With all of the fall home tours that have been going around, decorating your home for the holidays can seem a little intimidating. It doesn’t have to be hard though – or costly! I have teamed up today with some fabulous bloggers to bring you some simple, 10 minute decorating ideas. Look for us on the first Wednesday of every month for easy, inexpensive decorating ideas that anyone can do in no time!
You can find the links to all of the projects at the end of the post, but I am going to start with how to decorate with faux stems.
I love buying fresh flowers, but they aren’t always in the budget or readily available. Faux stems are a great way to add some color into your home without breaking the bank. While they may be a little bit of an investment up front, they will last you forever and can be used in a variety of displays. I like to mix in a little bit of real greenery or branches to give them more of an authentic look, and I often end up cutting down the stems into smaller bundles so I can arrange them more to my liking. There are tons of ways to display them, but here is a simple center piece that I created.
MATERIALS
- faux berries or other faux flowers {I picked these up at Superstore for $7}
- wire cutters
- glass bottles or mason jars of varying heights – I used 5 but any uneven number would work
- branch or leaf clippings from your yard
- a tray to place your bottles on – I used a round wood tray but a longer rectangular tray or a long stained wood board would work too
Using the wire cutters, cut off smaller branches from your faux stem. I was able to get six berry branches off the one stem that I purchased. Think of how tall your bottles are when you are cutting the stems so you have longer ones for the taller bottles and shorter stems for the smaller bottles.
Fill up your bottles with water. Even though they are faux, they will look much more realistic with water and it will help your real branches to last longer! {NOTE: If you have exposed metal at the end of your faux branches, it may turn the water a little rusty so you may need to change the water every week or two. Just make sure that the metal is not pressed right up against the glass as this could leave more of a rust stain.}
Add some clippings from your yard or take a little nature walk to collect a few! You don’t need much – just a few real branches go a long ways in adding more color and texture.
If you have a lot of open space in your tray, play around with adding a few “fillers” – I used some acorns, a clip of the berries, and a few extra leaves {just remember that these ones will dry out fairly fast!}.
And there you go! A pretty, simple centerpience in less than 10 minutes. Customize it using your favorite faux branches and greenery, switch up the bottles, or add a new tray – so many possibilities!
For more 10 minute decorating ideas, check out these awesome ideas…
ECLECTICALLY VINTAGE… 10 WAYS TO DECORATE WITH BERRY GARLAND
MAKING IT IN THE MOUNTAINS… QUICK EASY FALL WREATH
LOVE OF HOME… COZY UP YOUR HOME IN 10 MINUTES
MY UNCOMMON SLICE OF SUBURBIA… BEAUTIFUL FALL CENTERPIECE
MAISON DE PAX… EASY NATURAL FALL WREATH
CLEAN AND SCENTSIBLE… HOW TO DECORATE WITH FAUX STEMS
STONEGABLE…SUCCULENT TOP PUMPKINS
ROOMS FOR RENT… EASY FALL VASE FILLERS
IN MY OWN STYLE… PAPER BAG VASE
Jenn, now this is an idea I really want to try! LOVE the idea of adding water to make your faux stems look more realistic! I also think it is brilliant to mix real and faux. What a great trick! Thanks so much for joining our great group and bringing you great ideas with you!!! Thanks so much for the graphic! Beautiful!
Jenn great ideas! So glad we get a chance to do something together!
Thanks! So happy to get to work with you more too!
Oh this is so pretty, I never thought of adding the water, such a great idea. I have all of the supplies might have to give this a try 🙂 Pinned
oh wow i love this idea. im def gonna try it!
XO Ellen from Ask Away
http://www.askawayblog.com
Oh good! Super easy!
Jenn–love your idea. Good tip about the water too. Were your bottles old or new? I love them.
Peggy
These are lovely ideas, Jenn! One way to keep metal-stemmed faux flowers from coloring the water is by painting the metal tips with clear nail polish first. 🙂
Thanks so much for the tip! I will definitely try that!
that looks beautiful.
Thanks Hena!
love this idea – i have pinned it and hopefully will actually put it all together this weekend!
Oh good! Hope it worked out for you!
Really gorgeous! I don’t have these kinds of berries to make something real, so now I know the solution! thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
Thanks so much and thank-you for hosting.
Hi Jenn,
What a creative fall centerpiece! I like the mix of real and faux stems with the bottle vases. Thanks for sharing…
Lisa
Thanks Lisa!
Hi Jenn, Thank you for stopping by the #OMHGWW today to linkup, I love all the fall inspiration and your vignette with cut branches is wonderful in the bottles.
I hope you enjoy a beautiful fall!
Karren
Jenn, love the display and the use of water is genius! Thanks for sharing with us at #OMHGWW, hope to see you next week!
Hugs,
Pili
Hi Jenn, thanks for sharing is easy centerpiece. I was thinking about the rusting problem. Maybe dipping the end of the faux stem into some clear nail polish and letting it dry would solve this problem. Just a thought. Happy Fall.
Yes! I have tried that since and it totally works!
Jenn, the simple, neutal and classic holds up; the style always look fresh. So it is with your faux berry stems in simple clear bottles or vases with water. Simply elegant! I’m making these tomorrow. Thanks for your inspiration!
Glad you liked it!