If you haven’t picked up on it yet, our December Guest and frequent Chalkboard feature, Jenni Kayne, loves to play hostess. And one of her go-to’s for making gatherings their coziest and most beautiful is Moon Canyon Design. We asked Kristen Caissie, Moon Canyon’s founder and designer, to show us how to deck the halls this month using a few of our favorite December elements: evergreen branches and winter berries.
Kristen brought buckets full of holiday foliage with her to Jenni’s house one afternoon this month and showed us these three ways to create a lush, cohesive look throughout the house. Using pine boughs, ilex berries, and a little twine, Kristen made these mini wreath place-settings, dramatic centerpieces and fragrant wall hangings that you can easily recreate at home. We love the look of this centerpiece and the use of the glass cloche (see it in action here too.) If you’re still looking for a gift for the hostess in your life, we suggest wrapping one up – they’re dramatic, can be used in every season and are surprisingly easy to dress up!
Make all three of these holiday berry decor ideas with Kristen below and post your creations to Instagram using the hashtag #TCMlivingwell – we want to see how all these berry wreathes turn out! Here’s Kristen with all the details…
Below are three holiday DIYs for the ilex berry. Ilex is a really hardy berry; it’s great to use during the holiday season. It dries very, very well and comes in a few pretty colors. I especially like the classic red and the persimmon tones. Since they do not need to be in water, ilex berries can be used in wreaths, swags and long-lasting holiday centerpieces. Here are three ways we like to use them:
BERRY CENTERPIECE UNDER GLASS
MATERIALS:
Glass cloche
Holiday foliage
Berries, including ilex
Petite vase filled with floral foam (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
This one is a little bit more difficult to make, but I think the simpler version is beautiful too!
Simple:
Place pretty holiday foliage and berries under the glass top – no need to actually make an arrangement.
More advanced:
Arrange foliage in a petite vase filled with floral foam. A little goes a long way here. Accent with the ilex for color.
MINI BERRY WREATH PLACE SETTING
MATERIALS:
Petite grapevine wreath base (we got ours from Michael’s)
Holiday foliage
Ilex
DIRECTIONS:
These wreath place settings are super easy and so much fun to make! Plus, your holiday guests will have a little something to take home with them.
Simply weave holiday foliage into the wreath base – and add ilex for a pop of color!
BERRY WALL SWAG
MATERIALS:
Holiday foliage/berries
Ilex
Twine
DIRECTIONS:
The ilex swag is my favorite. It doesn’t take up as much space as a wreath and can be hung anywhere!
Make loose and romantic bundles of foliage and berries and tie with twine – just like a bouquet that you hang upside down to dry.
