Day 9: Bottle and Branch decor with Michael of Blue Velvet Chair

Hey pals!  Due to an email glitch, I have day 9 of the 12 days of Christmas series for you a few days out of order.  So, we have Michael from Blue Velvet Chair sharing a beautiful point of attraction with us--beautiful bottles and branches. 

Hello to everyone here at Two Girls Being Crafty. My name is Michael and I'm the host of Blue Velvet Chair, a blog dedicated to showcasing recycled and repurposed design, arts and crafts. I've looked forward to sharing a bit of holiday cheer with you since the day I 'got the call' to join this fabulous line-up of creatives for the 12 Days of Christmas.

When I'm decorating for the holidays I have two things in mind...how can I do it on the cheap and how can I reuse what I already have. Today I'd like to share my table 'centerpiece' that is a bit thrift, a bit recycle, and a bit creating something new.

Back in May, I picked up some antique turquoise bottles from the early 1900s during a thrift store run. They became the perfectly understated centerpiece for our Thanksgiving dinner with friends when I added some simple red-colored twigs that a neighbor had trimmed from their shrub. So now we have the thrift bit.

The recycle begins when I decide to use these same bottles and twigs for my Christmas table decor. But what could I do to add some holiday cheer?  Create a little something new to add to the bottles.

Now I'd like to share how to DIY your own little poinsettias to add 'instant holiday cheer' to something you already have that can be recycled as Christmas decor. I used an old roll of red velvet ribbon (this stuff seems to last forever!), some gold braided ribbon, and scissors. Simple.

Cut three strips from the red velvet ribbon. Mine were about 3.5 - 4 inches long (about 10 cm).

Cut the tips of the ribbon as shown below.

Here's where I wish I could show you via video (maybe I can make one quick and post later at Blue Velvet Chair). Press in the center of the ribbon with your thumb,while you use your pointer fingers to fold down the outside edges. I hope the photo below shows this well for you. So the center and the two outer edges are all folded downwards.

Because you want to put three of these together, you'll have to hold the first two between your thumb and pointer finger on one hand while you use the other hand just beside to create the next folds.

There. All three folded and held in a pinch. This process (folding the three pieces of ribbon) literally takes a total of 1 minute max.

Take a (pre) cut piece of the braided gold ribbon - or use whatever you have around - and tie around all three 'petals'.

It will look like this once you get it tied and knotted.

And now time to create the poinsettia! Simply take your pointer finger and push from the bottom near the knot in order to 'spread' each petal. This will create the roundness of the flower due to the stiffness of the red velvet ribbon.

Ta dah!  Your own little DIY poinsettia flower. I promise these little pops of holiday cheer can be added to almost anything and you'll get some fun results.

I just love the contrast of them against my old turquoise thrift bottles. This color combo works so well because they are contrasting colors on the color wheel.

Happy holiday cheer.

Happy happy.

Happy holidays to you all.

There you have it. Mere minutes to create your own little recycled-thrifted-creating something new holiday cheer.  My dream project is to create a big beautiful wreath full of these little beauties. My sister made one back in the 90s, and I've been wanting to create one ever since. 15 years should be enough time for the idea to simmer...don't you think?

If you'd like to see some more of my hybrid style holiday decor, you are welcome to visit Blue Velvet Chair. We'd love to see you there!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Michael