All That Glitters

The winter holiday season can be a bit glittery. Lots of silver and gold. Prettily wrapped presents. It's a little superficial, but enjoyable to make your own bits of pretty whether they be presents or household decorations as the mother nature does her decorating outside with trees draped in icicles and sparkly frost.

Over the ground lies a mantle of white

A heaven of diamonds shines down through the night

To create the seasonal look in a house, sparkle and glitter are a prerequisite. Some sparkle we are given. Some we make. (And I did.) Some glitter we buy. 

The human male bought the tree at left as part of a fundraiser for Alzheimer's. It is decorated in gold and penguins with other birds as accents. The size is perfect for the limited floor space in our dual pet household. The tree has a special sparkle because it was created for a good cause.

A mirror, a candle, some left-over tree decorations and a few pine cones from the yard created a little holiday sparkle for the dining room table during seasonal family gatherings.

A bit of faux bough, some tree decorations, re-use of the red runner on the table, re-purposing of the crystal candlesticks from elsewhere in the house, adding a strand of crystals, a few more pine cones - and voila! A sparkly, festive holiday entry way cheered us and greeted visitors!

The close-up on the left shows off my "glitterifying" skills. The tree in the back yard is prolific, so gathering the pine cones was an easy autumn task. I let them dry for a month or so in the garage and then embellished the cones with silver paint followed by glitter paint one afternoon. The resulting shimmery pine cones were the perfect glittery, seasonal touch.

Take-away - "Seasonal", by definition, is short-term.  Glitter doesn't last and all that glitters isn't gold. Enjoy the sparkle, but remember what truly holds value.

(PS - I'm keeping the tree up until mid-January. I like the lights when it's snowy outside.)

Other posts you may enjoy:
- Small Changes