Want to spruce up your holiday home with a little bit of natural Lowcountry decor?
The Lowcountry offers a plethora of natural beauty, all year long. Just one visit to our boot-shaped Island, and you’ll agree. Many visitors like to take a piece of it home with them. And, while some objects are living creatures and are forbidden to disturb, there are still plenty of trinkets to be found and kept.
Now, what to do with all of those trinkets? Why not get crafty? There are many projects and decor elements you can find on your visit that are free to take and make fabulous fun and funky holiday flare.
Here are just a few:
Savannah Holly
Holly is synonymous with Christmas. The Savannah holly tree is widespread throughout our temperate and subtropical region. In fact, it’s everywhere. So feel free to bring a little bit of the outside in with this red-berried favorite.
Palmetto Tree Bootjacks
The Palmetto is our state tree. Unlike the smooth-barked palms you see in Hawaii or the Caribbean, Palmettos have growth on their trunks, called bootjacks. The tree is constantly shedding these bootjacks, so they are easy to find.
They come off of the tree in the shape of a V. Have some fun and transform them into a reindeer snout. Just add some eyes on either side and a red nose where the bootjack V merges and Viola! Rudolph is ready to be displayed. Add some clear-coat sealant for a cute outdoor adornment.
Oyster Shells
Unlike starfish and sand dollars, the oyster shells that are not bound together are free to take. And they offers so many options for decor.
- Santa ornament: Have some painting skills? Just add a red hat on top of the shell’s pear shape, a beard on the bottom, some eyes and rosy cheeks. It’s a Santa with a salt-life attitude.
- Oyster angel: Use a larger shell for the angel’s body and hot-glue two smaller ones on its side for wings. Then use a nut for the head. Pecans fall from their trees this time of year and offer a perfect shape. Next, glue on some Spanish moss for hair. Spanish moss is the substance you see willowing from the trees. BE SURE to wash it and/or soak it in bleach to get rid of chiggers.
- Oyster wreath: It will take a lot of hot-glueing, and it will be heavy, but the end result is gorgeous.
- Oyster shell mini Christmas tree: Make sure you collect an ample amount of smaller shells. Purchase a fiberboard doll cone from any craft store. Glue the shells from bottom to top. Use the larger shells at the bottom and decrease in size as you reach the top. It’s super easy and looks elegant. You can even spray paint the shells gold to add some color.
*Note: we recommend soaking your shells in a bucket of water with a splash of beach to get rid of odors.
Drift Wood
The ethereal appeal of weathered driftwood is timeless, making it perfect for a holiday ornament.
MATERIALS
- Flat driftwood pieces
- Your choice of color paint for base color
- White Acrylic paint
- Flat paint brush
- fine paint brush
- Paper towels
- Sandpaper
- Lettering template
- Drill and small drill bit
- Black wire and slippers or twine and scissors
INSTRUCTIONS
- Paint a generous coat of your base color on to the driftwood piece.
- While the paint is still wet use a paper towel to scrub off the excess.
- Set aside to dry.
- Using coarse sandpaper, sand along the edges and any bumps and ridges on the driftwood to achieve a weathered effect.
- Using a fine tip paintbrush and acrylic paint, paint a holiday word on to the driftwood.
- Next, drill two holes near the top of each ornament.
- Finally, use either black wire or twine to create a hanger on the ornaments.
