Wreaths, Swags, and Pomanders

Wreath

Swag

My daughter and I made our first Christmas wreath and swag.  I bought the frame, moss, and florist tape.  The boughs came from a tree lot.  I looked through books and online for ideas then experimented.  We added from our yard with juniper, hawthorne, mountain ash, and oregon grape berries and greenery.  Ribbon was chosen from my box of ribbons.  I think for a first try we did all right.   For the swag I just gathered boughs together with wire and decorated in a similar manner.  I think the swag turned out much better.

Pomanders - lemon, orange, pear

Potpourri and pomanders can be used for ornaments or placed in a dish for decoration and to add some seasonal scent.
I have made pomanders from oranges, tangerines, small lemons, small pears, and small apples.  Stick whole cloves into the fruit. For fruit with tougher skins you may need to poke a hole with a needle or nail before placing the cloves.  Either cover the entire fruit or leave areas for ribbon for hanging as I did in the ones pictured.  After adding the cloves roll the fruit in a mixture of ground spices - cinnamon, cloves, and/or nutmeg.  Leave in a dish of the spices turning regularly until dry.  Add the ribbon if desired after fruit has dried. 
Pomanders can also be made from a clay of applesauce and ground spices.  Mix throughly and form into balls or cut out with cookie cutters.  Set in ground spices turning a few times per day until dry.   I wrapped mine with sheer fabric and hung them from the tree.  They did not last as long as the fruit pomanders I made but were still fun to make.