Since there’s over a month and a half before Christmas, try your hands at making these beautiful crafts from I’M DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS by Anna Getty. It’ll make any guest you have green with envy…get it ‘green’? This book is totally environmentally conscious! It also has great recipes too. I’ll post some soon!!

Pinecone and Nut Wreath

To Anna, a pinecone and nut wreath is a gift direct from nature. It looks just as beautiful on an outside door as it does hanging in the house or in the garden. In the dining room, place these wreaths on the table with candelabras in the center for a striking visual effect.

Gather

* Pinecones of varying sizes and shapes (you will use anywhere from 25 to 100 pinecones, depending on the size of the wreath)
* Old towel
* Baking sheets
* Used aluminum foil
* 1 roll of light-gauge florist wire
* Wire cutters
* Wire wreath frame (For best results, use a size 2 or 3 wire base.You also can use a wire hanger, but the wreath will not look as full.)
* 20 to 30 nuts in their shell, such aswalnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and chestnuts
* Nontoxic-glue gun
* Gloves (garden or rubber) (optional; if the pinecones are prickly, gloves make handling easier)
* 24-inch/61-cm piece of used ribbon or raffia (optional)

Create

1. Preheat the oven to 200�F/90�C.
2. Wash the pinecones. Fill the kitchen sink or bathtub with 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) of lukewarm water. Place the pinecones in the water and swoosh them around to remove any dirt or bugs. Drain the water, rinse the pinecones, and dry them with an old towel.
3. Line the baking sheets with the used aluminum foil, arrange the pinecones on the sheets, and bake for 30 minutes. (Baking the pinecones dries them out, removes the resin—and makes your home smell extra Christmasy!) Note: wash and bake the pinecones only if you’re using pinecones you collected outside. Skip this step for pinecones purchased at a florist shop. Be sure to ask the florist if they have been cleaned.
4. Cut as many 7- to 8-inch (17- to 20-cm) pieces of light-gauge florist wire as you have pinecones. Fold the wire pieces in half.
5. Wrap a folded wire piece around the first pinecone and twist the loose ends tight around the pinecone to make sure the wire is secure. Repeat with the remaining wire pieces and pinecones.
6. Starting with the larger pinecones, and working from the inside of the wreath frame out and the bottom to the top, attach each pinecone’s wire securely to the bottom wire of the wreath frame. Wire the second pinecone snugly next to the first, and repeat with each successive cone, keeping the pinecones snug against one another.
7. Once the wreath is as full as you want it, take the nuts and glue them to the pinecones. Make sure you find secure grooves in the wreath where you can easily attach the nuts.

Note: Wreath frames are available in any craft store around the holidays (see Resources). Prewashed pine cones are avai;able at your local florist.

Optional
Take the ribbon or raffia and make a bow. Cut one 6-inch (15-cm) piece of florist wire and loop it through the back of the bow. Twist the loop of florist wire around a pinecone near the top of the wreath. Cut the ends of the bow to the desired length.

 

Newspaper Stocking

These stockings are sturdy enough to hold a few holiday items, but don’t fill them with too much stuff! Remember, the whole point is not to buy too much stuff anyway.

Gather

* Four sheets of Christmas-themed newspaper (ads, articles, or any festive images) or used wrapping paper
* Scissors
* Needle and thread
* Glue
* Beads, small bells, faux fur, cashmere or fabric scraps, vintage buttons, recycled glass pieces, seashells, decorative images cut from holiday
cards or magazines

Create

1. Fold the four sheets of newspaper into 8 layers (8 layers will make a sturdy stocking) that are still at least 12 by 10 inches (30.5 by 25 cm) in size. With the scissors, cut a stocking shape out of the paper in your desired size. (You can always place a cloth stocking on the newspaper and trace around it to create the shape.)
2. Using the needle and thread, hand stitch the outer edges of the stocking together,  leaving the top open.
3. Glue on any extra holiday images to decorate the stocking
4. Layer the remaining four pieces of scrap newspaper and cut them into strips 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide by 4 inches (10 cm) long. Stack them and create a loop.
5. Sew or staple the loop to the inner top edge of the stocking, to hang it.
6. Glue whatever trimmings you’ve gathered to the top of the stocking (be sure to cover the stitches or staples from the loop). Add bells and other embellishments.

 

I’M DREAMING OF A GREEN CHRISTMAS: GIFTS, DECORATIONS, AND RECIPES THAT USE LESS AND MEAN MORE

By Anna Getty
Foreword by Zem Joaquin
Photographs by Ron Hamad

 

Anna Getty is a leading green living expert. She works with the Organic Center, Global Green, NRDC, and Seventh Generation, among others, and is the author of the upcoming Easy Green Organic. Anna lives in Los Angeles.

Ron Hamad is an acclaimed photographer and director who lives in Los Angeles.

Zem Joaquin is ecofabulous.com’s founder and editor-in-chief. She lives in San Francisco.