Front-door d
Thanksgiving Day guests will have no trouble finding your home if you tell them to look for the autumn basket or Indian corn wreath. Here’s how to create the decorations:
Autumn basket
Woven basket form
2 blocks of floral foam
Sheet moss
Silk flowers in shades of cranberry, muted sage and brown
Autumn-colored lichen (try the model-railroad section of a crafts store)
1. Carve the end of one foam block into a conical shape.
2. Wrap the carved end with sheet moss and push it into the “toe” of the basket.
3. Line the remaining front of the basket with sheet moss and insert more floral foam until the basket is full.
4. Starting at the back with the tallest floral elements, work in stems, using odd numbers. (Three or five of each stem works best.)
5. Choose one large floral element to serve as the focus of the arrangement. In this basket, I chose a large chrysanthemum to take center stage and then worked smaller elements around it. This arrangement has a slightly asymmetrical appearance, so neither side is a mirror image of the other. Balance is achieved by visually weighing one large element with three to five smaller elements.
6. Push small bits of lichen into the sheet moss for added fall oomph.
Indian corn wreath
This wreath uses dried corn, so any exposure to rain may cause the ears to mildew. This project is best displayed indoors or on a covered patio or doorway.
16-20 ears of miniature Indian corn (available seasonally at many farmers markets and groceries)
18-inch grapevine wreath
Silk florals (one large silk floral bush will do and will allow leftovers for other arrangements)
24-gauge floral wire
Wire cutters
Glue gun and glue sticks
1. Using the floral wire, gather three or four ears of miniature corn and wrap the floral wire around the husks, forming bundles.
2. Take another length of floral wire and fasten the bundles to the grapevine wreath.
3. Cut apart the floral bush with wire cutters, inserting individual stems around the wreath. Add a bit of hot glue to hold the stems in place for greater stability.
4. Use a 12-inch length of floral wire to form a loop; secure it to the back of the wreath for hanging.