After I learned how to do this, I can decorate every corner of my house for CHEAP!! (DIY Garland)
This year we're on a mission to decorate For Christmas with just the things we're Grabbing from the land itself and I'm Really excited about this and so I am Back here at beehaven farms with Paula We are going to be doing a self-watering Season-long fresh Garland for decorating On your homestead If any of you guys have tried bringing Greens in from your property especially Evergreens and decorating with it you'll Know that you might get about a week and Then all of a sudden the vacuum comes Out and you're vacuuming all the needles It's a fire hazard it is The Carriage that still has a collection Of pine needles behind it like that have Gotten down in there from a year I did That and so this is really neat because We're going to be making a really fun Kind of a Living Garland yeah right yeah Exactly we're gonna Dive Right In and Look at the supplies you need for this Okay so this is going to be a little bit Different it's a little more involved Than just putting together a flower Bouquet because we need something that This is going to get to drink out of all Christmas Seasons right right you know Normally a Garland can be built on just A cord and that's really great if you're Doing it on your porch or stringing it Along your house a lot of times if we Just bring a Garland or we put on The
Mantel it's going to be dead in a few Days so we kind of came up with this Idea that we would put all of our Greenery into a water source so that it Will last the whole season long our Basic materials are first of all we need Some type of a vessel and this is just a Gutter okay you know that we bought at The hardware store and we bought the two Ends to go on it I love it because you Can spray paint it you know they have a Lot of wonderful spray paints for doing A stone look and stuff like that but It's Christmas so white works really Really good so as you're talking I'm Thinking Could you go get some of those like Disposable tin wear things from the Grocery store in like loaf pans and then You could even hot glue gun them Together to make them yeah because your Foliage really that we're about to Design into here is going to cover all Of that okay again silver looks great or Just any vessel I think the big thing is You know if you have a certain spot in Your home that you will like to bring This into every seasonal celebration That you have that vessel ready to go And you don't have to think about it you Can just gather your wild materials and Build your design and this is just a Piece it's just gutters because I wanted It to be low and it's kind of hard to
Find something long enough and a gutter You can cut to the size you know if you Have a small place that you would like a Garland to kind of drape over you could Have something small if you have a Really long table you could create Something long and really that would be A lot very impactful when you had your Guests over so it could be beautiful Yeah absolutely and then we're just Using simple chicken wire they used to Design with this many many Coons ago Before we came out with floral foam so We'll be using that we're homesteaders We have chicken wire laying around the Place right yes And then we're just going to use some Waterproof tape to kind of hold that in There you wouldn't necessarily have to Do this because you're not really Picking this up but you can imagine that If we built the whole design had this in There and we walked away with it and it All flipped out onto the ground so that Helps hold that in and is that something You just get at a floral design yeah Yeah it's just waterproof floral tape Super tough you could get away with Electrical tape yeah yeah okay and use That and it comes in green and clear if You want to do that perfect we'll kind Of get started in here and we harvested You'll see around us a lot of fun items That we harvested from the wild for this
And we're just going to stick this in And I'm going to reach down low and I am Lifting up that bottom layer of chicken Wire you're kind of almost pinching it Yeah I'm getting it up because if it Lies on the surface of this vessel I Need it to grab those stems and fold Them in place and if it doesn't do it Then we have a little bit of a So you're kind of like Folding It Flattening it a little bit but you're Bringing it up yeah do you see how That's not on the base I see okay so you Don't want the bottom of it on the Bottom yeah as you guys try this at home It's just you're going to notice that if You put that stem in and it doesn't have Anything to grab it it's just going to Flop to the side okay so it's just so That you're putting it through both Layers of the chicken wire before it's Getting to the bottom yep and you do Need two layers to do that you Absolutely do okay that's going to hold It in and here's one thing I don't put Water in my vessel until I have this Taped down because if there's water on It then the tape isn't going to stick Okay so it has to be really dry okay so Start dry yeah so super simple we have a Base here and we're just going to add Water and I do try to add water with the Floral preservative in it because you Know it's going to be in the house for a
While you will be able to change the Water on this by just taking it over to Your sink tilting it on its side and Flushing water through it with your Faucet And we were talking about a homemade Flower preservative that we could make At home earlier and I will put that up Right here right yeah just using some Bleach sugar and something to make the Water more acidic which is lemon juice Or vinegar you guys I forgot to mention That for the scatter Garden I just used This lexel clear silicon that you would Go around windows or doors with to make It waterproof That's good because you don't want it All to leak out In time if that broke you could just Reseal it so I want to add that detail Great all right so here we go I still um I'm gonna give a cut to every stem Because I harvested these a while ago When you're harvesting your flowers and Stuff like that if this sits out in air This will dry over and so now it cannot Take up water so to allow it to take up Water I need to cut that end off do you Have to cut very much not very much no Just a little bit yep okay and we are Going to just build a Garland let's Build since you're there too okay and We're working together on this we're Just going to kind of stick in I'll have
To lay some some down on this side and You'll lace them down on that side and Then we're just going to kind of build It we'll start with some cedar okay And this is literally just stuff that You could go walk around the property Find whatever you had kind of on hand Yep oh yeah I think and don't forget to Trim the end that's the fun part is you Can just grab your kids and make a day Of it make hot cocoa and come back to The hot cocoa while you've all gone out And harvested some beautiful foliages And Evergreens from the forest so I can See right off like you've got to get it Under both right so yeah you're noticing That chicken wire right had to have it On the bottom we're just gonna green it Up this is what kind of how you What you call Greening up And we're covering mechanics When we do this you can use bigger Pieces to drape over If you want and in the end we want to Make sure that we're not really seeing The chicken wire see okay here's a great Bent piece okay so if I take this bent Piece and I put it in on the side do you See how that is draping over my vessel There I tell you what there is nothing Better than a bent Stem this is really fast and it's Something totally your kids could help You with too all of these holiday
Decorations I mean really isn't that it Is that you get everybody involved and That's what it should be I think yeah That's what it should be about yeah you Don't have to buy a bunch of plastic you Can actually get in there and make Memories oh yeah you start finding ones That you're like oh that was just right Yeah and you could even the cedar has a Beautiful I think the back is a Beautiful lime green and if you wanted Maybe I'll put him out on the end Because then he kind of drapes out like That but that adds a lot of different Texture if you occasionally flip your Foliage over and expose the back end now Are you concerned at all about this Getting into the water not with the Evergreens I you know I'm not I just Know that this is something that's going To be in the house for a few weeks and They're pretty tough but traditionally You would never want foliage in your Water or your base I've got a long piece here right on the End okay and you need to like wild okay Okay we're gonna go up we're gonna go Out we're gonna go everywhere all right Just let it go This is not my expertise in case you Can't tell but you cannot mess it up but This would be really easy you know with The kids I can totally see how this is Just really doable the two and
Three-year-old could get involved in This right yeah yeah it's really fun We're just poking we're just poking till It's pretty just sticking things in There yep I'm feeling competitive like I I've got To get halfway across yeah I'm actually competitive and I'm like I'm just thinking okay you know it's a Project and we're gonna get through it You guys that's how I work [Music] So we have this underlying Foundation That we've built just with using one Type of floral material and then we're Going to come back with a different and I have to say that I think I do design That way like I will Design with one Floral species and then I'll pick other Ones and then at the end if I feel like Oh you know I could use a little more Cedar there then I will have some extra To to bring back and put into the design And with the two layers of chicken wire You can see how I'm going straight in And how it sticks up and has a little Dimension there and you can think about That too like do I want it to be more Laid out and flat is that the look I'm Going for or do I want to go lots of Different ways and I think the more you Do it and the more seasons you walk Through and do this you just begin to Understand what you love when you put it
In that room here I'm all worried about Like yours is more laying that way Mine's laying that way and we're you Know yeah I think Carolyn's noticed that We we definitely have something Asymmetrical going on but I think we can Put like a heavier makeup yeah this It'll be a little off-center which I Prefer anyways but we could have built This all one way and it probably would Have looked more like a Garland okay Where this might look more like a Centerpiece if you wanted to put in Twinkle lights or something like that at What stage would you do that I get it All done and then do it or would you do It like no I would start some now and Then I would add some more later because It's just fun because it's fun yeah I Think that's a good that's a good point Is to get them in now so you could leave It with just Cedars Cedar is beautiful Um But we are here and this is today and we Don't have to control ourselves so let's Not this is a little bit of Douglas fur And it has that Christmas smell so we Can add that in and we're just going to Add it in you're just gonna go poke it Right back through right where we Already were yeah You definitely want a couple of Different textures It just makes it more interesting
And then challenging yourself to kind of Get it up and out there and you can just Keep going I mean you don't have to Control yourself with this kind of stuff Because you're getting it all from the Woods and that's really fun and I think Sometimes I mean we talk about a simple Life we talk about that sometimes more Is more sometimes a day and enjoying the Abundance of what's around you amen I Feel like yeah right like let's go Hog Wild right like why slow down it doesn't Have to be tied to an economic thing no It doesn't have to be about how much Especially when it's your own place your Own stuff yeah go back out and get Another arm full of dreams and do some More right that's exciting I love that I Mean can you imagine just doing this Whole Garland even in just the Holly That would be but when it's your own Place and you're growing your own stuff You can do that yeah let's go a heavier Moment right here Or something one thing I've noticed Throughout my lifetime is in Floral Design and stuff how everything was like Grade A and perfectly placed oh Perfectly safe And I just love that that mold got broke Okay because I mean it's good for people Like me yeah exactly that's just let's Just enjoy it and have fun with it our Basic rule here is that we're creating
Something a focal point basically and Now I've got a real big cluster cannot Like you can if we have to break it Apart let's edit this Branch a little Bit so that you can get him down in the Water and we'll use these two pieces Somewhere else okay perfect maybe we'll Trail off just a little bit with that We're going to really evaluate how a Person could really stop here or we Could just keep going and I think our Theme is to just keep going just keep Going but basically you can see how this Is gorgeous I love the twinkle lights Idea I like twinkle lights I mean I Realize I'm organic and and I mean and All Back To Nature but a little bling Come on it's just fun and when you've Got Sparkle yeah you have to do blingy Things when you have kids And this is so easy I'm actually I'm Really impressed with yeah like even Like my section yeah I love it it Actually even looks like you're better Than me I think your site is better Because it's just wild and sometimes I Think too much right And these are all things that were dried On the farm and so I think like like We're visiting the idea of having Flowers in our landscape so that you can Create designs I have so much of stuff That looks like this in the yard right Now exactly like even these this is like
Roadside everything it's all over the Place I don't know that we'll use these We're kind of turning but you could oh That's you see how we found these I mean Maybe we should just try this maybe You've got that happy moment and I like I love the mosses and the lichens yes That man and I don't even mind that That's flowing out like that and I could Like I'm gonna stick it in the water Because I can actually get it in there But this might be something I might I Should have probably or could wire in Okay but if you're building this in your House and it's not moving who cares yeah Now we have um some of these dried Elements that we wild crafted out just From outside and we can add those I like To think in moments like We're going to try not to polka dot this Oh and we could add some pine cones Really oh that would be perfect right in The middle right and I have Got a really honking one here I mean you Can see once you've gathered all the Different things we can wire them in we Could hot glue them in and if you're Just setting this up on your dining room Table you could just set it there too Right and it's kind of fun because you Could keep adding to it I know around Our house about this time of year people Start finding antlers sometimes yeah you Get all sorts of fun things that start
Poking up and so it's like you could Just kind of keep adding Treasures how Would you add candles because I love That right right like stick these in Here for now yeah go for it I would Probably add candlesticks on the outside You know but if we had foam or you had a Candle holder that you could we could Have started with a candle holder in There and I pre-planned all of that too That looks really great so we can start Up there or we could add just a few Dries how about okay so how would you Put these in it does is there a problem With poking the dried stems into the Water itself I mean they are going to Get moist and not hold up but I think The top still stay dry and they're going To be great perfect they're going to be Great methodology do not make it look Like a polka dot right so let's put a Happy white moment kind of here okay and Then we're going to balance a taller one With a few of the smaller ones here and What are these are these look like it's Larger yeah this is the moment where I Probably like take it from oh it's it's Decent to like it looks like the Kindergarten class made it and I'm just Gonna put in some small grasses here Kind of like if you were walking in the Woods or something let's get some a bit Straight up yeah we're trying to not Look like a traditional florist okay
Sorry traditional florists if you start To observe how things grow in your Garden it starts to help your okay yeah That looks great because Larkspur would Do that this is so it's so you're I love I love your side better than mine but I Do that I always do that and I'm kind of Doing things in and out low and high That looks great I would add a few more Let's get stronger a few more and then Come back with a few shorter ones here This is very freeing this is like this Is just just stick it in and see because I mean the worst that happens is I don't Like it and I pull it right back out and Do it again exactly and a lot of times You'll just stand back in your home and You're like you know what I I'm gonna Change that up a little bit and you Learn you begin to learn to design with I I think this is like leave commercial Christmas and holidays therapy right Yeah yeah because it is it's like if I Stick it in it doesn't work let's try it Just do something else and it's there Really aren't wrong answers here no that Is the safe spot it's a safe place it is Kind of have two very different looks Going on you know it's like this journey From the forest into the garden there You go like I like that so let's do a Moment here and then we'll taper off Lightly and maybe just have one over Here so that we can kind of get a little
Together And with the grasses I think I might even grab a few and put them in Together so that it has more impact [Applause] Foreign Oh healthy and you just don't even have To stop or you can just keep going and It looks really really beautiful that Would be absolutely amazing on uh right I mean it just looks like who can afford That abundance except someone who is Where we are yeah And just you know using what we have and What's available for us and I think even If you're in the city like even if You're not in a yard even if you don't Have access at me one you could just go Out for a hike and come home with all Sorts of fun things but even around a City lot or a city area you could go and Snip snip snap there's ditches you could End up with all sorts of things oh my Goodness it is so amazing and so much Fun and very freeing and you guys take Advantage of this holiday season don't Go out and buy stuff take the time go With less but like wow I don't think That's less one of these counts oh who Has that it's like massively amazing and Yeah you did it with some something very Simple and if you want to learn how to Make an amazing wreath we just did a Video on that so check out this video
Right here
