Craft Store Décor

DESIGN | by DEBRA PRINZING

ADD GLIMMER AND SHINE to ingredients gathered from nature, the orchard or the vegetable patch. All you need is a jar or two of metallic craft paint and a few brushes. Antique gold, silver, copper and bronze paint is inexpensive and easy to use. Stock up on a full spectrum of sparkling metallics for holiday projects. Water-based acrylics are the easiest to use and generally air-dry in 24 hours.

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On your next walk in the park, arboretum visit, or afternoon in the garden, gather vegetables, nuts, cones and other botanical elements to bring indoors. Mother Nature’s bounty is inherently beautiful. A few brushstrokes of gold or silver to the tips of a pinecone or on the shoulders of a pumpkin create unexpected moments of magic and add glam to everyday environments.

Some ideas to get you started:

• Select items that can last out of water for up to a month. You may need to experiment with fresh produce, such as pomegranates or pears, but generally these can be displayed for up to two weeks. Anything with a hard or dried surface (walnuts, gourds and branches, for example) is ideal.
• Glam up warm-toned ingredients. Fall apples, winter squashes, toasty-brown chestnuts and rescued bird-nests welcome a dusting of gold, copper or bronze paint. These items can be displayed from harvest time through the holidays.
• Embellish cool-toned elements with a silvery finish. Lightly coat dried hydrangeas blooms or sultry rose hips with silver or pewter paint. Blue-green succulent cuttings will shine when tipped with strokes of platinum-colored paint. The touch of silver is lovely for New Year’s decorating projects.

Grab a paintbrush and enjoy the sparkle.