I do a new batch of orange slices each year. I love the contrast between the new brightly colored ones and the older brown ones.
I dust one side of my slices with clove dust and cinnamon for a stronger smell and I can’t emphasize how slowly you dry them!
Jute twine (cheap brown garden string) looks very well with natural decorations. I tie bundles of cinnamon sticks together and then add an orange slice and maybe a star anise or a cluster of tiny larch cones.
I used to faff about making garlands but last year ended up throwing clippings of pine and fir on the window sills and mantle piece and it was a revelation. It does dry and curl but you can pull those bits out and put in new sprigs. (I have pine in my garden so it’s no bother to renew it which helps) I just scatter pine cones and orange slices, and cinnamon stick bundles and a some big thick pillar candles and it looks lovely.
Hessian also looks well with foliage. Look on you tube for how to cut it without fraying. I’ve made bunting with triangles and just a glue gun and some jute. My bunting came from a tesco shopping bag with a hole in it but you can buy it easily in fabric or craft shops.
In the kitchen I make a rosemary wreath using a cheap wire coat hanger bent into a circle and then wire to hold long sprigs of rosemary. You hide the last bit of wire with each new sprig until you have a whole circle. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. Part of the appeal of this sort of decor is that it’s not.
The front door wreath is my favorite. Instead of using a form I gather up long silver birch twigs (they fall into my garden from next doors tree) and twist them into a generous circle, securing with wire. I hide the wire with a strip of hessian ribbon at the end but this year I have a lovely copper wire so I might leave it showing and try to curl the ends or something (as long as it doesn’t poke into the postman’s eye). Then I poke in lots of bits of greenery - pine, rosemary, bay, whatever’s around. Each plant has different properties and it feels a bit witchy hanging these lovely things on my door protectively
One year I found little latch cones and pressed them into the base of (ikea) candles using a hair drier to soften the wax (not so much that it warps) and holding the top of the candle in a towel so it wouldn’t soften. You have to be very careful as the candle burns lower. A safer option is ordinary jam jars, cleaned and de labeled. They can be wrapped with jute string, add a sprig of holly or an orange slice and pop in a real or fake tea light.
I leave stuff spread out on trays/ paper in the garage for a little while just in case I’ve brought bugs in with them. Some people recommend drying pine cones in the oven to kill the bugs but I don’t like doing that so I just wait a bit and watch. I’ve only had issues once. But it is something to watch.
Allium heads and hydrangea heads can be dried and sprayed silver/gold/copper. There’s a lovely bush/tree that has bright red twigs that are great for arrangements but I can’t remember the name.
I’ve been meaning to make pine cone trees for years but they look lovely piled in a basket. You can get a string of battery operated lights to tuck into them.
I probably sound very competent in this post but in reality I’m absolutely cack-handed at flower arranging. Hurricane jars or big wide shallow bowls are easy to work with. A big pillar candle and a handful of small stuff at the bottom. Embracing a slightly shabby aesthetic helps too!