Countdown 2019 89 days to Christmas - Collecting Fir Cones and Twigs

One of the things I thought of to start this conversation was to collect items from the countryside around us and make something out of nothing with a little expenditure, a little creativity and a lot of thought.  This is both for practical presents, decorations and Christmas packaging.  I am talking about collecting fir cones in various sizes, twigs, herb stalks, and items that can be used in various projects

There is a lot to do.  Lots of things to sort out especially now that I am to be working full time. I do choose my moments. So I need to get those important aspects of Christmas sorted out however little, small or unimportant they may be in the greater scheme of things they all play their part.

What you may not be aware of though is that I keep in-house a very large roll of brown paper, and I use this for packaging parcels for birthdays and Christmas.  Equally I also keep in a roll of lining paper for the same purpose.  Brown and white paper can be recycled quite easily.  However a lot of the glossy expensive Christmas papers because of a finish they have been given do not break down so easily.  They look lovely but we do not really want to add further stress to Mother Earth in adding to the rubbish that will not breakdown. You can decorate your paper with paint and autumn leaves or crafting stamps and ink.  Holly leaves can also be used and using green, gold or red paint can also give the paper a festive theme.  Decoupage can be added or your paper can be hand-painted.  there is a lot of scope here.  Add ribbons and small fir cones and recycle last year's Christmas cards for Christmas labels.  You can also collect leaves and place them on the paper and spray round the edge of the leaves to give the outline of leaves.  Lay them out creatively.   

I regularly go for a walk with OH with our Jack Russell, Missy.  This for me is an opportunity whilst the weather is dry to collate and gather small twigs to utilise in kindling bundles, as well as pine cones and larch cones and twigs to use in Christmas decorations in their own right. 

Packed together with a few other little bits and bobs you can create your own Fire Hearth pack, containing a jar of matches (the longer ones preferably) with a set of abrasive scratch pads between the seal and the screw top lid. (I have used coarse sandpaper from the £ shop cut into disks and stored on top of the seal with a ring clip.  You can also add a Christmas image by cutting a circle design to cover the striker.  You can add a festive image on top if you so choose, which can be removed once the firelighter jar is put to use and so leave one of the scratch pads on top for easy access.  

Adding scented fir cones for throwing on the fire, together with dried herbs and also dried orange, lemon or grapefruit peel and some fire starters in the form of small cones on tealight candles.  If they are then placed in a cellophane bag either created yourself or bought in, in which to put the cones and dried peel, a Mason/Kilner/Ball type jar with a scratch pad of sandpaper in the top of the lid (cut from some sanding sheets from the £ shop), filled with longer matches, and then larch cones melted into the top of night lights to use as fire starters.  

Add a couple of nicely scented candles (vanilla) or another Christmas scent and you have a charming and practical present for friends with a proper fire.  I have a couple of good friends who both have their own fire hearths the heart of the home in the winter months.  Warmth for the body and the soul.

What has started today's post off is that a friend recently acquired some larger fir cones and brought them home to his wife and my friend.  So I cheekily asked if next time he went if he could get me a few and he has duly obliged.  I now have six large cones to play with which I am pretty pleased about.  However, these are going to be used for decorations which will be covered in another post.  The larger cones cost an awful lot of money to buy and will go nicely with those I already have.

I shall go out later in the week looking to add more fir cones to my stash.  I intend to have another foraging day later in the week.  It might be my last opportunity if the weather allows for getting something different on the pantry shelf and the basics of the Fire Hearth kit and other elements available whilst the weather is dry.  I am keen to enjoy what little time I have left to explore and forage to add a few more bits to the pantry shelf as well as lots of bits and bobs for decorations and making packaging look attractive.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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