enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

stringing cranberries.

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Cranberries
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Cranberries4

Crate and Barrel sells these really pretty strands of red beads. I saw them right before Thanksgiving and wanted them, but figured I’d wait until after Christmas when they would surely be on super sale. Then ON Thanksgiving, as I dumped fresh cranberries into a bowl, I realized I could make my own “red bead” strands.

Obviously, this light bulb should have gone off much earlier. I mean, what did I think the red beads were supposed to represent if not cranberries?

I picked up a few bags and used a big upholstery needle and baker’s twine* to string the longest strands ever while re-watching the West Wing on DVD. After Christmas, I’ll put the strands on the patio and hopefully the birds will enjoy the cranberries.

*Yes, I too am overwhelmed by the 3,360 yards of baker’s twine I purchased last year. But I mean really, can you beat that price?!

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25 responses to “stringing cranberries.”

  1. Leah Bean Avatar
    Leah Bean

    I’m curious to hear/see how these last… if they shrivel up, or mold, or what. Cool idea Elise! Love your blog so much.

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  2. Alyssa Byron Avatar
    Alyssa Byron

    LOVE the west wing!! what season? Which episode? Are charlie and zoey still together?

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  3. Laney Avatar
    Laney

    Fun idea!! I’m curious to hear if they will mold too, so let us know!
    Oh, and one can never have too much baker’s twine. But you could sell it in your etsy shop if you feel you have too much.

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  4. robyn Avatar
    robyn

    aw, this reminds me of when I was in kindergarten the holiday art craft was making a garland from cranberries, orange rind, and popcorn. The cranberries dried up (like craisins that we eat nowadays) and the orange peel dried up like you’ll see in incense. My parents STILL have it in their Christmas ornament box to this day.

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  5. JillT Avatar
    JillT

    Well I love the cranberries, am amazed at all you are accomplishing in one week, but have to admit. . .you had me @ West Wing. Just may need to check out a season for the weekend. The best EVER!

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  6. karen Avatar
    karen

    I use my bakers twine for everything, no such thing as too much.

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  7. Sara Avatar
    Sara

    Elise – are we kindred spirits on opposite coasts??? My boyfriend and I are at the end of The West Wing Season 7 having just spent this fall re-watching the whole show! We are absolutely obsessed! Love your cranberry strings!

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  8. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    started at the beginning again with season 1… Working my way through!

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  9. Nadia Avatar
    Nadia

    how cute elise! I had to laugh because that is the exact twine that I was trying to find to use for my christmas cards. I settled on jute with red from ikea, but it is a lot stiffer. looks like your new place is coming together beautifully! ciao!

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  10. Cecilia Madden Avatar
    Cecilia Madden

    This is such a nice, classic look. And I like the circle garland too, which I assume you made. Just darling.
    Have a great weekend.

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  11. Sherried Avatar
    Sherried

    Love the West Wing. You could count this as one of your 26 projects. Love that you will feed them to the birds after Christmas. Have a great weekend.

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  12. Jessika Avatar
    Jessika

    Popcorn strings well too! We used to string cranberries and popcorn (air popped, unbuttered) when I was little.

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  13. Heather Avatar
    Heather

    gorgeous! and The West Wing on DVD!? I just fell in internet-friend-love with you all over again. [look at me. assuming that because I read your blog and adore your projects I can call you friend! 😉 ]

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  14. susan ku Avatar
    susan ku

    Absolutely inspired and much less messy than stringing popcorn 🙂 This looks beautiful. I tried not to covet your huge spool of baker’s twine in the picture, because really, what would I do with so much? (Oh don’t get me started with the ideas)

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  15. Skye Avatar
    Skye

    It looks great with the white decorations. I hope you show us the whole tree one of these days! 🙂 Looks like the cranberries are not getting juice everywhere, either?

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  16. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    nope, they are happily pretty clean. though I did step on a few while I was making this…

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  17. desiree Avatar
    desiree

    It looks amazing!

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  18. victoria | vmac+cheese Avatar
    victoria | vmac+cheese

    Looks great! I know something else you can do with that twine… I saw this last week and think it’s right up your alley! http://domestikatedlife.com/2011/11/30/pom-pom-presents/

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  19. Katie Avatar
    Katie

    Looks awesome and love the idea of letting the birds at it after the holidays 🙂

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  20. Sharon Avatar
    Sharon

    Hi Elise, I love your blog! And I really like your new home and what you’ve done so far. Can’t wait to see more.
    I string cranberries every Christmas, string them while they are frozen and they’re not messy at all. I also string popcorn and cranberries on quilters thread, goes through the popcorn without breaking it to much. The cranberries do not go moldy, they dry up and turn a darker red. When I take my tree down, I save them in a open container and add them to our tree every year. They dry out nicely, and look really pretty on the tree every year, the dark red along with the newly strung bright red ones. I have quite a few yards of strung berries now and look really nice draped around the tree. Have fun stringing.
    Where do you buy bakers twine?
    Shraron

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  21. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    hi Sharon, that is awesome to hear that the cranberry strands hold up! I should keep them!! I bought my big spool of bakers twine on amazon. just click the link in the post. 🙂

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  22. Megan Anderson Avatar
    Megan Anderson

    I’m so happy you put the link to the baker’s twine! I just bought 240 yards for $7.00, so I was stoked to get such a great deal!
    I bought other stuff too, I hope your amazon associates payout works for the whole cart and not just the link you provide 🙂

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  23. Megan Anderson Avatar
    Megan Anderson

    Oh, and we have some cranberries left over from Thanksgiving (I made real cranberry sauce that didn’t come from a can! I was proud.), so maybe we’ll take your lead and go traditional with cranberry stringing this year, now that Shraron’s shared they don’t mold.

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  24. elise blaha Avatar
    elise blaha

    So happy to hear it. And thank you!!

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  25. Sarah Gilmour Avatar
    Sarah Gilmour

    Looks great! We did the cranberry thing too this year, but mixed it up with popcorn. Even though I think we never did this when I was a kid, it makes me feel very nostalgic somehow! 🙂

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