4 minute read
D E C O R AT I N G
STARTING POINT In Aurelie Erikson’s home, light wood floors, white trim, and soft taupe walls are a hushed backdrop for pastel Christmas decorations. “Lots of dark green is not for me; my girls and I have a pretty feminine aesthetic,” Aurelie says of Emma and Chloe, shown here with brother Leo. Clear globe lights and wide peach ribbons integrate natural-looking faux-pine garland into her decor. High-touch railings are a great place to skip the shedding-prone real stuff, she says.
Metallic tinsel and ornaments dress up a kraft-paper Advent calendar suspended from a birch log.
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Vases of pampas grass strike Aurelie as whimsical, like upside-down Christmas trees.
LIVING ROOM
On the mantel, Aurelie bulked up a wispy cedar garland with eucalyptus sprigs, a strand of felt balls (from Pearl and Jane on Etsy), and part of her bottle-brush tree collection. The trees show up again on the sofa table, where Aurelie gave them a little extra height with a base of 4"×4" lumber. Drill holes (she suggests starting with a skinny 7∕64" drill bit) and glue in the wire trunks.
WREATH
Aurelie personalized a huge front door wreath with dried orange slices and velvet ribbon. ”Velvet is my favorite holiday trim,” she says.
A D D - O N S The gray tones of this faux spiral eucalyptus help temper darker greenery. The populus type (on Aurelie’s mantel), lamb’sears, or dusty miller would work too.
ENTRY TABLE
One of the fi rst areas Aurelie transforms for the holidays is the console table in her entry. A DIY wire wreath to hold cards hangs above a collection of mercury glass and bottle-brush trees, framed sheet music and artwork, and a few pom-pom garlands.
Mistletoe and tassels help the wire wreath feel complete even before the cards roll in.
WA L L S R E V E R E P E W T E R H C-172 B E N JA M I N M O O R E
Simple bows of plush yarns and ribbons add handmade fl avor to store-bought paper.
For toppers, Aurelie uses a collection of bells, fillable ornaments, and chalkboard-style tags (from Chalk Designs by Me).
Make both white and semisweet bombs; drizzle the reverse to decorate the outsides.
A D D - O N S Crushing candy canes is half the fun. Also try pretzels, nuts, or crisp Christmas cookies.
HOT COCOA BOMBS
Plunk one of these homemade balls into a mug, pour in hot milk, and boom! Extra-rich hot chocolate. Aurelie makes the shells with melted chocolate in silicone molds, then fi lls them with hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, and sprinkles. See complete instructions at BHG.com/ ChocolateBomb.
PEPPERMINT SQUARE S
Aurelie stocks the Advent calendar with a few names of festive activities, like making these graham crackers.
POM-POMS
A jumbo pom-pom maker is Aurelie’s key crafting tool. She wraps on a mix of yarns and uses her creations anywhere that needs a little dressing up.
Last year we were grumpy that we couldn’t do all our traditions, so we tried to make home extra magical. AURELIE ERIKSON
Stock your craft cupboard with a few essentials and use these tricks to re-create some of Aurelie Erikson’s signature holiday decor elements.
YA R N & R I B B O N Skip the gift-wrap aisle and hit the fabric store for a bigger trim selection. You’ll be able to fine-tune your palette and express it on everything under (and around) the tree.
O R N A M E N T S Fill shatterproof plastic globes or disks with tinsel and ribbon bits to match packages.
B O T T L E - B R U S H F O R E S T Dye trees to match your decor. If you’re not working with natural materials, use dye like this one formulated for synthetics.
R E U S A B L E G I F T TAG S Tape off the edges of blank wooden tags and paint the center with black chalkboard paint. Label using a chalk marker.
P O M - P O M S Give monochromatic pom-poms texture with a mix of yarns and ribbons.
G R E E N M I X - I N S Look beyond traditional conifers and integrate a mix of greens into your garlands, trees, or wreaths. To see this idea with a tropical flavor, flip to p. 27.
C A R D H O L D E R Coil sturdy 12-gauge wire into a series of loops you can weave through your wreath. Spray- paint the whole thing gold. n
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