Let’s count them: 10 days so far in December, 1 official snow day, 3 birthdays 1 to go, 34 degrees and climbing, 5 logs in an armful, 6 stars in the windows, 15 mornings til Christmas. We’re really in it now, this short, bright month. I’ll keep my words brief today while we’re all counting days and moments and show you what I have come to share – all the winter stars made from dry flower stems, edge-of-the-yard sticks, and windblown milkweed pods.
The folks who made my house a home before I did planted borders along the driveway; I don’t know what they planted on purpose but now it’s a perennial mix of daylily, tansy, wild geranium, daisy, yarrow, and one fuschia peony that wishes every year I would dig her up and move her somewhere a little less bustling. Being right outside the front door I’ve come to know every phase of these flowers lives and who’s who even in the thick of stick season when it all becomes a sea of fallow seeds and stems.
When it came to crafting some joy and decorating the house for the season this year, I looked to the hedges and assessed what I had. The tansy stems stay perfectly tall and rigid, making them ideal for larger weaving projects or cutting into small, straight sticks. The daylily stems become loose in the ground and hollow and have a pale brown speckled character like spots on a quail’s egg that lends itself well to the small stars. The milkweed has done its work for the year, from caterpillar food and shelter to releasing its downy fluff all through November, its pods fit together to create a beautiful snow star. These are my dear December decorations, adorning the front window and reminding us to look for the brightest stars in the dark. Here’s how to make them:
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