Eden Project

Time of Gifts Calendar: Day 3: How to make an Icy Saucer Decoration

Here’s an attractive outdoor decoration to brighten up your garden or porch this winter. As these Icy Saucer Decorations are made mainly of natural materials, they are a great, cheap alternative to buying mass-produced plastic tat.

This great idea comes from the folks at the Eden Project’s Mud Between Your Toes campaign, which aims to connect children and young people to the world they live in – to experience, understand and celebrate their sense of place and purpose in the natural world and in their communities.

You will need:

• leaves, nuts, seeds, berries, dried fruit – in fact, anything you fancy foraging
• a saucer
• a bit of ribbon about 30cm long
• the power of nature to freeze the decoration (or your freezer if it’s not cold enough outside!).

Making the decoration is simple:

• Arrange your leaves/nuts/berries in an interesting pattern on your saucer.
• Carefully pour some water into the saucer. If your leaves/nuts/berries swim around a bit, rearrange them into your desired pattern.
• Fold the ribbon in half and place the folded end on the saucer in the water so that once the water has frozen you will be able to tie the two ends of the ribbon together.
• To freeze the decoration, leave it outside over night or, if it’s not cold enough, place it on a flat surface in your freezer.
• Once the decoration has frozen, pour a little warm water on the underside of your saucer to help ease the ice away.
• Hang the decoration up outside. It will not only be beautiful, but as it melts it will become a tasty treat for birds and other wildlife.

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Categories:

A Time of Gifts Calendar, Art, Fun

Tags:

A Time of Gifts, Art, Christmas