DIY your own Christmas centrepiece in 8 easy steps

One great thing about living in a very rural province is many, if not most, people have access to fresh tree greenery enough, at least, to make a holiday centrepiece.

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Elizabeth Ghiz Fay of Elizabeth's Garden taught a DIY centrepiece seminar to folks in Stratford, P.E.I., recently, and she showed us how easy and rewarding it can be.

1. Gather your supplies

The stuff you'll need for the centrepiece can be found at craft shops, floral studios and dollar stores.

Fay suggests it could cost up to $35 for all of this.

• wired ribbon for bow(s)
• sharp knife
• wire snips
• florist's wire
• floral tape
• a dish that will hold an inch or two of water
• oasis (an absorbent floral foam brick)
• florist's wooden picks
• candle holder to go in oasis
• dripless taper candle
• variety of greenery: fir, pine, cedar, holly, etc.
• flowers (real or fake)
• pine cones
• shiny ball ornaments
• spray glue
• glitter

2. Apply candle

Stick the candle holder in the centre of the oasis, which you have pre-soaked in water and placed in its dish.

Firmly but gently add the candle.

3. Add greenery

Cut greenery with your sharp knife to a length you feel looks good, and begin poking it in to the oasis.

Fill in with greenery until you can no longer see the base of the oasis.

You can even add some boxwood the variegated green and white variety makes a nice contrast and other greenery from your garden.

4. Add some sparkle

For some added shine, spray leafy greens like salal with gold or silver spray it doesn't have to look perfect.

Or, spray on glue and sprinkle on glitter.

5. Add pine cones

You need to wire pine cones onto a florist's pick so there's something to secure it in to the oasis.

Loop a piece of florist's wire around the base of a pine cone and pull gently to tighten, then twist wire around a wooden florist's pick, and trim any excess wire with florist's wire snips.

Poke several of these pine cone picks into the oasis.

"If you put a pine cone on one side, put another on the opposite side," for balance, Fay advised.

6. Add flowers

if you're using real flowers, cut the stems to a length you want. Cut onan angle using your knife and poke them into the oasis. If you decide to rearrange them, poke flowers into a new hole in the oasis the old one won't hold it firmly.

"Three is more pleasing to the eye," Fay said of how many flowers to add to this or any arrangement.

7. Add some bling

Wire some small, shiny Christmas balls in any bright colour to florist's picks and stick them in the oasis. Remember the rule of three.

8. Put a bow on it

Bow-making requires its own tutorial. I just make some loops withwired ribbon, loop wire around the middle and twist to hold, then wire onto a florist's pick.

Fay used two bows in her centrepiece "for symmetry, so you can see it on allsides," she said.

Now, sit back and admire your work.

"Anyone can make an arrangement for their home just using greens from their garden and yard," Fay said. "People are always amazed at how easy it is."

The flowers should last about a week and the greenery can last a month or longer, she said, if you remember to water it every couple of days.

You can save many of the elements to re-use next year, Fay said, while sharing her top tip: use new oasis every year old ones poked full of holes don't hold water.

Elizabeth GhizFay can be found online at peiflowers.com.

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