Editor’s note: I hope you enjoy this guest post from my friend Melissa Wilkins today as she continues the conversation we’ve been having regarding bring the outdoors in. I’ve been talking a lot about shells lately but as you can see, there really are so many ways to bring bits (of all kinds) of nature in to your home.
While Melissa takes over this spot today, you’ll find me over at Simple Mom, where I’m writing about Ten ways to use your creativity for good. I hope you’ll join me there.
From art-making to displaying collections, bringing nature indoors helps us stay connected with the seasons outside. Plus, it’s an inexpensive, fun way to decorate. Here are a few ways we enjoy nature around our house.
1. Save your treasures.
Do you pick up fallen leaves, heart-shaped rocks, prickly seed pods, interesting sticks, broken shells? Having a dedicated place in your home for found treasures might just make you more likely to spot them in the wild.
A side table can become your nature table, or a shelf can be cleared off and declared a nature shelf. Even a decorative bowl will work as a nature collecting spot.
2. Display a collection.
Mason jars are a great way to display collections of small items that you don’t want to accidentally spill. (Come on, you knew mason jars would find their way in here somehow!) My kids always come home with little rocks in their pockets, so we have one jar for light-colored rocks and another for darker rocks. Our third jar holds shells and other beachy finds.
3. Grow indoor greens.
Wheatgrass is easy to sprout indoors any time of year, and looks spring-y and fresh. I just use it for decoration, though you could always add it to your smoothies for a home-grown green boost.
To sprout: buy wheat berries in the bulk bins at the grocery store, pour them into a small dish, and keep moist. They usually sprout within a few days, and then last about a week. I’ve had success growing wheatgrass in ramekins, tiny pots, and muffin tins; teacups or repurposed tea tins would also be sweet.
4. Frame a find.
Put nature right on your walls! Why not? This sprig dried on our nature table, and then we put it up on our slowly growing gallery wall.
To mount, I removed the glass from the frame entirely. I cut solid-colored scrapbook paper to fit the frame, then attached the sprig to the paper with hot glue. I can easily switch the sprig out for something else later—a fall leaf, maybe?—and, given that I already owned the frame, the only cost for that decor was the six inch square of paper. Not bad!
How do you use nature finds to brighten up your living space?
About Melissa
I have been thinking about making a nature table for my kids. Every day that we go outside, they seem to find something they want to bring inside. More often than not it is rocks, but they also love to pick my flowers and find feathers to bring in as well. Great ideas! Thanks!
i love the nature collection idea…we bring nature indoors but we don’t keep in on a certain table or jar…then we end up tossing it
i love your ideas because they will keep us enjoying what we’ve found on walks!
We put all our treasures in glass vases on the mantle and in the deep drawers of my husband’s childhood bedside cabinet. Need a rock or feather for a mask, wreath, or gift box? Check the drawers at the front door.
love the ideas! especially the jars to sort out different types/colors of rock
LOVE this post. keep the ideas coming.