MEMORIES: COULD YOU BELIEVE THIS BASKET WAS A $1.00 YARD SALE FIND? IT JUST NEEDED SOME TENDER LOVING HELP TO MAKE IT LOOK FESTIVE FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

Better yet, after I finished I realized that the whole arrangement cost me $3.80 since the flowering material came from nature.
 
If you live in the southern part of the country, chances are that you, your neighbor or the roads are packed with the Brazilian Pepper Tree. Unfortunately, the pepper-tree quickly spreads into natural areas, taking over native plants. It's against the law to sell or purposefully plant Brazilian pepper-trees. 
 
Therefore, you can cut 3 branches and there is 100% chance that you are not going to kill the plant. Smile. I heard that tree branches are often used as Christmas decorations in Florida.
 
If you don’t feel like doing so, then go to your local raft store and purchase 3 berries springs with some greenery and you will have the same final product as I did.
 
Remember, Christmas decorations don’t need to be expensive, just take a short walk out and assess the abundance of plant materials that surrounds us!
 
Materials (Total Cost: $3.80)
 
1 basket (you can use any size/shape you may have at home now) ($1.00)
3 pepper tree cuttings (about 12 to 15 inches each) (FREE)
2 flowering light green 10” cuttings from a shrub (don’t know the name) (FREE)
3 long pine cones (FREE)
Some gold spray to paint the pine cones (.50)
1 ½ yard of golden ribbon for a bow ($2.00)
Glue gun or Tacky Glue (.30)
 
Get a plastic container, fill it with water and tuck inside the basket. You can secure it with newspaper on the sides so it won’t wiggle.
Begin the arrangement by adding the 3 pepper tree branches and the other 2 cuttings.
Spray paint the pine cones and glue them together.
Make a bow (or purchase one) and glue it to the basket.
 
DONE! Time to get busy to make your own!