Chapter One Americans have always taken great pride in beautifying their homes. Early settlers pieced together scraps of cloth, filled their pantry with the fruits of their labor, and spun wool to brighten their plain homesteads--the bonus side of keeping the household clothed, fed, and warm. These enterprising women drew inspiration from the natural world in every season to fill the larder and decorate the house. In celebration of this enduring country ingenuity, Country Home(r) Quick Country Decorating has been created as a seasonal guide to making your own home cozier and more beautiful, using ideas that are simple, time-tested, inexpensive to translate into reality, and appealing for every kind of country household. In the comforting vocabulary of country, a "make-do" means making the most of what is at hand. The pages of Quick Country Decorating are filled with suggestions for turning cast-offs, garden surplus, and salvage into personal expressions of creativity to make the home pretty--and practical, too--throughout the year and the holidays. That dual philosophy also is the watchword in every issue of Country Home(r) magazine, where the featured homes, gardens, and collections resonate with a fresh new interpretation of country style. Quick Country Decorating is a distillation of our decorating philosophy. We hope it serves as food for thought and inspiration as you go about applying some modern country creativity to tackling your own home decorating projects. EDITOR IN CHIEF, COUNTRY HOME(r) MAGAZINE A change of seasons always inspires me to freshen up things at home. I still remember how excited I was as a child to go up into the attic to bring out holiday decorations and to gather shells each summer along the eastern shore. Those simple activities have a way of creating wonderful memories. When my children were little, fall truly arrived when we visited the pumpkin fields. We always held a carving contest to choose the funniest face and the ugliest face. Today, at the first sign of spring, you'll find me reorganizing closets and cupboards with baskets and filling stoneware crocks with white tulips. Even after 30 years as a decorating editor, I'm always looking for new ways to bring each season's abundance home. That's why the editors of Country Home(r) magazine created Quick Country Decorating . It's the perfect seasonal guidebook because it is filled with beautiful photographs, great tips, how-to help, and, of course, hundreds of quick ideas. You'll be tempted to jump into the first project you see, but take my advice: Start slowly by opening this book on a quiet day and savoring every single page. When you're ready to get started, the country basics you need could be sitting on your mantel or stored inside an old pine cupboard. That's because, like me, you're probably a collector. I'm always rotating my collections, enjoying favorite pieces for a season, then putting them away for awhile. That's why I especially love the ideas that showcase the country antiques most of us have on hand. These humble objects serve as perfect building blocks for creating clever storage, holding bouquets, arranging a wall display, or decorating a pumpkin. You'll want to dust off items you've stored away--old crocks, inexpensive bud vases, ironstone platters, and even a top hat (it's great for dressing up a pumpkin at Halloween!). Many other quick country decorating essentials are yours for the finding. Walk a beach for shells, beach glass, and smooth rocks. Gather moss, twigs, evergreen boughs, bark, and pinecones on your next trek through the woods. Fill your trunk with boxes of apples and gourds, plus armloads of fresh-picked flowers from your local farmer's market or roadside stand. I know it can be hard to make time for decorating when your days are jam-packed. That's why we designed this book to be simple to use. Each chapter outlines the basics for creating the projects and offers tips and ideas for ways to use other materials or to create variations on a theme. Look, too, for illustrations that show the easiest way to empty eggshells or how to make an apple garland. Whether you sit down with family or gather friends for an afternoon of making projects, you'll be joining some of my favorite people who made this book possible, Much of the work you see on these pages is that of Country Home(r) magazine contributors James Cramer, Dean Johnson, and Matthew Mead. I'm always amazed by the inventive projects and beautiful photographs they produce. My friends and coworkers at Country Home(r) , especially Meredith Ladik and Jean Norman, had the wonderful idea of creating this book for you, turning a collection of ideas into a sourcebook you can refer to again and again. What makes me happiest, though, is knowing that this book not only shows you how to welcome a change in season, but also helps you build memories that last forever. CREATIVE DIRECTOR, COUNTRY HOME(r) MAGAZINE Spring Enjoy freshly picked PANSIES in petite bouquets or press them to display under glass. Celebrate spring with pastel-painted EASTER EGGS in country containers and as decorations. ORGANIZE every room, using creative storage ideas to eliminate clutter and simplify your life. FRESHEN UP with airy fabrics and furniture makeovers that bring new personally to your room. PANSIES BRIDGE THE SEASONS FROM WINTER TO SPRING , their hardy blooms withstanding snow and late frosts to flower until summer heat sets in. They're perfect for decorating projects--the more you cut them, the more they'll blossom. Enjoy them in pots on the porch, indoors in arrangements, or pressed and displayed in Victorian-inspired accessories. Decorating with Pansies Both fresh-picked and dried, pansies brighten the home with vibrant color. 1.For an everyday celebration of spring, or as a special touch for guests, accent a mirror with a necklace of fresh pansies. Screw porcelain knobs into the corners of the frame and tie two strands of string to the knobs. Tuck long-stemmed pansies between the strings. The blossoms will stay fresh for two to three hours. Place containers of other pansies nearby to show off this flower's wide variety of colors. 2. To enjoy flowers indefinitely, arrange dried blossoms in a vintage pot. (For silica gel drying instructions, turn to page 14.) To make the arrangement, fill the pot with plastic foam or crumpled newspaper. Cover it with clumps of sphagnum moss, forming a gentle mound. Hot-glue dried blossoms to the moss until the top is completely covered. Use pansies of different colors or make the arrangement monochromatic to coordinate with the container. Simple projects take advantage of the pansy's color and delicate shape. 1.Transform a tabletop with pressed pansies under glass. Use photocopies of vintage handwritten letters for a background. 2. To make a Victorian-style "yard-long" wall hanging, have a glass company cut two pieces of glass 10x36 inches and drill holes in one long edge of each piece 12 inches from each end. Cut a piece of foam-core board a bit smaller than the glass; cover the foam core with light-color linen, gluing the edges on the back. Cut a piece of darker linen slightly smaller than the first; center it on the light linen, and use fabric glue to secure it. Glue dried pansies (see page 14 for drying instructions) to the darker linen. Sandwich the pansy board between the glass; thread heavy twine through the holes and knot the ends. Cover the edges of the glass with wide brown fabric tape, available at crafts stores. 3. The Victorians displayed fresh pansies in pansy rings, which were wreath-shaped bowls. You can achieve a similar effect by filling a fluted or tube cake pan with long-stemmed pansies. 4. To decorate place settings, bundle pansies into nosegays and tie with ribbon. 5. Look for opportunities to display pansies throughout a room: in baskets, in mint julep cups, and on shelves. To complement the flowers, purchase vintage pansy paintings and embroidered pillows at flea markets and antiques stores. Because pansies are so delicate, they'll last longer if you display them in the simplest of ways. 1. Stitch a slim pocket onto a pillow cover to hold the fresh flower of the day. Sew the pocket by hand, or use fusible web tape along the edges. Here, the flower is simply slipped into the pocket like a boutonniere. To prolong its life, insert the stem in a water vial (available from florist's shops and crafts stores), then tuck the vial into the pocket. 2. The easiest way to enjoy pansies is to float the blossoms in water. Place them in a shallow container so you can look down into their faces. They'll stay fresh for days. How to Dry Pansies Preserve pansies by pressing them or by drying them in silica gel. Pressed pansies are best for decoupage projects; those dried in silica gel look almost fresh and can be used in arrangements and wreaths. To preserve flowers, pour silica gel crystals (from a crafts store) into a large plastic container to a depth of 1/2 inch. Pick flowers at their peak and pinch off the stems; lay them facedown on the silica gel, placing them 1 inch apart. Cover them with silica gel and add another layer of flowers. Repeat until the container is full, ending with silica gel. Cover the container and let the flowers dry for 7 to 10 days. Displaying Miniature Flowers Spring arrives with an abundance of tiny blossoms, such as snowdrops, grape hyacinth, and violets. Treat yourself to diminutive bouquets to enjoy up close. For display, try these ideas: • Collect flea market bottles, such as vintage medicine, perfume, or flavoring bottles, to hold long-stem flowers. • Tuck delicate stems into salt or sugar shakers with their lids still intact. • Place short-stem flowers in custard cups, creamers or sugar bowls. Edible pansies make a pretty addition to spring centerpieces and desserts. 1. For a pansy-filled ice ring, fill a tube cake pan or circular mold with about 1/2 inch of distilled water. Arrange a layer of pansies facedown on the water and place the pan in the freezer. Let it freeze, then add more pansies and water; return the ring to the freezer until the water is frozen solid. To remove the ring from the pan, plunge it into hot water, then turn it out on a dish or platter. Fill the center with fresh fruit, salad, or a chilled dessert; garnish with fresh pansies. 2. Turn sugar cookies into elegant springtime treats with pansies or their cousins, violets and Johnny-jump-ups. Use only organically-grown flowers; nursery and florist flowers aren't edible. Pansy Sugar Cookies 1/3 cup butter or margarine 1/3 cup shortening 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 egg white 1 tablespoon water 1.Beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and dash salt . Beat until combined. Beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough for 3 hours or until easy to handle. 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll half at a time to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375° oven 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms lightly brown. Cool on a rack. 3. Mix the egg white with 1 tablespoon water; brush on baked cookies. Place fresh flowers on cookies; brush with more egg-white mixture. Bake in a 325° oven for 5 minutes. Makes 36 to 48 cookies. SIGNS OF REBIRTH IN THE GARDEN are reason enough to celebrate spring indoors and out. Easter eggs, one of the of the season's favorite symbols, represent spring's promise of new life. For country-style accents that capture freshness and new beginnings, fill your home with eggs decorated in soft, pretty pastels. Eggs by the Dozen Inexpensive and fun to decorate, eggs are best displayed in abundance, 1.To create a seasonal display on a cupboard, mantel, or sideboard, choose three glass containers of varying heights: Here, a citron yellow vaseline-glass compote, blown-glass vase, and Depression glass plate complement the hues of the painted eggs and bring their own sunny glow to the room. For the most even color, paint the eggs with latex paint or acrylic crafts paint rather than using dyes. Apply the paint with disposable sponge brushes to avoid leaving brush marks. To make painting easier, push wooden skewers into a block of plastic foam for a drying rack (see page 23). Weight the foam with a book if necessary. 2. Dress up a potted topiary or houseplant for spring by mounding painted eggs around the base. (See page 23 for an easy way to empty the eggs of their contents.) Mound moss around the base of the plant so you'll have a foundation for nesting the eggs. To keep the eggs in place, glue them to each other with a dab of hot glue. Start with the first row at the rim of the container, and build up to the base of the plant. Excerpted from Country Home Quick Country Decorating by . Copyright © 2000 by Meredith Corporation. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
