4 Gorgeous DIY Holiday Wreaths

One of our favorite things about the holidays is how inspired we become to DIY holiday décor. We love browsing cute holiday home décor in stores this time of year, but also enjoy crafting special pieces to display. We're not talking about faux greenery wreaths intended to last the whole month long—but instead, beautiful creations that use fresh flowers and will add a special touch to your home décor.

The greenery used for these wreaths included two different types of eucalyptus, three different kinds of pine and fresh, blooming rosemary. First you'll want to add enough greenery to the wire base until you can no longer see the frame. You can make your DIY wreath as full or as simple as you’d like.

You can use the same method to attach the flowers as you did for the greenery on the wreath base: Simply work the stems of your flowers into the greenery and tie down with small pieces of floral wire (or floral tape). Some of the flowers used, like the garden roses and peonies, didn’t have strong enough stems to tie down with wire. So, for these, try a glue gun.

When you’ve completed your wreath, be sure to spritz it with fresh water, and give it one more spray an hour before having people over for the holidays.

There are so many different ways to customize your wreath to make it special so that it fits in with your home décor. They also make great gifts. Join us as we devour the details of these perfect holiday displays and stay happy crafting!

Monday Mashups: The Frontier is Female with Netflix's Godless

With a stacked roster of new and returning original series this year, Netflix has regularly tapped into experiential marketing as a way to promote hits such as Stranger Things and Santa Clarita Diet (two of our favorite shows). For its latest series, Godless—a limited series set in the American Old West that revolves around a mining town governed by gun-slinging women (which we also plan to binge)—the streaming service took inspiration from its female-driven plot to host a pop-up that offered arts and crafts demos and products for sale from New York-based female creators.

Netflix partnered with agency LeadDog Marketing Group to produce the Godless General Store, which was open to the public from November 17 to 19 at the 107 Grand space in Soho. Designed to resemble an American Western saloon from the 1880s—specifically inspired by the show's setting of La Belle, New Mexico—the pop-up featured stations with products from six local artisans, a photo booth with Western costume props, and a step-and-repeat with the slogan “The Frontier is Female.”

Participating creators at the store included photographer Jamie Beck of Ann Street Studios, who photographed cast members in Western garb at a V.I.P. reception on November 16; Stacey Dugliss-Wesselman of Cold Spring Apothecary, who led workshops on how to create a scented reed diffuser; Sara Harari-Buchnea of Squar’d Away, who led bandana-tying and -styling tutorials; Layce Heaton of Cates Custom Hat Company, who provided custom hats for guests to take home; Miranda Hope of Miranda Hope Jewelry, who worked with guests to help them create a stamped medallion necklace; and Fabiana Scott of floral decor company Florescer NY, who taught guests how to make custom terrariums. After reading about each of these women, we couldn't agree more with the show's slogan. The frontier is most definitely female! You go girls.

The store section of the pop-up also led guests to a back room, the “Godless Saloon,” which featured Western-theme furniture, branded displays that included props and artwork depicting the show’s characters, and a bar where whiskey sommelier Heather Greene served cocktails and led a whiskey tasting. The best part? Godless is available now to binge on Netflix! So grab your best girlfriends and get ready to devour the details of the frontier like the rest of these bad ass females!

Take a Train to Christmas Town

Move over, Polar Express; there’s another magical train spreading holiday cheer. All aboard! “The Train to Christmas Town,” is now departing from Buzzards Bay! This is the fourth year that Cape Cod Central Railroad is offering the event, based on Peggy Ellis’s book by the same name. We can promise you, you'll feel the holiday magic in the air as soon as you arrive!

During the 70-minute ride, families travel to “Christmas Town,” or the North Pole while drinking hot cocoa, eating cookies, singing Christmas carols, and listening to a reading of The Train to Christmas Town. Once at Christmas Town, the train picks up Santa and his elves, and Santa gives each child a treat.

It also mimics the plot of Ellis’s book, which describes the adventures of a little girl named Janice and her brother. The siblings ride the train to Christmas Town alone for the first time because their grandmother can’t make the trip. They share seats with animals and meet elves serving cocoa and cookies before Santa Claus arrives.

On the train ride, as the book is read on board, the characters come out as they’re mentioned in the story. Kids get to meet Wabash the squirrel, Zephyr the cat, and Bumblebee the polar bear. They can also hunt for small stuffed animal characters from the book, like mice Bubble and Squeak, amid the train’s five cars as they take their seats.

The "Train to Christmas Town" captures the spirit of the season with its warmth and charm. Trust us, there's no better way to get ready for this holiday--your family will truly love it! Join us this winter and devour the details of a Christmas dream come true. For more information and ticket prices, check out Cape Cod Central Railroad.