Simple items made beautiful

[homealone]

Here are some great decorating ideas for items which you proably have laying around your home.

Those knit hats, mittems and gloves, can come together to make a great decoration for your windows, walls,or even a door hanging. Here is what you do. Wash and dry those little mittens, hats and gloves. Then lay them out on a piece of cardboard, or even a piece of corrugated box and trace an outline of the items you have laid out. Then of course cut out the outline and then place it inside the proper item. This will allow the hat, gloves and the mittens to keep their shape. Then simple string them together, adding a bell, berries, waxed leaves, bows or what ever you have with string, yarn or ribbon. Of course the more colorful the items are the more appealing it will be when you have finished.
This works especially for those gloves, mittens and hats that the children can no longer wear.

For those who planted those hot peppers this summer and now have found that they have more than they can handle. Well here is a great use for them. Dry them, then using a sewing needle and thread, poke through the base of the stem of the pepper and pull thread through to the knotted end, make a knot a short distance from the first pepper and string another one. Continue to make yourself a nice garland of peppers.

Many of us are getting ready to cut back our trees and plants in preperation for the winter months to come. Save those cuttings. They are great for creating some beautiful decorations for your home. Make wreaths, swags or balls out of all those bits and pieces you cut from your trees and plants. Throw in some pine cones, waxed leaves, artifical flowers, berries or anything you have just laying around the home.

To make your own waxed leaves here is how. Place a leaf on a piece of waxed paper and top it with another piece of waxed paper. Lay some news papers on your ironing board and place the waxed paper with the leaf in the middle on the newspaper. Then using your iron, simply iron the waxed paper. The wax will heat up from the iron and the wax will be transferd to your leaf. Of course more than one leave can be done at a time just be careful when you are flipping it all over to iron the opposite side. Then just remove the leaf from the waxed paper while it is still warm and allow to cool on a flat surface.

If you put plants, or trees under a protective tepee for the winter, here is another chance for you to decorate. Add some ribbon and a bow. Maybe a wreath. The options are almost endless.

[flippinout]

These are some fantastic ideas for using things that we have around the house.

I especially like the idea of the waxed leaves as I have a plant that has very pretty leaves that I could use to make a fall wreath with. And the way you say to wax the leaves would be a very fast and simple way of waxing them.

[flip_it_fast]

You have listed some very quick and cute ideas that we could all do to brighten up our homes. I live the idea of making a sort of wreath with the hats and gloves and such. It would be easy and inexpensive but it wouldn't have to look it! Thanks!

[homealone]

I am please that you both have found some useful tips and ideas here. I always try to find some quick easy ways to decorate around my home, because money is tight. I love finding new ways to use items that are no longer useful and making them into something that is useful. As for the waxing of the leaves, this is a tip that I love. There are some many uses for waxed leaves around the home to decorate, and this saves you alot of money on buying artifical ones.
Good Luck Everyone in makeing some great new decorations for you home.