82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 29, 2003 vjparfiflmf Sf{o(lday SbCem Mickey Nagle uses gold spray paint to transform an orange Cinderella pumpkin into a glitzy container. He filled it with golden rod, Gerba daisies, freesia, orchid stems, bittersweet, foliage, and purple roses. Drape raffia over the edge of the pumpkin opening. American QftyCe LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor LEESPORT (Berks Co.) Mickey Nagle makes a living ar ranging flowers for sale in his shop. Majestic Florals, Reading. His designs are usual and never symmetrical. “When I see door wreaths with every item spaced evenly around it, 1 want to pluck some of the items off it and make is asym metrical,” Nagle said of his ani mosity for predictable designs. Recently Nagle demonstrated his eye-appealing designs by showing the difference between arranging items evenly spaced and those with a more free-flow ing appearance. Nagle has no hard and fast rules. He haphazardly inserts flowers at different levels for im pact. “Whatever looks right to you will probably work,” he said. Fortunately, too, for the 600 people gathered at the Berks County holiday program, Nagle shared some of his design secrets. Here are some ideas you may want to incorporate in your holi day arrangement. Of course, if you don’t want to tackle the proj ect, Nagle will be happy to sell it premade from his flower shop. Use green or red apples and pears to make a quick and easy centerpiece. Start with an attractive container. Fill with apples, pine cones, or pears. Accent with holiday greens such as pine, holly, Juniper, boxwood, incense cedar, or Douglas fir. If desired, add a small strand of lights for special effects. A tree-shape centerpiece can be made by trimming floral foam into a tree shape. Attach heavy wooden pick to fruit. Insert fruit picks and greenery to cover foam. Finish top of tree with a bow and streams, or flowing greens. • Insert wild grasses, fallen twigs, and looped beads to com bine different textures and un usual interest among flowers. • Look for unusual floral con tainers. He cut out a Cinderella pumpkin, spray-painted it gold, and inserted a glass vase inside to hold fresh flowers and foliages in place. • Cut foliage and flower stems at an angle. • Wire or hot glue pine cones in clusters to insert in floral ar- rangements. • Use a variety of greens for in- terest. • Tie Christmas bulbs to green ery in arrangements. • Spray paint branches white or gold or glitter and insert to add interest among the greenery. • Use a variety of unusual flowers not necessarily thought of as Christmas flowers. He likes to use white snapdragons, white li lies, Asiatic lilies, orchids, tulips, and in unusual colors such as purple or jewel tones. • Add floral sprays to old toys and use for indoor or outdoor decor. Sleds, tricycles, and metal riding toys are some items that display well. LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) Entertaining guests during the holidays too often results in har ried hostesses rushing to com plete last-minute decorating, cooking, and shopping. Creative and easy-to-duplicate ideas are desired by most imagi native hostesses who want to avoid last minute frenzy. A plethora of festive ideas for home decor and holiday-inspired dishes that put a delicious twist on traditional favorites were presented during annual holiday workshops offered by Penn State Cooperative Extensions in Berks and Lebanon counties. The ideas on this page and on 812 are from those workshops. Look for more kitchen gift ideas and holiday cooking and baking recipes in upcoming issues of Lancaster Farming. Duplicate this wreath made by Mickey Nagle dur ing a Berks County Exten sion program on holiday glitz American style. LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor LEBANON (Lebanon Co.) Looking for a stunning table cen terpiece for your holiday dinner? Try making a fire and ice lan tern. The frozen centerpiece melts slowly and will last several hours during holiday mealtime. This idea was one of many presented at the Lebanon County Extension program, “Light Up the Holidays.” Master Gardener Jane Yocum and horticulturist Ginger Pryor also demonstrated several ideas incorporating nature with holi day decorating. Instructions for using small ornamental gourds to make a vine of lights also follows. Additional ideas for cen terpieces were demonstrated by employees of Royer’s Flower Shops. Here are some ideas to incor porate into holiday decor: • Use a wreath as a cen terpiece. • Clear spray or glitter dust gives a sheen and preserves greenery and pine cones. • Place fresh cranberries in water in a clear bowl. Insert fresh flower in center if de sired. Set bowl in center of table top wreath. • Soak boxwood and greenery in warm water 15-20 min utes before arranging to help them last longer. • Do not put live wreath be tween a storm door and ex terior door. The glass mag nifies the sun and dries out the wreath. Either remove the window from the storm door for the winter or stick to silk wreaths. • Garland can be cut and hung 'pdcate Sase Sylvia Updegrove, right, presents ideas for using vin tage household items for gift giving. c Zlse rSftems ( Wo shifts LOU ANN GOOD Food And Family Features Editor LEESPORT (Berks Co.) Vintage household items make the perfect package for gifts from the kitchen said Sylvia Upde grove, home economist. Updegrove demonstrated many ideas for incorporating vin tage pieces such as canning jars. This easy to make fire and ice lantern makes an attractive table cen terpiece, but make sure to set a shallow container be neath it to collect the melt ing ice. oblong or placed on man tels and table tops. Attach other greenery, berries, bulbs, and decorations to the garland. • Spray twigs gold, silver, white, or with glitter. Insert in arrangements. • For miniature arrangements at place settings, cut open ing in apple. Insert box wood, flowers, or a name card. FIRE AND ICE LANTERNS Large and small plastic con tainers Plastic drink bottles in various sizes Scissors (Turn to Page B 12) old tins, potato mashers, sieves, and other kitchenware into gift giving during the holiday pro gram, offered by Berks County Extension recently. Here are some of her ideas: • Fill a muffin tin with jars of homemade jellies and preserves. If you don’t make your own pre serves, you can buy them at ba zaars and at holiday fund-raising events. • Fill glass jars with pepper mint candy. • Fill an old baking tin with fresh or artificial greens. • Line an old tin with a home spun napkin. Insert gift such as jar of preserves and pull together ends of napkin and tie shut. In sert a spray of greenery in tie. • Tuck a tea towel into an old flour sifter, and fill with cookies. Tie tea towel ends with fabric or ribbon. Tuck in a few greens for bow. • Place a doily on a sieve. Fill with homemade cookies. Tuck greenery and a little homemade angel in the sieve’s handle. • Fill an aluminum grater with a bag of cookies. Regular food baggies are cloudy use clear bags found in craft supply stores. • Tie a bag of cookies to a po tato masher. Decorate with greenery and rustic birdhouse. • Line old tins with doilies. Fill with coffee items such as flavored coffees and cookies. • Fill wooden cheese box with dip mixes, cheese ball, and gour met crackers. • Fill milk pail with candy shaped cows. • Use individual Jell-0 molds for party favors. Insert a candle and candy cane. • Fill a teacup and saucer with tea bags and tea-related items. Gather cellophane around teacup and saucer and attach a wire rib bon. • A fruit basket doesn’t need to use a basket as a container. Use old canisters, pans, or a ham mered aluminum bowl as con tainers instead of baskets. • Use canning jars to layer in gredients to make soups, cookies, or cake. Use a natural-colored coffee filter and secure with rub ber band. Tie a jute bow around the jar lid to hide the rubber band. • Place a gift certificate into a canning jar or other container.
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