A couple of weeks ago I set about creating a couple of these star decorations. I'd seen something similar in a well known high street store and fallen in love with them. Theirs feature faux foliage where as I opted for a mixture of both. I fancied the little challenge of making something similar and realised it would cost me a lot less. 

So after a quick ebay search I found a couple of stars reasonably priced and in various sizes. 

(if you search 'metal star decoration' it worked for me!)

I know many people all ready have these star decorations so this is a quick and easy way to festive faff them up!

So soon my two sized stars had arrived, the larger for the shop ( a white rust star) and smaller for home ( a metallic blue). 

I'd collected everything else I needed in the meantime-

• Some festive ribbon- I opted for a red and also a strip of linen I had
• Florists wire- I got this from our local florist, its available in garden centres and hard wear shops too.
• Pine cones- plenty of these on our dog walks, I'm forever collecting these throughout the year.
• Eucalyptus- I picked this up from the florist in town.
• faux berries- at this time of year these are readily available in shops with various wreath making supplies, there are some really good ones to be had that look very realistic. I opted for some glittery red ones.
• battery lights- for my larger star I wanted to use some lights- these are really popular now for use in bottles and storm lanterns and can be picked up in super markets for a couple of pounds. (I love taking photos with these around Christmas! You may have noticed!)

Having spoken to the local florists I opted for eucalyptus because it drys nicely but I also had the option of some blue spruce christmas tree- a handy option if your tree is too big and need to chop some off!

First up- attaching the eucalyptus.  I choose a couple of sprigs, played around with the stem size before deciding on how and where I wanted them. Take a piece of florists wire and place it over the front of the eucalyptus turn the star over and tightly twist the wire together to hold the foliage sturdy. Now wrap the excess wire around both the star and foliage. Don't worry if it looks messy you'll be hiding it with pine cones.

Next- wire up the pine cones, take a length of wire and wrap it around the bottom of the pine cone, twist as before to secure them. Use the excess wire to attach over the the eucalyptus hiding where you attached it. 

The berries can now be attached above the pine cones, (I used 3 pine cones) the berries come on wire so it's easy to wrap these in between the pin cones or above. 

I took my festive ribbon, made a big bow and tided it to the top the of the star. A small piece of wire twisted into a loop makes a hanger to use on a door or wall. 

If you want to added lights, I bought the led's on copper wire which bend easily and look attractive too, the battery pack is small enough to hide behind the eucalyptus. I added a Glosters Christmas decoration to both stars as a little finishing touch... and to keep the potter happy!

TA DA!!!

If you do have a go at this please send me a photo or tag us over on instagram @glostersporthmadog