One reason people feel the greatest goodwill toward others and have higher than usual hopes for peace on earth during December is that several major faiths have important holidays this month.
These joyous occasions, unfolding as they do in the early days of winter, inspire warm and festive feelings – along with thoughts of adorning home and office with fragrant evergreens, shiny ornaments, colorful lights, delicate tinsel, and all the other special touches that make this time of year so happy
As you contemplate creative new ways of decking your own halls with boughs of holly and the like, don’t overlook the potential of custom frames to help you achieve the perfect holiday vibe.
The custom-framing specialists at your nearby FastFrame store can help you spread a surprising amount of holiday cheer with just a single frame and a few familiar items you’re sure to have around during this season.
Here are just a few ideas for how you can use custom frames to transform your place into an enviable indoor winter wonderland.
HOLIDAY DECORATING IDEA 1. Obtain an ornate frame, gold, silver or wood tone, minus the backing and glass. Also obtain one large, gauzy or gossamer bow in your favorite holiday color. Affix the bow at the center of the top frame member. Make sure the bow extends out far enough to kiss both the right and left sides of the frame.
Suspend from the back of the top frame member three strips of half-inch-wide ribbon that will accent the bow. One strip should be attached at the center; the other two flanking it on the right and left. Leave about 2 inches of distance between the strips of ribbon..
The strips on the right and the left should extend a tad more than halfway down the frame. The middle strip should extend down about 1 to 2 inches farther.
Hang a bulb ornament from the end of each strip. If done correctly the bulb in the middle will dangle slightly lower than the other two. The bulbs should accent the bow and ribbon.
Mount this frame on the wall or, alternatively, position it on the floor and lean it against the wall.
HOLIDAY DECORATING IDEA 2. Start with an open, backless white wooden frame (not solid white, but white with hints of the underlying wood showing through – this will make the frame resemble a patch of bare earth with a dusting of snow atop it).
Next, affix a lightly frosted Christmas tree branch to the upper left corner of the frame. A bushy branch works best. The branch should be just large enough to touch the bottom frame.
If you position and trim this branch correctly, a small part of it will extend outside the top and left of the frame, while the majority of it will fill half to two-thirds of the frame area. Use the remaining inside area (the empty space in the right half or third of the frame) to mount a candle, a stack of perhaps three tiny boxes bedecked in shiny blue or red foil wrapping paper, or any other holiday object capable of being seated on the bottom of the frame and rising no more than halfway up the inside space.
HOLIDAY DECORATING IDEA 3. Picture frames are supposed to be mounted level when hung on a wall, but the holidays are the perfect time to get a little tipsy (we mean your frames, not you).
First, take a two-inch wide strip of holiday ribbon. Cut off about a yard’s worth from the spool. Fashion a big bow from that length, but leave about 18 inches of the ribbon as a tail.
Attach the bow at any corner of a square, open and backless frame. Take the bow’s long tail and attach the end of it high up on a wall. Allow the frame to dangle from this length of ribbon. (If the frame is heavy and you don’t feel confident that the ribbon can support it, secure the frame first with a wall hanger of its own and then attach the tail to the wall.)
The frame will now appear to be diamond-shaped, rather than square. From the inside of the topmost corner (the one where the bow is), attach a thin ribbon and extend it down about three-quarters of the distance to the bottom corner. All along this strip you can attach frosted pine cones, small ornaments, or anything else iconic to the season.
HOLIDAY DECORATING IDEA 4. If you prefer a more traditional use for a holiday picture frame, begin by checking out the winter collection at your nearest FastFrame store.
Pick up a quantity of those frames and fill each with a photograph of family or adored friends gathered around the tree. Or opening presents last year. Or enjoying a feast. Or doing any and all of the memory-making things that fill your heart with peace, joy, and love at this time of year.
