effective, vignette in your window.
In my living room window I decided on a silver, gold, and white color
scheme because I had plenty of white silk poinsettias on hand, as well
as silver and gold accessories. Use whatever you have in abundance.
Start by putting two or three boxes, or paint cans, of different heights
on the window seat or table. Adjust the heights to suit what you are
displaying. Cover with a seasonal piece of fabric, at least three yards
long, so it makes pleasant folds in between and around the boxes.
I covered the window seat with two layers of tissue lame in gold and
silver. Easily found in fabric stores, I arranged the lame so that
silver and gold were both visible.
Greenery and lighting comes next, but I wasn’t satisfied with the
flatness of my lighted garland, so I took the lights off the garlands
and wove two together by twisting the greenery, some up, and some down,
at one foot intervals, to form a much fuller and more rounded piece.
After fluffing and re-attaching 200 lights to the garland, I made
another just like it. I swaged the two garlands so that they are equally
visible inside and outside.
Staggering some ornaments form fishing line, and attaching them to the
ceiling with thumbtacks or push pins, draws attention to the area and
fills out the setting. Just vary the heights and depths for variety. I
used snowflakes and some mirrored ornaments to catch the light.
On the right side I displayed a silver bowl filled with five bunches of
white poinsettias, and on the left I added two lighted topiary trees
with silver bases. The middle space is a simple silver bowl filled with
silver and gold balls. I added a string of lights on a white wire to the
flowers and ornaments.
This high-low display of sparkle looks great form the road, and very
cheerful in the inside, but I couldn’t let my other window look
neglected, so I swaged the same type of super-sized lighted garlands in
that window, but I made a whimsical setting for the grandkids. I added
two rather large snowmen playing near a lamppost, with a fluffy Santa
looking on the scene.
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