fire and ice

IN DESIGNING my first tree, I wanted it to evoke one of those beautiful scenes of tall, slim, snow-covered, and downswept evergreen trees seen in an alpine setting, hence the name The Alpine Feather Tree. Since I also love the tension created between unexpected or even opposing elements in design, when planning the first decorations for this tree, I immediately thought of the phrase "fire and ice." And since this was a new take on an old feather tree tradition, both in style and shape, I wanted freshly-colored baubles that were bright, but not glitzy, with only an allusion to the beautiful, but sometimes stodgy Victorian tradition of feather trees. So I set about crafting my own set of ornaments. I wanted to keep it simple and doable. Painting your own custom-colored ornaments requires a lot of trial, error and literal elbow grease (when shaking the ornaments to coat the insides with colored paints). But as always, there is a method to my madness in getting just the right look I want.

The condensed magazine 

version available on 

newsstands everywhere.

My tree is on page 30 of 

both editions
 (above and below).

THIS "FIRE AND ICE" decorated tree is the result. Cool "snow-tipped" branches and pine cones, accented with tin icicles are contrasted with hot colored baubles—bright pink and oranges. The metal star atop the tree and the icicles are purposefully traditional to give a nod to the Victorian tradition. This tree (above) makes its decorated debut in Matthew Mead's Christmas All Through the House this holiday season as a page in a story titled "Good Tidings." Matthew and I collaborated on this story remotely and matched up the color-scheme and such. My tree is included in both the Amazon.com "bookazine" (below) and a condensed magazine version (right—available at newsstands everywhere this season). Although the Amazon version has many more pages of ideas, why not buy both versions and give one to a friend?

The bookazine version is available at Amazon.com

YES, VIRGINIA, I know there is a Santa Claus and he isn't supposed to appear until the end of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but my design for the tree and the craftsman’s fine handiwork were united early this year to create this museum-quality heirloom. Since it takes time to meticulously handcraft these trees from real goose feathers, it's a good idea to order yours early to beat the holiday rush. Hometraditions is offering the tree on their website. Dennis Bauer in Ohio, one of the best-known craftsmen stateside to uphold the German tradition of the feather tree, makes each one by hand as they are ordered. You can even customize them slightly with a different trunk color or maybe even a smaller size if you want (just ask when you order). I whitewashed the trunk of this original version of the tree to give the trunk an icy look—specific directions for that are on the Hometraditions website. The decorations seen in this post are not included when you order the tree, but I'm including information below on how to craft your own from clear glass baubles and pine cones in any color scheme you prefer.

I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT that the star atop a holiday tree was the perfect accent. Forget bows, angels or any other sort of topper. Give me a fine star to hand down as an heirloom any day of the year. This silver-plated star was found after a long search for the perfect size and form (on Ebay). I've found ornaments on Ebay that have been part of an estate and even plenty of newer items—oftentimes it's a rich resource for the unusual. It's important to find a topper that fits your tree proportionally as it will become the focal culmination of all of the joy found underneath it.



CLEAR GLASS ornaments in three sizes were swirled inside with high gloss, multi-surface acrylic craft paint thinned ever-so-slightly from the vibrating three-color ingredient list of amaranth, habanero, and marmalade (from Martha Stewart Crafts) at Michaels. Some of the baubles were left clear to give the tree more sparkle.

UNOPENED PINE CONES found under a stand of favorite pine trees I've discovered were gathered while they were green and allowed to dry—becoming a natural brown. Then I added a white grosgrain ribbon tied into a loop and hot glued to the top of the cone. Glue and coarse white mica glitter were added to give them the look of being capped by a freshly-fallen snow.

VICTORIAN TINSEL or "tin-twist icicles" were ordered online and became the finishing touch on the tree as they hang precariously from the tips. You could also use glass icicles for a similar effect. I always prefer to have a variety of ornament sizes and shapes on a tree. And I use the wise "rule of three" in almost everything I do (three sizes, three vibrating colors, and three shapes).

ALTHOUGH I'VE always thought it gauche to rush the season too much, when you're writing and producing a blog that centers around the holidays, it's necessary that planning has to happen months before—especially if you're going to be included in a magazine that hits the newsstands in October or get a new tree on the market before the holiday season. It's not unusual anymore to see Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas wares for sale all-at-once in the stores starting in October. So what are you doing to do?

YOU MIGHT AS WELL join in the merriment of the holiday season that starts in October every year now and gracefully accept that the commercial aspects of the season are not going away. The characters of Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas fell in love with Christmas, no? Even though none of us are stuck in Halloweenland (which rivals the retail space that Christmas gets), just consider it a positive and enjoy the special moments created with friends and family around your decorated tree, whatever the season!

©2013 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

tree design, photography and styling by Darryl Moland; handcrafted tree by Dennis Bauer; for Hometraditions.com; Matthew Mead's Christmas All Through the House (cover and spread) published by Time Home Entertainment/Oxmoor House.

pine cone abundance

THE PINE CONE crop this year has been extremely abundant. According to folklore an abundance of pine cones predicts a harsher than normal winter. In understanding the natural cycles in pine cone production, this abundance is called a mast year. This means large numbers of cones (along with nuts and berries) provide a greater than usual amount of seeds for wildlife. This is, in a large part, why pine cones have been a recurring theme in my creations for my blog.

PATTERNS OF NATURE | The amazing texture of a pinecone is gloriously replicated in this oversized mercury glass kugel placed among the gifts at the base of the tree (from a past season's Martha Stewart line at Macy's).

THE HIGH LEVELS of fat and protein in a fall masting help contribute to fat stores necessary for migration, hibernation and survival of young animals once they are out foraging on their own. There is much abundance to be seen all around in the simplest gifts of nature, even if times seem dismal in our increasingly anthropocentric lives.

BECAUSE OF the masting seed cone production, Mother Nature helps ensure that there will be plenty of seeds left over for young conifers to spring up in the woods to continue its magnificent cycle. Consider this rich symbolism when you're ritualistically decorating a tree in your own home.

NATURE STUDY | The seeds of conifer trees called pine cones are represented well in all their stunning variety with my growing collection of mercury glass ornaments.

LIGHT FANTASTIC | These tiny warm white LED lights add just the right amount of magical sparkle and hide well within the branches of the tree without it looking like a jumble of wires. The best ones I've seen can be found at Restoration Hardware and are appropriately called Starry Light Strings.

ONCE AGAIN, I present my ever-growing "mast crop" of glass pinecone ornaments. It was 2005 when I last decorated a real Fraser Fir with these, complete with candles, which was finally posted online the year I started this blog in a post entitled "Tree of Light." This holiday season, you will find a 2-page book excerpt with the photos from this post and one created especially for the book published in FOLK magazine (click here or on the cover link in the left column for information on ordering). You may also order my book at a $10 discount by clicking here using the code GIVE10 at the checkout.

SIMPLE ELEGANCE | Instead of blowing up the top of your tree with an explosion of glittery floral picks, huge bows and otherwise, the understated and simple elegance of an old-fashioned finial topper is the way to go. This retro-inspired topper is from a past line of ornaments for Target by Thomas O'brien.

THESE GLASS CONES have become magical symbols of fertility to create abundance in my life and in the lives of those whom I love. In 2005 when I lost both of my parents within months of each other, I didn't know that I could even muster the energy to decorate a tree, but the absolutely perfect fir tree found me that year and I had to honor its life, even in the absence of the people who brought me life, I set out that year to create a tree that exemplified what one of the first holiday trees might have looked like. Have a look back at the post again here to see this tree.

WITH MUCH TALK about a impending gloomy "end of the world" this year with the seeming "end" of Mayan calendar, I choose to believe that it is just the "end of the world as we know it."  A compassionate Evo Morales, President of Bolivia said it best in addressing the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly this past September. I end my post with these hopeful thoughts of an abundant new beginning of a more biocentric life for the world—as translated in English from President Morales address to the group:

"And I would like to say that according to the Mayan Calendar the 21st of December marks the end of the time and the beginning of non-time. It is the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha. It is the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood. It is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism . . . the 21st of December this year.

The scientists know very well that this marks the end of an anthropocentric­ life and the beginning of a biocentric life. It is the end of hatred and the beginning of love. The end of lies and the beginning of truth. It is the end of sadness and the beginning of joy. It is the end of division and the beginning of unity. This is a theme to be developed, that is why... we invite you, those who bet on mankind, we invite those who want to share their instances for the good of mankind . . ."

©2012 DARRYL MOLAND | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

collecting, photography and styling by Darryl Moland