Cranberries and candles are a beautifully decorative mix.
When you think of cranberries, do you think delicious or decorative? You already know cranberries are tasty for eating, but they can be attractive decorating tools as well. Cranberries are often used in winter holiday d cor. But since there's nothing specifically festive about them, they can be used year-round. Prep the cranberries properly, then use them wherever you want a splash of style. Does this Spark an idea?
Preparing Cranberries for Use
Getting cranberries ready for decorative use is simple. Rinse them well in cool water and dry. You can also freeze the cranberries if you'll need them to last longer in a centerpiece. When it's time to set them up, remove them from the freezer and style them as desired. A fun idea is to put some cranberries and water into an ice tray and freeze them. The cranberry cubes can be used in ice buckets to cool bottles of champagne or even juice.
Centerpiece Ideas
Centerpieces are the most obvious way to incorporate cranberries into the home. You may have already had some experience putting together cranberry arrangements for the holidays, but extend the trend into the year. Find a glass bowl and a skinny hurricane vase. Place the vase in the middle of the bowl. Fill the bowl with cranberries and put a candle in the hurricane vase. When lit, this centerpiece will lend a warm ambiance to your dinner table.
Add cranberries into the water of a vase of flowers. The cranberries will bring another color to the arrangement. They'll also cover those not-so-attractive stems.
Another idea is to place a beautiful wreath of branches around a bowl. Fill the bowl with cranberries, and stick some twigs in here and there. The result is a natural-looking, unexpected arrangement for your coffee table.
Other Clever Arrangements
You can make a lot of surprisingly chic art pieces with fresh cranberries. Insert toothpicks into cranberries and stick them into foam spheres from the craft store. Use this tip with any shape of foam. You can find pre-made foam topiaries at some craft stores. There are also letters, numbers or simple rectangles. Experiment with using white and red cranberries to make different patterns on your foam shapes. Making a striped pattern (two rows of red cranberries, two rows of white cranberries) looks like a lot of effort, but it takes no more time than if you stuck to a single-color scheme.
Make It Up as You Go
Cranberries are a cheap and efficient way to add some punch into your space. You don't need to spend money on new pillows or drapery for some color. Toss some cranberries in wherever you'd put stones or glass beads or use them as more sculptural pieces. They give your rooms a touch of nature and elegance. Just remember that cranberries are fruit, so they spoil. Switch them out with new ones if you notice they're starting to go bad. The cost of replacing them will still be less than designer pieces from a boutique, and the look is equally gorgeous.
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