Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mad about decorating with poinsettias!


I've been blessed with a special opportunity. Melissa from The Inspired Room flew an email my way one day and asked if I'd like to be one of the chosen to participate in decorating with poinsettias.

It appears a gal from Canada grew poinsettias for a living and desired bloggers to talk about decorating with them. She emailed Melissa because she's been a fan of hers for a long time.

As it so turned out, Tamara from Davronda Nursieries is nearly my neighbour! A mere 40 minutes from me, I head out her way to visit her poinsettia location and spend some time with her.

Which ended up being a 4 part blog series AND I made a new friend. :)

 Tamara sent me home with 2 large and 2 small poinsettias so I could show you what I'd do with them. FUN!


Something I learned VERY quicky is how easy and instant it is to decorate with these fellas. They pack a powerful punch of instant Christmas, no matter where you put them.


I really loved the large white ones in this corner.


Wanna know a secret? They're doing more than looking pretty. They're hiding ugly stereo speakers. :)


I set the pot inside a laundry wicker basket which gave the arrangement a more substantial base, helping to hide what's behind them.

As for the sawhorse...  it's just a quirky detail. Which ended up being a nice place for a favorite magazine and throw blanket.


Next up is a little red poinsettia. I dressed it up by placing it in a crate, added some spanish moss to hide the pot, added a few sticks and it turned out pretty cute. I keep moving it... here it's on my kitchen counter...



... and here it's sittin' pretty in the main bath. LOVE the small hit of color.

And I must admit, the red is the PERFECT tone that goes with everything. Nature always does color best. Never fails.


I added a little plastic snow to the windowsill and called it done. Easy! I'm not use to such ease.. I'm use to fiddling a lot more. :)



Want a little more rustic detail for a base? I call this the slouchy bag pot. I used a ready made $1.50 burlap sand bag from the hardware store, rolled it up a bit, and slid it on.


And then there's the BIG red one. Outstandingly gorgeous! Placed in a coke crate was all it needed.


As for the snow,  it's fake plastic snow and flour. :) I'll show you my snow tricks soon!

You also got in a sneak peek of the snowy fireplace mantel which will be revealed in it's full glory on Monday! I'm part of the 2011 Virtual Holiday House Walk.



Hey kitten, isn't it pretty down there? Let's show'em!


I also wanted to try the big red one in the stairway, which is where it ended up staying. It was the perfect hit of natural red and gets double exposure... for those upstairs AND down. 


This is how I made the upper level. Two free standing boards cut at a 45 degree angle gave me a quick shelf.


I really like the height this little trick offered in an otherwise empty space.


I gotta blame it on the festive poinsettias for getting me really started with my Christmas decorating. I went for an all natural theme this year and these were the PERFECT addition. There is just nothing like the real thing.

Thank-you both, Tamara and Melissa for having me on board! This was loads of fun!

All parts to this series are HERE




Part 4 - Mad about decorating with poinsettias! - this entry



Join me over at Tamara's Great Poinsettia Decorating Challenge linkup for a chance to win a  fab $50 dinner!

To view the other blogs that are also hosting the poinsettia posts, visit:



I was compensated to decorate with these poinsettias. And let me tell you, it was a labour of LOVE. My only complaint is that I didn't  have MORE. How spoiled we get... :)