Monday, December 17, 2012

A Can of Silver Paint

It wasn't that I didn't already have plenty of tasks to keep me busy today. There were sweets to make, house to clean and all the other daily activities. It's just that I remembered I'd bought a can of silver spray paint and I was itching to try it on some of the things I'd gathered from the outdoors.

I decided to spray paint magnolia leaves, magnolia seed pods, privet berries and sycamore balls with the silver paint to give them a holiday-ish look.

Soon I was out gathering cedar branches, because an idea was forming. I wanted to make a natural arrangement for the sun room coffee table.

Here's the result:


I didn't wire everything together; just placed everything around a fat candle and called it finished.

I may have to rework it a bit because the magnolia leaves, still on the stem, don't want to stay put. I'll probably break each one off and make them lay flat.




The magnolia pods were gathered in the spring, before they opened and shed their red seeds. They look awfully much like a pine cone, don't you think?


Privet seeds, which grow on that most despised nuisance plant, the privet hedge.  The more berries I paint, the less plants that will emerge from the ground come spring?


Sycamore tree seed pods. Who would have thought they'd look so pretty with a coat of paint?



The artificial light at night reflecting off the silver tinged magnolia leaves give the room a magical feel.

No more decorations! I said I wasn't going to do much this year, but you know how it is, you get started and don't know when to quit.

Don't you just love Christmastime, when you can deck every table top with things we wouldn't use any other time of the year?



Are you finished with decorating your house for Christmas? 

16 comments:

  1. Wow, I love this arrangement! I love the mix of greenery with the pods and just a hint of silver frosting for glam

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    1. No more glitter for me! But the silver paint does add just the right amount of sparkle. Thanks!

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  2. What? No glitter? (I'm duckin' and runnin' now, LOL!)

    Your arrangement is very elegant and subtle. Amazing what you did with a can of paint and all the free stuff nature provides.

    Darla

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  3. Personally I would not use paint on pure nature things. But there is a charm on the ones you have colored.
    And I know the feeling having a can of wonderful paint in your hand : Can´t stop ; )!

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    1. It appears many of us get excited about a can of paint.!

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  4. Oh what FUN a can of spray paint can be!! I do not make Christmas decorations but I love to spray paint my boots. I have no patience to do any painting that requires a brush but give me a can of spray paint and I cannot be trusted. Your display looks beautiful!!!!!!!!

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    1. You have to tell us more...spray paint your BOOTS?? I am intrigued.

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    2. I have sprayed one pair of granny boots Gold, then Silver, then Bronze. They look GREAT! I have sprayed other shoes that just look like I sprayed them with paint. I have no idea what works and what does not so if I have a shoe/boot that is ready for Goodwill I stop a moment and ask myself if I want to spray them? My granny boots are the only pair that I have been able to have it look decent. Maybe you have a pair of shoes waiting in your closet to be sprayed silver for the holidays????

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    3. Well, I would never have imagined boots/shoes could be spray painted. You need to show us a picture on your blog! I doubt I would ever own a pair of silver shoes. I'm weird about shoe color: only black or brown (well, I do have a red pair but rarely wear them!)

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  5. You reminded me of someone in CA years ago who would go painting all of the bushes outside her house. I used to think they would die but they did not! I like what you have done...and I am nearly finished with the exception of cleaning again and again and again. : )

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    1. Oh my, that is too funny!! I don't think I ever heard of anyone doing that. Did she paint them green? I know what you mean about the cleaning. It never ends.

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  6. Love the natural decorations - all are SO pretty and so much more elegant than anything you can find in a store.
    I can remember when we were kids and spray painting pine branches and pine cones because we couldn't afford a lot of decorations. Remember the laundry power mixture you made one year and covered a house made from cardboard - it was so beautiful - and SO messy!

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    1. OOh yes, I do remember that little cardboard church I made and covered with "snow" whipped up from Ivory Flakes and water. I loved it and kept it for years, until it fell apart!

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  7. What a good mix of nature you have gathered together,the wreath with the candle is my favourite.Ida

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    1. Candles are the best at Christmas. The trend these days seems to be candles in glass jars, which are probably "safer." But I much prefer the old fat candles, which are getting harder to find.

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