If you want to make natural Christmas decorations from your garden that are quick and easy, but high impact, this straightforward step-by-step Christmas star make is simple and looks great. All you need is a few twigs and some evergreens collected from outdoors, some ribbon and glue, and you can have unique, homemade but beautiful natural decorations for your home this festive season.
Materials for the artichoke wreath
-
- 30cm wire wreath base
- 12-15 dried artichoke heads
- 2-3 sprigs of dried Ruscus aculeatus (butcher’s broom)
- 20-30 Iris foetidissima berries
- 18cm stub wire (22 gauge)
Materials you need to make Christmas stars
- 3 x 20cm lichen-covered twigs
- 6 butcher’s broom sprigs (Ruscus aculeatus) or other evergreen sprigs
- 30cm length of 3mm ribbon
- glue stick
- glue gun
!["Natural]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/10/IMG_4251v2-658a823.jpg?quality=90&crop=7px%2C765px%2C2487px%2C1657px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Twig")
More from our Christmas gift guide
- Top tools to gift gardeners for Christmas
- Children’s gardening Christmas presents
- Subscriptions and garden memberships for Christmas
!["Leather]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2019/10/SWING-2ed7e09.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556" "\"Leather")
!["Natural]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/18/2018/10/IMG_4222v2-7ad5c7b.jpg?quality=90&crop=9px%2C1809px%2C3150px%2C2098px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Artichoke")
To make the artichoke wreath
Arrange the dried artichokes in size order and attach (starting with the largest at the bottom) to the wreath base with stub wire.
Twist wire around a pair of dried butcher’s broom leaves, leaving a tip of wire between the leaves to pierce an iris berry, and a long length of wire at the other end.
Use this to attach the leaf and berry to the wreath in between the artichoke heads.
To make the Christmas stars
- To make the stars, place three lichen-covered twigs across each other to form a star.
- Tie together at the centre with wire, leaving a long end for a loop to hand the stars up with.
- Add a spot of hot glue to the centre, and stick six sprays of butcher’s broom leaves to radiate out between the twigs.
- Bind the centre with thin ribbon.