Step by Step Tutorial: How to Make Sparkling Christmas Garland

Just in case you want to make the sparkling garland in my previous post, here's the step by step tutorial.

For this garland arrangement, you will need :

1 artificial evergreen garland (60 cm diameter)

approx 10 yards of wired gold ribbon with 12 cm width

1 small trumpet

1 merry christmas sign

lots of christmas ornament such as bulbs, stars, miniatures etc. ( just used what you usually hang on your christmas tree)

First, set the garland on the wall, this will make the decorating process easier. Next make some loop from ribbon ( detail picture on the right) and attach it to the upper right side of the garland. Next attach the small trumpet, make sure it align with the ribbon and not placed upside down. Then put the merry christmas sign on top, right next to the ribbon.

Next collect all the gold colour bulbs, stars and bells. Attach each one with transparent plastic wire then arrange one another to form a hanging group of bulbs and bells. After that, simply attach the hanging bulbs at the bottom of the garland.

Lastly, attach other christmas miniatures such as angels, santa, stars, bulbs, choose especially the shiny ones, we want glamour here...

Done !! And here's the finished one looks like...Have fun trying :)

Nativity Scene 2011 Tutorial part 3: Floral Decoration and Finishing Touch

The hut had been assembled, sweets garland hanging nicely, and now we came to the floral part.. yeaah!!!

For any Christmas decor, poinsettia is almost mandatory. Right here we used both red and white poinsettia plants in pots. Since we're using a lot of these, the local variation was used, which only cost IDR 10.000 per pot. These will be put in front and sides of the stage.

For the back sides, we used these silver grass pots...

These pots just need to be arranged, like you see above, below the sweets garland we put the red poinsettia first, then the white ones at the bottom ...

While arranging the pots, white sand was poured on the sides of the hut, filling out the empty gap. Between the pots, we poured medium sized white stones to fill the gaps. In the end most of these stones falling.

At first design, the floral decor consist only of life potted plant, which don't require much maintenance compared to flower arrangements. Alas, due to Christmas rush, there weren't enough poinsettia potted plants available, so we finally decided to use flower arrangements. For this arrangement, we just used flowers that had been purchased by our coordinator, of white roses and gerberas.

The foliage consists of ruscus, leather leaf, star asparagus leaf.

It's almost 07.00 PM when we finally finished everything... so tireeddd......

Nativity Scene 2011 Tutorial part 2: Making The Sweets Garland

On one sunny thursday morning, few of us from St. Elizabeth region gathered at church hall, cutting and tying the ribbons while the tantalizing smell of speculaas cookies wafted in the air. Yup! It's the making of sweets garland!! The idea came from our coordinator Mrs. Sri, during her trips around Australia and Europe she saw christmas trees on the streets with red apples and gingerbread cookies hanging on them. Folks could pick the apples/cookies then donate some money into nearby basket. When I was in Europe it was not christmas time so I had never seen it myself, so can any of you tell me if it's really true?

I personally think this was quite interesting, because the previous nativity scene never had sweet stuffs on them. We hope the kids will like it and after christmas day, the sweet stuff can be picked by the kids. To implement the idea, we needed pine tree branches which was readily available, sweet stuff (candies, cookies etc.) and red coloured fruit (we chose apples and rambutans) and lots of small plastic bags with red wire and red ribbons, these can be bought at party supply stores in Jalan Cibadak. Overall they didn't cost too much, but the laborious part was packaging the sweet stuff into individual bags. However there's just one teeny weeny problem to the idea : vandalism.

You must be thinking VANDALISM?! Are you kidding me? Nope. I'm seriously talking about vandalism. On the previous years, lots of people took tiny bits of flowers, ribbons or the hanging decoration that attached around the nativity scene area, just for souvenir (this is one bad habit of most Indonesians : taking souvenir everywhere). Even last year during chinese new year season, some of the pine trees inside inner yard at St.Peter's Cathedral were decorated with tiny red angpao envelopes , no money put inside, just for decor only. And guess what, people took them anyway, and some none to gently, resulting in lots of broken tree branches *sigh*.

So with this sweets garland, our concern was that people would start picking the sweet stuff on Christmas eve (the 24th) so on christmas day (the 25th) the garland will look empty (empty garland looks depressing). To prevent this, there's no other solution : our coordinator simply had to guard around the nativity scene during the christmas eve mass..

Okay, lets move on to our tutorial. For candies, cookies or chocolates, first put them into individual plastic bags (detail 1) then secured the bags with red wire, overhang 4 cm of the wire (detail 2) this wire will be attached to the branch later. On top of the wire, put the red ribbon (detail 3). As for the apples, the wire must be tied all around the apples. For the rambutans, simply tied two rambutans at the stems. You can look at the very first picture above for the fruit detail.

Meanwhile outside, the workers nailed the pine tree branches around the stage. We then simply attached the sweet stuff here and there on the branches, and we're done!!! It looks cute right... We will continue on part 3 soon!!!

PS : I and my family arrived for the mass at midnight, Dec 24th and sweets have all gone .......

Note:
speculaas cookies by :

Toko Bagelen Abadi

Jl. Purnawarman no:49

Bandung

www.bagelenabadi.com

Nativity Scene 2011 Tutorial part 1: Assembling The Hut

First of all, let us explain a little bit on how we got involved in decorating the nativity cave. As you all know (or don't know) St.Peter's Cathedral Church is not only a big parish in West Java but also called a city church. It has vast area where people attending the church live spread around it. To strengthen the bond between so many peoples, the church forms lots of small religious community by the region where the peoples lives. Right now there are 14 regions under the parish of St. Peter's Cathedral in Bandung, and it will be more in the future due to the area still continue developing. Each year for each region in turn asked to make and decorate the nativity hut.

I've known for quite some time that this year the decorating task went to my region, St.Elizabeth. However I didn't think much of it until in one rosary meeting the region leader and the coordinator of the nativity hut held my hand tightly and said "you and your mom will help decorating the hut, right?" Oops.

me : eerr....

they : both of your talent must not be wasted y'know..

me : *sheepish smile*

they : surely you can set aside just a little bit of time to supervise and give ideas, the rest of us will help to...

me : well...we'll see.

For the sake of St. Elizabeth community, we finally agreed to help. At the end, turns out making the hut needed a lot of time and labour *sigh*. However It's been a fun and enlightening experience, and through this post we invite you all to learn with us! and more relieving, we got lot of help from people who accustomed to doing this kind of work. Thanks alot, guys!

Basically for this year's setting the hut consist of 4 parts : the stage, the hut, the nativity statues (can't do without them) and the floral decor. The process started with the hut and decor design. Mrs.Sri, the coordinator, worked together with the people who had helped the church in building and assembling the hut last year. It's been decided to use a simple stage just like 'stairs', with the hut made from bamboo making it look like a traditional Sundanese hut. Sneaking peeking the hut below...

Both the hut and stage were pre-made into several parts and assembled at the inner yard of the church. First of all, the stage. Constructed from wood beams and

covered with plywood, it consist of few parts. Part C was the largest one, 1,4 meter in height, it supported the cave and the statues. In front of part C was part F (height 1,4 m) and E (height 70 cm), which supported animal statues, garland and potted plants. Part D was right in the middle will support the angel piggy bank and flower arrangements

The hut also consists of parts. Part A made from plywood and covered with ilalang grass was the base where the statues will be put and bolted. While part B consists of the structure and roof of the hut which will be put last after all the statues were set. The hut itself just made from natural bamboo without any finishing, and the plywood for the stage was covered with styrofoam with stone texture on it.

After the stage was set, next was putting the statues on the base of hut (part A). The ones inside the hut are the Holy Family and The Three Kings, while the shepherds, sheep and other animal were put on the stage (part F). After being adjusted, all the statues were bolted onto the base. By this way, the statues were secured, next was putting the structure and roof (part B) on top of the base (part A)....

Up..up..be careful! don't scratch the statues...

Pheww...the hut secured in place....

Now just a bit of paint to fix places that being scratched during the assembling process. 

Now we're halfway through, next on part 2: Making and Assembling the Sweets Garland!

X'mas Hall Decoration part 3: Big n Bold Christmas Wreath

Finally, we reach the final tutorial for the indoor decoration. This time it's the classic wreath put at the backside of the St. Peter's Cathedral multi function hall. Specifically, it hung on the balustrade of the mezannine. As usual, since it's hanging 5 meters above the ground, the wreath size must be large enough to be seen from below, and lots of shiny christmas balls were used, too... Big and Bold !!

Before we proceed to the step by step tutorial, let us firstly thank to the team of Mrs. Mie Man, Ling Ling, Fang Chen etc. for making this gorgeous wreath...and now as usual the stuff we need are :

- artificial evergreen garland dia. 15 centimeter

- 1 gold color christmas ball dia. 15 centimeter

- lots of shiny gold and red color christmas balls, in different sizes

- some pine cones

- some gold colour artificial poinsettia flowers (medium size)

- some gold star decoration

- a 10 cm wide red wired ribbon

- green floral wire

To start to, we must form the basic wreath first. Fold and twist the artificial garland to form round shape, approx 80 centimeter in diameter. Next attach the red wired ribbon on the very top of the wreath by using wire, then attach the large gold ball on top of the ribbon. After that attach the remaining smaller balls, pine cones and star decoration around the wreath. Make it look like they're scattered all around. And that's it!!! Hang it on the wall or door that you've set...

This two tone red and gold coloured wreath is the classic one that will never be out of date. The shining balls scattered all around the wreath gives an elegant and expensive look... Do try it !

By the way do not hesitate to email us if you have some questions about the tutorial !!!

X'mas Decor Step by Step: Christmas Garland for Hall (part 2)

After receiving a few emails from you asking for another christmas outdoor decor, I've decided to post a slight variation on my previous outdoor decor tutorial. Not much different, but still cute, and guess what we'll be using....?

Bellss!!! Margriet had bought a few of this golden coloured plastic bells, but without the sticks inside that will make them ring. In short, what you'll need :

- 1 gold colour plastic bell (bottom diameter 30 cm)

- artificial garland dia. 15 cm

- 1 gold colour ball ( dia.15 cm)

- glitter gold leaves decoration

- wire and nails

Same as before, put the nails on both sides and midlle of the door sill. Attach the garland first, than hang the bell in the middle. Next attach the glitter gold leaves and the gold ball slightly above the bell. Finish it with red colour ribbons on top.

Voila!! this is the side picture of the garland decor...Have Fun !!!

X'mas Decor Step by Step: Spiral Plant Rack for Hall Entrance (outdoor)

Hello again everyone! Still dizzy for the preparation for the upcoming new year, so this tutorial will be an easy (and fast) one. No decor made from scratch here since we will be using a pre-made plant rack and simple potted plants. But don't be deceived, cause the result will look like a pro.

Enough babbling, for this poinsettia plant rack, youwill need :

- 1 Pre-made spiral iron plant rack, height approx. 1,5 meter and can hold around 9 pots on it but only 5 holes will be filled with potted plants.

- 5 pots pointsettia plants. Choose the bright-red large poinsettia plants that look like velvet

- approx 5-6 m artificial evergreen leaves garland with dia. 15 cm. At least you need 2.5x from length of the curve of the spiral. The longer the garland the better because you need it to cover the unused holes.

- some floral wire

The steps are so simple, first you need to attach the garland onto the top of the rack by using wire. Then simply swirl the garland following the curves of the spiral and secured it at the bottom with another wire.

Last, put the potted poinsettia plants in the pot holes. You only need 5 holes here, the rest should be covered with the evergreen garland. Do it as neatly as possible. In christmas this year, the pointsettia plants used are the top quality ones (maybe imported ones?) for IDR 50.000 per pot !! Wheew, just count the total price....However, the imported ones do have bigger flowerheads and the color is brighter.

And Voila !!! This plant rack decor will look stunning either on the entrance or inside of your house. If you can't find pointsettia plants you can substitute with other flowers plants, just use the ones with lots of flowerheads on them, so it will look like flower arrangements..Have fun trying !!!

Note: The location is still at St. Peter Cathedral and there are 2 decor like this. Each was put at the left and right side of the entrance door of the hall. Both were made by Mrs. Mie Man and her team.

X'mas Decor Step by Step: Christmas Garland for Hall (part 1)

Well... I know Christmas day is over, still lots of Christmas Parties will be held until January so I hope this post will help you decor your house or hall. Location for this post is at St.Peter's Cathedral function hall decoration for christmas this year. Firstly we would like to thank to the coordinator of decorator's team from Margriet, Mrs. Mie Man and the team are Mrs. Ling Ling, Mrs. Fang Chen etc. Good job, ladies!! The decor are elegant....

For this entrance garland decor, we need :

- Artificial garland (dia.15 cm)

- 3 large decor balls ( dia.20 cm)

- Lots of small decor balls (dia.10 cm)

- Red wired ribbon ( dia.10 cm)

- Gold colour leaves and star decoration

- Nails

- Floral wire

Okay, now lets start the step by step tutorial. First put 3 nails on both sides and middle part of the door sill. Next attach the garland to the nails using wire, make a loop at the middle (detail no 1). After that, attach the balls(detail no 2). Here we're using two colours (red and gold) decor balls. Next put on the gold leaf decoration (detail no 3) and last, attach the red ribbon.

For the sides, assembled the small decor balls using floral wire then attached them to the garland. To keep the decor look elegant, one tone pink coloured balls are used but with diferent textures and motifs. I personally like the pink transparent ones with gliterry swirls on top, so cuuuteeee....

And last but not least attach the gold star decoration along the garland and we're done!!!

So here's the finished garland look like.Simple, elegant and can be seen from afar.By the way, this time the decor are put outside the entrance hall so a few things to be considered :

1. The christmas arrangement must be large enough to be seen from afar. If you put it on your front door, the guest must see the decor clearly at least 2.5 meters from the door. So, for outdoor decor, SIZE DOES MATTER :)

2. Use decor that can withstand the weather. Typically in rainy tropical weather like here in Bandung, use decor that won't be ruined when wet.

3. Maintenance. The garland here are put on the door sill using stair, so it will be difficult (not to mention tiring) to maintain if you're using fresh flower which had to be watered continously. On the other hand, artificial decor once finished don't need maintenance until you put it off.

Christmas 2011: Huge X'mas Tree at St.Peter's Cathedral

As I promised you all before, here it is the looks of the iron christmas tree after decorated...

The tree are first covered in lots of outdoor digital printing in pine leaves pattern (detail no 1). This creates the illusion of a real huge pine tree. On top of the printing, they lay white styrofoam board with christmas motifs carved on it (detail no 3), such as bells, snow flakes, reindeer,etc. Cable lamps are then attached on the styrofoam's sides (detail no 4). Next are the gold and silver balls made from spray painted cheap plastic soccer ball (detail no 2) and some red stars made of styrofoam.

Well....I know styrofoam is not environmentally friendly, however it's easily carved into beautiful motif like this one...

After dark, the lights are on!!!!!

Christmas 2011: Nativity Scene at St.Peter Church

Howdy Everyone!!!!

A Very Merry Christmas to You All!!!

It's been a very WET (no, not white) Christmas here in Bandung due to frequent rain almost everyday. And that's why the nativity scene at St.Peter's Cathedral was protected with tent, at least until the 25th. And if you wonder what's the design for the cave this year, here it is....

Right there on the front is the angel's piggy bank, surrounded by rose flowers which me and mom painstakingly arranged (more stories about this later), pointsetia and silver grass. All the statues belong to the church, these are the sheperds ..

The horse and cows....

And finally all of them including The Holy Family ( of course!) and the three kings assembled together. Usually the three kings are assembled later on th 28th, alas all the workmen are on vacation since the 24th so they all assembled on the 23rd.

The stage was surrounded by red & white pointsetia plants and silver grass in pots, evergreen leaves aaand...SWEET STUFF!!!! Yep, there's various fruits such as apples, mangosteens and rambutans hanging, plus jelly candies, chocolates and spekulaas cookies..Yummy...

If Y'all wondering how this cave are made, there will be more blog post on this, so be patient okay...

Oh Christmas Tree....Oh Christmas Tree....

Well, judging from the title of course it's a chistmas tree, but what kind of christmas tree ?

Yep, you got it!! It's a very huge steel iron christmas tree frame in front of St. Peter's cathedral a few days ago. I forgot to take pictures before they were installed, but the frames are knock down. When installed, they measured approx 4 meter wide and 10 meter tall. On close up they look strong, however, a heavy wind sometimes moved them abit.

Right now the frames have been decorated, so wait for my next entry......