Make DIY Star Holiday Decor

Have you decorated for the holidays yet? So far, this is my only Christmas decoration. We’ve been meaning to go get a tree for the past week, but other things have interfered, like the epic rainstorms we’ve been getting in the region. Epic as in 8 inches of rain since the beginning of December, new records for 24-hour rainfall, flooded roads, mudslides, and wind. It didn’t seem like the ideal weather for driving around with a tree on the roof of my car. But the calm between the storms was great for foraging fallen evergreen branches for this star wreath. I was able to find the perfect greenery just by walking around my neighborhood, but you can always scavenge cuttings from Christmas tree lots, too. And eucalyptus and pepperberries don’t grow nearby, so I picked those up at the floral department of my local grocery store.

Happy decorating!

Steps:
1. Cut five pieces of dowel of the same length. My two dowels were 48″ long apiece, so I cut my pieces to 16″ each. (I showed a hacksaw above, but if you have a power saw, I probably don’t have to tell you to use that instead.)

2. Lay out your star shape and begin gluing it together with generous blobs of glue on the joints. I put pieces of wax paper beneath the glue to protect my surface from drips. You’ll probably need to glue a few dowels at a time. I did the first three, let the glue dry, added the fourth, let it dry, and then the fifth.

For the last joint I used a heavy book to keep the pieces together while they were drying. Let all of the glue dry thoroughly, at least overnight.

3. Now for the fun part. Lay out your greenery and play around with it until you’ve found an arrangement you like. Then wire it together with the floral wire.

4. Add ribbon or lace as additional decoration, to help cover the wire, and as a hanger. Again, play around with it until you find an arrangement you like.