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♪ opening music ♪ <Amanda> Good evening and welcome to Making It Grow I'm Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and we are a joint collaboration between SCETV and Clemson University.

Tonight we have a lot of fun things for you It's a holiday themed show.

All sorts of fun things and fun people are with us, tonight.

I really think you're going to enjoy it, and since we said that it's Clemson Extension I am with a fellow Clemson Extension agent and that would be Terasa Lott and Terasa you have a lot of dogs and I've just gotten a new puppy and the idea that we'd have something on the ground that, that puppy can get to is terrifying.

What in the world can you do for Christmas at your house?

<Terasa> We are pretty lucky so we do have four dogs, but they are well behaved when it comes to decorations, but my husband and I just made some decorations and we're going to share them a little later and we'll talk about keeping them out of pets' reach.

>> That's a good idea.

I may have to go to the small table top variety, this year.

Well, Terasa you have started something that everyone enjoys so much.

And I really like it because we get to see what our viewers are doing in their yards, and that's called our Gardens of the Week.

>> It has been so inspiring, Amanda to watch what our viewers are doing across the state, sometimes even outside of the state.

So here is our last one for this calendar year Let's take a look at our mostly holiday inspired gardens of the week.

♪ I want to thank everyone who sent their pictures of their gardens in and we look forward to seeing more gardens next year.

Don't we, Terasa?

<Terasa> Oh, yes.

<Amanda> Terasa, we've got this wonderful thing that you and Annie put together I think and it's just the most charming thing.

Let's talk about how you just went out and got pinecones and made such a beautiful Christmas tabletop decoration.

<Terasa> You know, acquiring the pine cones was the hardest part of the entire project because I don't have any trees on my property.

Once you have all the pinecones and gather all of your materials it's really time to start the painting process.

And so we used an acrylic paint something we already had at home white, of course, for the white arrangement, and I thought we'd go with some traditional green trees as well.

<Amanda> Now, are we using a paintbrush to do this?

<Terasa> Yeah, we did.

Brush and a little bit of water to thin it out, it helps it to flow a little bit, because acrylic can go <Amanda>into the pine cone.

<Terasa> Yes.

Now for the white trees, we wanted them to have that flocked or snow effect and so we just sprinkled on some snow while the paint was still wet.

<Amanda> ...this is something you get at the craft store - this snow?

<Terasa> It is.

We put up - my husband puts up a Christmas village so, we have that on hand.

<Amanda> And of course, with your background, snow at Christmas would not have been that unusual, would it?

<Terasa> No, pretty common.

[laughing] ...so then we attach to the pine cones to the bases, we used a tree slice or tree cookie for the white arrangement.

I also found some little present boxes and so I thought that would make a neat attachment for a green tree.

<Amanda>...you said these are things that you can hang on a tree.

They come that way.

<Terasa> They do.

>>You didn't even have to wrap them up.

<Terasa>No, that was easy.

<Amanda>That is easy.

>> and the larger base is actually an empty tuna fish can or cat food can.

I put some of the white batting around it and some garland I had leftover, <Amanda> We both had plenty of cat food cans.

<Terasa> Now, we just finished the decorating process added some sequins for ornaments, stars for our green trees.

<Amanda> ....this was some foam you had sitting around.

<Terasa> It was so I mean, the only thing purchased for the project was sequins <Amanda> and what is the red berry.

<Terasa> We had those leftovers from making wreaths.

<Amanda> Terasa, that was fun.

And I've got plenty of pine cones at my house come over and pick them up.

<Terasa> Perfect, but we'll keep them away from the dogs.

>> Yes, we will.

...now let's learn about a very different way of doing flower arrangements that still fits in fine for the holidays.

<Amanda> Mary Vargo is the horticulture agent at the Greenville County Extension office.

And she came down early today to help us with this holiday program.

Mary, thanks for the drive.

<Mary> Yeah.

No.

It's no worries at all.

<Amanda> And, you know, we have ideas of traditional holiday decorating, I mean poinsettias, which of course, we have people that come who do such wonderful work on and Holly on greenery and all that.

But I thought, you know, not everyone celebrates the holidays in the same way and that today, maybe you and I would do some examples of things, that hopefully people will be having some family coming to see them and that they want to make that now that we're inside more.

They want to make their house more attractive.

...there would be some different ways that we could give people inspiration on how to have some holiday cheer in their home.

>> Yeah, that's right, Amanda.

So, today, I'm going to show you some arrangements that are Ikebana inspired.

Ikebana is the Japanese culture or their way of arranging flowers or branches or stems, really anything nature around you, that celebrate seasonality.

So that could be anything at any time of the year that you choose to prune and make some sort of artistic arrangement with.

So today, we'll be looking at a couple of different things that I collected, Sheree Wright at Furman University, she let me go around the grounds and clip lots of really fun things that I'll be using today and showing you some really fun arrangements and how you can really showcase nature and celebrate seasonality this holiday season, <Amanda> Well, Mary I guess we need a container.

And since we're not going to just jam everything in, I imagine there's some kind of holder that's necessary.

<Mary> Yeah, containers, you know, you can virtually use anything with this Ikebana inspired arrangement that we're doing.

In Ikebana culture, you're really supposed to use certain containers at times a year.

So for today, we're just going to, you know, do something simple, but it's really important to have a really nice base in your container or something that holds those stems together that you can create this really fun shape.

So, I've got a kenzan here, is what we call it or a flower frog.

Yeah, not really sure why they call it the flower frog.

<Amanda> I think maybe because we think of frogs as they're associated for it's going to be under the water <Mary> Probably, so, but it's really great, because it's got all these like pin like, sort of like a cushion.

<Amanda> Yeah, and what you can do is you just use your, the plant material that you collect from around you and you essentially just insert the stem into this cushion, and it holds it really nice and tight.

<Amanda> ...if you want to you can I would imagine, go at an angle.

<Mary> Yes.

<Amanda> ...because there's so many of these little pins in there and get an angle, if that's what you'd like to do.

>> Absolutely.

<Amanda>...you bought some that you have gotten over the years and I have brought some.

there are many different types, and kind of depending on what you're wanting, and the size of your stems, different ones can be really useful.

<Mary> Yeah, it just depends on how grand you want your design, or how thick the stem on some of the plant material that you collect is, but I mean, you can even use chicken wire in any kind of container.

I mean, there's virtually, you could do this any type of way.

This is just a way that I can get a really fun shape and it has a personality.

>> Alright, let's pop that frog back in there.

Once you put your you know, you can do this while it's in the container and submersed in water.

<Amanda> Let's talk about how you created this Aspidistra leaf.

>> Yeah.

<Amanda> I think this is quite fascinating.

<Mary> Yeah, so I took the Aspidistra and then you can really easily kind of tear it apart and create a line right in the center, and then you just you can really create some really fun shapes with it.

So, you just fold it in, and then get it real snug right there.

So it's kind of stuck in that crease, and you're left with a really fun shape that gives it a different texture than just a straight, strapping leaf.

>> ...you know, when my mother was - when I was young, mother would get it and get a piece of floral wire and put it on the back with tape.

And then she would sometimes roll it.

<Mary> Oh, that's nice.

<Amanda> Like that.

>> Yeah.

<Amanda> ...that's something I remember from when she was doing things, and I think you could probably still manage to do the same thing.

Today, that would be another technique where you didn't tear the leaf but you could still get a graceful curve.

<Mary> Exactly.

Yeah, I mean, there's countless ways to do this.

It just depends on how creative you know, you let yourself be really.

So then you just kind of start building a shape something that you that speaks to you, that's giving you some sort of emotion.

So hopefully people get in touch with their inner artist, artistic side, while doing this.

It's really a meditative it's a great form of free therapy for me.

<Amanda> This one, of course now Aspidistra is they used to be the ones that variegated were very cold tender, but there's a lot out there now.

<Mary> There is, there is.

<Amanda> Here we get the same plant, but with some contrast, which is lovely.

<Mary> Oh yeah, I mean, once it comes all together, it really looks great.

So you really just kind of want to create a form something that's going to celebrate each individual stem and you're paying respect to the form which is essentially Ikebana, instead of just a crazy arrangement that has lots and lots going on.

<Amanda>which is what I'll do later.

>> Yeah.

which, you know, >> it just depends on your personality, whatever you like better.

I kind of like the minimalist approach for this, but so I chose the Aspidistra leaves, and I found some really beautiful Ilex vomitoria <Amanda>So lovely.

>> Yeah, and I just think it >> Wonderful native plant.

<Mary> Yeah.

it's just so beautiful.

So, I was lucky enough to find that.

So, I think I'm going to use that in this today.

So, we'll probably just, - I want it, like I said, I'm trying to give every piece.

It's sort of own platform in this arrangement.

I don't want it to compete in space.

I don't want it to compete with anything else.

<Amanda> And also here, I think we've got a very nice contrast between this very small leaf and the large leaf.

<Mary> Yeah, texture.

Yeah, it's all about texture as well.

And then this fun Anthurium, >> - Yeah, they're so much fun.

So, yeah, I'm really excited to use this guy.

And that's really just going to kind of echo that red and tie it all in together.

Yeah, just give it a different sort of, <Amanda> which is still a traditional thing we do when we do flower arrangements.

We try to make reference.

<Mary> Absolutely, yeah.

So and then I've got this lovely bamboo from the Asian garden in Furman.

...I just think it's so lovely.

And again, it's a different texture from some of these other leaves.

So, we're just going to celebrate that form in here.

Really, what you're looking for is you don't want things crowded together, you want like you said, you give everything a little bit of space and its own voice, I guess, in this arrangement, and then this great, Japanese, hue.

It's so beautiful.

It's got a great, also different textured leaves that we're going to bring into this arrangement.

<Amanda> You and I were talking that we so seldom see the fruits.

So this one is already flowered and fruited.

>> Yeah, I mean, that's once you get up, it's sort of drapes over.

So, you really have to get up close to look at this, but it's beautiful and I think you'll appreciate it in this arrangement, as well.

<Amanda> I love that texture going in there.

>> We'll bring that right in the center.

And give it sometimes you can angle these, so you can change it if you don't like the way it's looking.

But let's see how this guy is looking.

What do you think of that?

Do you think we need to move things?

I tried to get everything.

It's kind of hard doing this from behind?

Do you think everything has a voice to it?

Should we move things around?

<Amanda> I think it's quite lovely.

<Mary> You like it?

<Amanda> I really do.

<Mary> Okay, great.

Well, then this, you could, you know, place on your tablescape for the holiday season something where it really is going to get a lot of attention.

And your guests can really just stop and pause and take it in.

...if you're getting this effect from an Ikebana inspired arrangement, you know, you've done it right, and what a great way to sit and pause and just take a little bit of a rest in the hustle and bustle of holiday season.

>> It is somewhat restful to think about and look at >> Yeah, it is.

So, I mean <Amanda> ...you do look at each individual component.

<Mary> Nothing is really competing with each other.

>> Yeah, and you're interested in it.

So yeah, it creates a really nice feeling by just, by looking at it, you know, <Amanda> Mary, as you say, since we're celebrating things and enjoying them individually.

I'm looking, is when we normally see this hue, it's a very, very dense.

And we mentioned that we can now see the fruits on it.

But as I look at an individual stem, each curve has so much grace to it.

>> Yeah.

I think it's fun to, once you know your plant material, you know that this is just a really fun, you know, type of material to work with because it just has a life of its own that creates a beautiful shape <Amanda> and that we've often you know, we get so we get so set on the overall appearance of a plant, and then when we start to dissect it and look at it individually <Mary>-It's even more exquisite.

<Amanda> Yeah, yeah.

It's like it's handwriting or it's nose or its eyes <Mary> Exactly.

<Amanda> A little bit different.

Well, Mary, I think we're going to do another one.

So I'm going to move this lovely one over here.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

That was just one method you can use to create an Ikebana inspired arrangement.

But like I mentioned, you can also use chicken wire, and it's great at holding stems in specific positions to create the sort of form that you really want to get across.

<Amanda> ...this one is going to be more three dimensional than some of our other containers, our other holders, which I think would give you perhaps a little more freedom, depending on what material.

>> Yeah.

>> when you get it, I would remind people, that chicken wire comes in a lot of different strengths.

So find a small piece, >> Yeah.

It's much easier to crumble <Amanda> Maneuver with your hands.

You maybe want to wear gloves when you use it.

<Mary>Yeah, because some of those ends can be kind of sticky.

So, you just plop it in the container of your choice.

And then again to create the Ikebana inspired arrangement, you go and collect material around you, that you think has some sort of beautiful form that speaks to you.

So we've got this beautiful, cedar, and then we've got this amazing nandina with this, almost just a purplish, blue green hue.

<Amanda> The hue is beautiful.

<Mary> It's just gorgeous, and nandina, you know, it can sometimes get a little bit of a bad rep in some cases, when it's overused and just not in the right place, but really, at some point, it just creates this beautiful new color on the new growth that is just so inspiring.

So, I had to clip some of this because I think these colors are really going to work well together and the form, <Amanda> - I think they relate well to the color of your container, I think the whole thing is an individual piece, eventually.

>> Absolutely.

So this as an art form, you want to make sure everything is going together nicely.

So yeah, you just kind of the same method as before, but you're just inserting it into the open spaces and the chicken wire.

So we'll place this guy in here and sometimes you have to do a little bit of wiggling to get in there.

<Amanda> Or you can even go in and pinch the chicken wire if necessary.

>> You can.

Yeah, usually, I just kind of use it just to give it some sort of stability a little bit.

Sometimes it's not all the time necessary, but, so we'll place this guy right here.

...and again, we want to make sure we're not overcrowding the space.

We want to make sure each, each stem is getting its own voice in this arrangement and I'm really only using just two types of plant material.

So, you really should <Amanda> - very minimal, very minimal, very minimal, but I think you'll see that it has a really impressive finish to it that I think is really quite elegant.

Now, let's see, let's go back in with some nandina.

We'll get this sort of flair, right.

Put this guy right here.

Sometimes you can use some of the other stems to support.

other stems.

So if you're... using chicken wire, and it's not really giving you the stability it needs, use the stems >> Yeah, twist them together <Mary> Absolutely.

Nothing is kind of off limits, you just need to keep trying to get that desired look.

So let's see.

How are you liking this so far?

Do you think it's speaking to each of the, of the individual?

<Amanda> I do, because they're so dramatically different, and we've got this, you know, compound leaf that has this very subtle color to it.

<Mary> And when the light hits it, it's different too.

So, you'll get a red hue sometimes blue.

>> And then here we've got this, you know, really needle-like, structure, and a far straighter.

<Mary> Yeah, absolutely.

and never be afraid to you know, go back if you create something and you don't like it, change it up, you know, move it into the center.

So but just by changing that stem, I can give it another form that might be a little bit more attractive to me, where it's kind of up and over and these are kind of off to the side.

It's really just about, like I said, showcasing each individual plant material.

<Amanda> Well, Mary, I think one of the things that's great fun about this is, although we use the same concept, and motivation, we're not limited to what happens there's still a great opportunity for individual expression.

So, let's bring them in closer and kind of look at them for a minute in a quiet way that perhaps people would do.

in Ikebana tradition.

>> Yeah.

<Amanda> Mary, this is a remarkable way to show how a spiritual craft can be very diverse, and reflect things that are very simple and I think one of the things that's occurred to me is I've looked at what you've used today, is that it's kind of a way to stroll through your environment and see what's there and blooming and see what speaks to you, instead of just going to a store and coming home with a bunch of flowers.

<Mary> Absolutely, yeah, take a walk this holiday season.

I'm sure a lot of people could do that after a heavy meal or even get away from your family, you know.

Yeah, take a walk.

Just look at the different nature that's available to you on that walk and pick the ones or trim the ones that speak to you and then come back and make a really fun arrangement.

Yeah, there's virtually.

There's every single way to do this.

It's up to your interpretation.

<Amanda> Well, I have always done things in such a traditional form.

You've given me a good challenge and a good, probably a New Year's resolution.

<Mary> Great.

<Amanda> Thank you, Mary.

<Mary> No problem.

Thank you.

<Amanda> I hope you're inspired, Terasa.

I am inspired by the way she just goes out in nature and finds things.

>> So much fun and such a unique way of arranging them where space is important.

<Amanda> Yeah that's right.

Now, we had so much fun.

using something I just loved with these oysters, but this time it wasn't about putting the oysters in your mouth.

It was about doing something decorative with them.

♪ Jingle Bells ♪ <Amanda> We are so excited today.

It's been a long time since we've seen our friend Katie, who now has a new name because she has blessedly just become a bride.

Katie Collins, thank you for coming.

...you have a special guest, as well >> I do.

This is my sister, Bridget Altman, >> Hey.

<Amanda> And today we're going to do a craft that involves oyster shells, and you're part of the Water Resources team and a lot of people just think of Oh, the, you know, the lowly oyster that we love to eat, but they are critical to the health of the wetlands, the marshes and the ocean.

<Katie> Absolutely.

Oysters are filter feeders.

So that means they pull water in and they filter out their food, and they're taking a lot of pollutants out of the water along the way.

And they also provide excellent habitat for other animals because the salt marsh is full of pluff mud that thick sticky mud.

There's not a lot of hard surface, but those oyster shells and the way they congregate together really provide some hard surface for small fish and things to hide in.

So it provides good habitat and they also really break up wave action and can help prevent erosion along our shorelines as well.

<Amanda> and the plant that we used to call spartina, but I think it has a new one now, that also can use the oyster shells as places that help it stay in place, and of course, that's just the more diversity we have, the better.

<Katie> Absolutely, it's just more habitat for all those animals out there.

<Amanda> Well, I think, this looks like a lot of fun.

So tell me how we're going to go about this, great oyster shell decorating?

<Katie> Well growing up and even now mine and Bridget's family loved to do what in the winter?

<Bridget> Get oysters.

<Katie> Yeah, we loved to go out and get oysters and have oyster roasts.

<Amanda> We must be related.

[laughing] <Katie> We'll adopt you in our family.

[laughing] And you always have these empty shells at the end, and what do you do with them.

For the most part, we take these big clusters out and we'll take them to local recycling areas.

DNR has a oyster shell recycling program, where they - you put these oyster shells out and they wait six months to kind of quarantine them.

...then they put that shell back out in the salt marsh and that's habitat for new baby oysters to attach to <Amanda> because they're free, They're free swimmers at first.

<Katie> Yeah, >> They need something solid to hold on to.

<Katie> Exactly.

Those young larvae are up in the water columns, and then they settle out and they grow their shell from there and they stay in the same spot pretty much their whole life until we eat them or something... [laughing] So we take most of the shell out to those DNR recycling areas, but when you have these little shells leftover we thought of some fun crafts to do with those.

It kind of became a family tradition.

A lot of years we would paint little Santa Claus faces on them and we'd give them to friends or families or teachers.

We actually - our piano teacher just told us yesterday >> Yeah.

>> that she has one - <Bridget> on her Christmas tree.

>> She does.

She hangs it every year on our Christmas tree.

<Amanda> Yeah, that was really sweet.

But yeah, it's a fun little craft to do with some extra oyster shell.

<Amanda> Well, let's why don't you let us give it a try.

<Katie> Yeah, absolutely.

So we've all got some paint and paint brushes.

The main thing you're going to need is red, white and black paint.

And then we just kind of mix our own sort of tan color that's skin tone, and I do some, I mix in a little pink to give them some rosy cheeks and noses.

We'll look at that in a minute.

But we start out by painting a tan area in the middle of the shell.

<Amanda> This is acrylic paint.

<Katie> This is acrylic paint.

Yeah.

You can just buy it at any craft store.

<Amanda> Okay.

>> So we'll start with kind of this light tan color <Amanda> and you've got an assortment of brushes.

So tell me which brush you find.

<Katie>I kind of use, I've got kind of a medium sized brush I've given you or like that kind of larger one.

So you want to do just kind of a tan oval, a little closer to the top than the bottom, but pretty much in the middle of the shell, and some shells just are screaming at you, this is where the face should be and you can look at the shape of the shell and kind of work with the shell that you've gotten.

Mine has a nice flat area.

I'm going to paint that as the face because that will make it easier to paint features like eyes and nose on, and I like to start painting the tan for the face first because it gives it some time to dry while we paint the other things and then we go back in and paint the eyes on it.

<Amanda> Done.

>> Done.

That part's quick.

And then the next thing I do is take our red and we paint the top part of the shell just from the tan part.

You can leave a little gap because we're going to put some white fluff for his hat there.

<Amanda> So this is his wonderful Santa Claus hat.

<Katie> That's that classic Santa hat.

He can't be recognizable as Santa without that red hat, right?

<Amanda> We had fun and Halloween.

Dr. John Nelson came as the bad Santa.

<Katie> Oh!

[laughing] <Amanda> You know what a hoot he is.

So, that was great fun.

<Katie> And some shells, you know, are a little darker than others you might need a couple of coats We soaked these in a diluted bleach solution so they didn't get smelly.

You can set them out in the sun to bleach out a little bit too and gets them nice and white.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Katie> Okay, next we're going to do white.

What do we need white for?

<Bridget> The middle and the beard.

>> The big old beard.

So, the whole bottom of the shell from the tan down.

<Amanda> Ah!

<Katie> That's all going to be beard down there.

So he's got a big old Happy Santa beard.

<Amanda> No, he does not want an electric razor for Christmas.

[laughing] That used to be what he would always get for Fathers (Day) because, ...what do you get him... [laughing] <Amanda> Okay.

<Katie> And at this point we might need to give it just a little bit of time to dry because we start trying to paint things on top of wet paint.

It's going to kind of all run together.

So, we'll let these dry for just a minute and then we'll come back and paint.

<Amanda> Well, I've been huffing and puffing.

[laughing] ...I think we're dry enough to go on to the next stage.

So tell me, what comes up next?

>>Yeah, I think we're dry enough.

So, we're going to take our kind of middle brush here.

Not too tiny, but not too big.

Dip it into our white and we're going to give him a mustache.

So basically just a line.

You can get as artistic as you want, right across the tan, kind of closer to the bottom because we just need room for his mouth underneath the mustache and then while we've got white on that brush, If you haven't yet, you can go ahead and paint the white fur trim for his hat, so right underneath the red.

<Amanda> Oh!

<Katie> - above the tan and a little white stripe for the fur for his hat.

<Amanda> It looks better on Santa Claus than it does on us.

[laughing] <Katie> You want me to paint you a mustache?

<Bridget> Aww, Go.

[laughing] <Katie> All right!

Once we are done with that, we will move on.

and we've got to give Santa's rosy little cheeks and a little cherry nose.

Bridget, what is our favorite tradition before bed on Christmas Eve?

<Bridget> T'was the night before Christmas <Katie> Yep.

We read T'was the Night Before Christmas every year and we have a really special copy that our mom made when Bridget was little out of quilting squares.

So, it's squishy and cuddly.

Yeah, so every Christmas Eve I tuck Bridget in and I read her The Night Before Christmas >> Before Christmas.

<Katie> So we know, Santa needs some rosy cheeks and a little cherry nose.

<Amanda> So you've given us in our original thing, we got a little bit deeper shade of pink.

<Katie> Yeah, so we have kind of a lighter pink, that'll be good for his cheeks, you can kind of just do a stripe right above his mustache.

>> Uh huh.

>> ...then the kind of deeper pink you can do just a little button nose on there.

So, a little circle for his nose.

Keep it simple.

Now we can give him just a teeny little smile, I just use the same pink from the nose, or you can do red if you want brighter lips and just give him a teeny little smile.

Just keep it simple.

<Amanda> Okay.

<Katie> ...then we've saved, for last, the eyes, which might be the hardest part.

It depends on how fancy you want to be.

So you can get real artistic if you like to, but I use the smallest brush we have.

Let me grab this one.

...I keep it very simple.

I do two big white circles, and then I do two smaller black circles inside.

...then I like to do just a tiny little dot of white to give him a little glimmer in his eye.

Just give them two big white circles for the whites of his eyes, and a medium sized black and a little dot of white for that mischievous little glimmer in his eyes and this one might take a little while because you'll have to wait for the white to dry before you put the black on.

So we'll go finish this up, then we'll come back and show off our finished product <Amanda> back to... blowing away.

[Katie laughs] ><Amanda> All right, well, we're back and you have one of the things that scares me to death, because that's a hot glue gun and I do want to warn people that, that glue gets hot.

So, that's the mama thing to do.

Right?

<Katie> Yes.

it does get hot.

So be careful.

Make sure you remember to unplug it and turn it off, and you can use other glue.

...we wanted to be a little quick today.

So, we used hot glue.

You can use any craft glue.

<Amanda>Okay.

So, what we'd want to do is we want to give him a little pom pom, and then we want to be able to hang him up.

>> Yeah.

>> I guess we're gonna, I'm gonna hand mine to you, because I don't want to mess up.

<Katie> Yeah, we'll just glue the string right on the back.

You can drill a hole and put fishing line or something through it, but this is the easy thing to do.

The only thing more dangerous than a hot glue gun is power tools, so.

Let's just stick to glue.

[laughing] <Amanda> ...like you said, you can always use Elmers or something.

Just don't be in a hurry.

<Katie> Absolutely and just give it a little time to sit.

We want to show ours off right away.

Put a little pom pom at the top and we'll glue this on the back >>...craft stores or places like that have these little pom poms and things - they're pretty easy to find.

<Katie> Oh absolutely, or you could you know cut a little piece off of a white pipe cleaner and put it there or you can paint the white part at the top like some of the other ones we're going to show off today.

<Amanda>You have done that on some of them.

<Katie> Get a little creative with it.

We'll finish gluing these up and then we'll come back and we'll show you it all finished up.

<Amanda> Okay, well here we are with our finished ornaments, and we've decided to put on a festive hat, as well.

Bridget, I think you have a particularly festive hat.

[laughing] Well, let's see wish everybody <all> a Merry Christmas ♪ Jingle Bells ♪ >> Don't forget if you're just eating oysters to get the shells back to one of the DNR oyster shell reclamation centers and Terasa I think it's just fun you know, to have something different to put on the tree.

>> Yeah, I mean, all the oyster shells are different.

So, no two ornaments are going to be exactly the same.

>> I didn't feel bad about mine.

...now we're going to go and learn about a family tradition that has to do with holiday treats.

<Amanda> Well, I am so happy today to be speaking with via the magic of these new systems with Stephanie Turner, who is the Extension agent up in Greenwood, South Carolina, but we're not going to talk about plants today, Stephanie, we're going to talk about family traditions.

<Stephanie> That's right, I have a traditional Italian recipe that I'd like to share with you all today.

<Amanda> ...you said that your great grandparents came from Italy and you can remember your grandmother, your great grandmother, because she lived a long time.

So each generation has made this wonderful dessert.

<Stephanie> Yeah, that's right.

I remember growing up in Connecticut.

My grandmother lived to her mid 90s and so I did get to know her and visit with her and partake of her cooking and maybe inherit some of that love of cooking from her.

<Amanda> Well, what is it that we're going to make today.

<Stephanie> So the dish is called Struffoli and it's an Italian dessert that we traditionally make around the Christmas holiday and it's a very simple fried dough, basic recipe, but the fun in it is just getting together and the making of the process, because it is kind of time consuming, and many hands make light work.

<Amanda> ...it sounds like young people can be involved because some of it's kind of like rolling clay, you know, Play Doh.

Yeah.

So everybody can do something.

<Stephanie> Yeah, that's right.

So and it's helpful to bring friends and family over to get it done, but it's very simple, as far as ingredients are concerned, you do need about three pounds of all purpose plain flour not the self-rising and then a tablespoon of baking powder, which I think you have a hint for me on that, don't you, Amanda?

<Amanda> Well, I found that at times, you know, we don't have air conditioning and I don't bake a lot, but when I do, you know, I need baking powder, and I always just make my own now so that I know it'll be fresh and you can just go anywhere and find out how to do it.

I mean, the joy of cooking is how I first found out how to do it and it's just a combination of cream of tartar and baking soda and it'll give you the proportions, but that way you know that it's absolutely fresh, and that you're going to get the rise that you need from it.

<Stephanie> Yeah, and that's important with this recipe because you do want these little dough balls to fluff up when you fry them.

Otherwise they'd become brick like and that would not be fun.

So, in addition to the flour and the baking powder, you're also going to need a dozen eggs, and you're going to allow those to come to room temperature before you start working with them, and about a quarter cup of butter flavored shortening, something like a Crisco, and that will be incorporated all together to make your dough, and so that process - we'll go through in a second, I guess, but you also want to gather together before you start a fryer because you're going to want to fry it and the oil for frying.

You're going to need some honey, about a quart of honey and I like to use the lighter color honey, you know the different colors and sources for honey give them different flavors.

So use a honey that you like to taste of and you're going to need some zest from about three small oranges or two really large ones and I never really thought about this Amanda, but you say you save your zest, sometimes too.

<Amanda> I do whenever I need lemon juice or orange juice or something, I go ahead and get that little grater machine, you know, that little fancy thing and save it.

I saved the jars when I'm making pimento cheese that the pimentos came in, and then I keep the zest in those and then if I needed it, it's in the freezer, and I've got it ready to go.

<Stephanie> That's great.

That way it'll be handy and you won't waste your peel and you'll have it ready to go, right.

So maybe you have some zest put aside or you're just using some new zest and then you will also need some sprinkles for decoration at the end and the equipment you will need.

You'll need a mixer a stand up mixer, well it makes it easier unless you're really good, in which, you want some super strong arm muscles, and you'll need a couple of different large bowls, and you need a large surface area for rolling and cutting out the dough.

We actually use some large pieces of plywood that we've made into our own cutting boards, and we keep year after year for this exact purpose, and you do need a fryer and then something to catch and drain the fried dough afterwards I use a brown paper grocery bag, but you can line a colander with some paper towels or you can use your like cookie drying racks.

Just something where they will sit and cool and the oil will drain off until you're ready for topping them with honey.

<Amanda> Okay, well let's go through it and see what we end up with.

<Stephanie> Okay, so you're going to start with your flour, and you want a large bowl, because you're going to need about seven cups of that all purpose flour, and you're going to incorporate your one tablespoon of baking powder into the flour, and you're going to set that aside while you work with your eggs, and you get your stand mixer, and you put your dozen eggs in your stand mixer and you're going to beat them very well until they start to become bubbly.

You don't want them to be frothy.

And at that point, you can add your butter flavored shortening and mix it in as well, and it's not going to be completely incorporated, you may have some little chunks of that shortening throughout there and that is fine.

...then you're going to slowly incorporate your flour into that mixture.

And at some point, you may want to change that stand mixer paddle to the dough hook, because it is going to be a very thick dough once you get through like a I think like a bread dough, that consistency.

So, you're going to gradually add that flour get it incorporated about a cupful at a time.

...it'll get really thick and you'll have to kind of, then sticky, it'll be a sticky dough.

So, you're going to have to kind of work it away from the hook and out of the bowl, and then after that, you're going to take that dough and knead it on a floured surface.

Knead it until all the little pieces of crumble that may have broken away have gotten incorporated, and it's got a nice sheen and kind of a springy texture to the touch.

Maybe just about four minutes, or five minutes kneading, and then you're going to take and just leave it on your cutting board or your flour surface and cover it with a bowl, and this is a perfect time it's going to have to rest for half an hour.

This is the perfect time if you don't have your zest in advance, you can zest your oranges, get your oil ready in the fryer.

Pour it in.

Heat it up, because you have that little bit of half an hour time in between, you can go ahead and put your honey on a sauce pan on the stove.

Not warm it up yet, because you probably just want to wait and turn that on until you start frying, but you can kind of get your ducks in a row while you're having to wait that 30 minutes.

<Amanda> So how do we get all these little pieces of dough and the snake like aspect to this that I think children would just love to participate in?

<Stephanie> Yes, and that's the fun part, and actually, that's the part that kind of cracked me up this year because I forgot the technique of how to roll a snake, but after you uncover your dough, you want to cut off pieces small, manageable chunks of dough and roll those like when you're playing with Play Doh, roll them into a snake, but don't put too much flour on your surface when you roll it because you'll end up like me and you're just pushing the snake back and forth gliding across the flour, and so we laughed a little bit about that this year, I forgot my technique.

So make sure there's not too much flour and you need to give enough pressure, of course, roll from the middle, out.

So that - because your middle of your snake is always fattest, right?

...then you want the whole snake to be about a half an inch thick.

<Amanda> So this is when children are really having fun.

<Stephanie> Yes, my son, - I called the neighbors, you know, ask a friend.

You know this is a great family, friends activity, because it does take a little while to make all these snakes and then each snake needs to be cut into little half inch pieces.

And those are your little Struffoli, little dough nuggets that you are going to be frying.

When you cut them, you want to leave them spread out on a surface, on a board, on a plate, on something, because otherwise if they're touching, they will stick together and you won't get those individual pieces.

So, after that you're going to just keep on cutting and if you have a lot of good volunteers and snake rollers, then one of you can walk over and start working on the fryer, and it makes it go a little bit faster.

So someone can be frying them up.

and while the rest of the folks are still rolling and cutting, <Amanda> and when we decide to start frying, you want the oil to be at about 400 degrees.

<Stephanie> Yes, so you want your hot - your oil to be good and hot when you're ready to fry.

...we usually use a fryer that has a basket in it.

So it's really easy to get them out, because there's a lot of little pieces of dough that you're frying.

So, it's just easier to use a whole basket and get it out to drain it.

<Amanda> About how long?

I know you have to stand and watch them, but you don't want to put too many in at one time, because that would reduce the heat of the oil.

So you want to be careful not to overload it, but when you get it to the right amount, how long does it take to fry them, Stephanie?

<Stephanie> So yeah, you want to be careful putting them in the fryer because the oil will splash out as well, and you want to just put a not very thick layer, as soon as you put them in they'll float up to the top of the oil, and so you don't - you just want them not to be touching too much.

That is a good amount depending on the size of your fryer, and they'll take about three to four minutes to fry, but you do want to maybe poke them and kind of turn them because otherwise, especially if you have a good layer of them solid, they won't turn over, and so only one side will get brown.

So you want to move them a little bit, so that they get golden, but not like crispy brown, if that makes sense.

...you know, after you've done your first batch, let them, you know, pull them out of the fryer, let them drain either in the bag or on the rack.

Let them cool for a second and take a taste.

It should be kind of crispy and light almost in the middle, not chewy and definitely not hard to chew.

<Amanda> And then you're going to let him cool, I think before we start putting them in the honey.

<Stephanie> Yes.

So, while you're frying, you can go ahead and turn the honey on and your sauce pan on the stove, and you're just warming the honey till it gets runny, and that's going to make it real easy to coat those individual balls of dough, and so we like to use a big sauce pot or something so that we can then fit all of those dough balls back in with the honey and stir it after it's been warm.

So that way you don't mess up too many other pans or whatever, and you know, once you start working with that much honey, everything gets sticky.

<Amanda> We've all - You've got flour all over the children, kitchen, because you've had these children making these things, and yeah, so this is going to be a good clean up and mop up afterwards.

>> Right.

You put your honey in there.

You let it get runny.

You add your orange zest to flavor the honey, and at that point, you can take those drained, cooled, fried Struffoli and toss them in and stir them up in the honey, and then at that point, once they're all coated, go ahead and put them straight into the serving dish that you want to use, because otherwise the honey will run off and get into the whatever else you put it in.

You don't want to transfer it too many times.

Get what, you know, if you're bringing it to a holiday dish or whatever, go ahead and put it in something pretty, and then you can sprinkle on some sprinkles to add some color to it and make it look festive.

<Amanda> And you said sometimes you kind of make it in the form of a wreath or something just to kind of reflect the holiday.

They can touch at that point.

It's okay.

<Stephanie> Yeah, at that point - there's, - as the honey starts to cool, the dough balls start to stick to each other.

So then you can arrange it.

A lot of times, traditionally, they'll arrange it in a wreath shape.

and you can decorate it accordingly to that or you can just pile them high and make a little mound on the plate, and we like to enjoy them with the spoon because of the sticky messy nature of them, but yeah, but little ones could just, you know, get their hands all sticky and messy and that's fine too.

<Amanda> Yeah, I like to lick my fingers.

I think that would be perfectly fine.

Yeah, if everyone had washed their hands well before.

Well, this just sounds like such a delightful thing because you, of course, would want to have the oil and the frying kind of separated from the little children.

But everybody could spread out in the kitchen, and you could have the children working at a table, and then it sounds like you're going to get enough that every if you had some friends over.

They'd have plenty to take home to their family, as well.

<Stephanie> Yes, we had about five traditional dinner plate size bowls that we could send home with folks or do other things with and actually if you don't intend to eat them promptly after you've made them, you can see stop after the frying step and hold those fried dough balls in the freezer.

So you can make this on the weekend in advance or, you know, several weeks in advance and then when it comes close to the time you want to serve them, then do the step where you warm up the honey and coat them.

>> ...how many days do you think they still taste good?

Like do you want to eat them within three or four days?

<Stephanie> Yes, three or four days because, the honey will start to soften them, and they'll just start to be a little bit soggy after about four days.

<Amanda> Well, I think we are so fortunate that your great grandmother and great grandfather came from Italy and started out I think as a gardener, your grandfather and then that you got to know them and that every generation since has done this.

...now you're doing it with your son, ...I don't have a lot of Italian people in my family but I sure do like Italian food.

Well, Stephanie you do so many wonderful things for us ...don't let that kitty cat get and walk all over these things.

I see.

I see Special wandering around, but, we've send you and your family and I think your mother now lives right down the street.

We send all of y'all our dearest love for a happy and safe holiday.

<Stephanie> Thanks, Amanda.

Happy holidays everyone over there at Making It Grow and your family, as well.

>> How fun to see that holiday traditions really do still continue, especially passed on from generation to generation.

<Terasa> Yes, you know I have a lot of British traditions in my family, so it was fun to learn about Stephanie's Italian heritage.

>> You know you usually think of holiday decorations as being red and green, but I decided to do something with some different colors this year.

in one of my big over the top arrangements.

Let's hope you like it.

<Amanda> Those of you who watch the show know that I got this great funky container from my friend Jeri Burdick and again, Mary, we're going to do something where we use living plants, and kind of plant them in potting soil, and we'll be able to use them for months, you know, for a couple of weeks and again, I just filled up the bottom with some styrofoam, because I told you everything always makes a mess and I don't want to have to use any more soil than I need to.

I'm going to put this big contractor bag in there.

And we'll cut it up when we finish.

<Mary> Perfect.

>> So I'm going to start by giving you remember, potting soils, I think people want so much compost now that they've really gotten heavy.

<Mary> Super heavy.

Yeah.

<Amanda> and so I put perlite or vermiculite or something in there to try to lighten it up a little bit, because I don't want these plants to be sitting.

They don't have drainage and I don't want them to be sitting too wet.

So I thought we'd start with this.

I never can tell if it's Calla or Canna.

This is a Calla Lily, isn't it?

<Mary> Yes.

>> Yeah, okay.

and I like the color.

I thought it was fun.

So, I'm going to pop in and whatever the middle of the thing is It doesn't really have a middle, and then we just I got some things to put around it and I really thought this color... <Mary> was sharp, yeah <Amanda> It was really a nice contrast.

So I'm going to fit him in as best I can and do the same with this one.

Thank you, we're really and while you're doing this, we're finding that the roots are not all the way to the root ball, so we're not really hurting anything, and I've got three.

So we'll try to do this kind of symmetrically.

I think I have three.

>> Yeah.

<Mary> No, you just have two <Amanda> No, we have, three.

<Mary> Oh, you have three.

[laughing] <Amanda> My mother once paid us $5 to find her eyeglasses and they were on her head.

I come by it naturally.

So here's the third one and we're going to tuck him in the back and have to make a little bit more room for him, because you can fit it there.

Suck in your waistband and then I thought this color was kind of fun.

<Mary> I like that.

>> So let's try putting some of these in there.

Again, I went to my friend, Jackie at Jarrett's Jungle is so sweet, because she's been doing this for years and she helped me pick out some combinations that we thought would be attractive.

And I think that's right, we just have two of those, don't we?

Yeah, so that's why we're going to start using some of the maidenhairs.

Thank you for helping me.

<Mary> I know.

Maidenhair is a great filler.

Let's see this is the smaller... You think that one's going to be big enough?

<Mary> This one might work better because it's a little bit thicker.

Yeah.

I gotcha.

Perfect.

<Amanda> Okay, and I think that's, <Mary> I think that's - Yeah, all she wrote.

Put all this away.

<Amanda> Once again, we'll try to cut all this black stuff off the trash bag.

>>I have never used this method, but it's pretty smart.

I like it.

<Amanda> You know me.

You just have to use plastic sometimes and that's life.

<Mary> This pot is super interesting.

>>Isn't it wonderful.

>> Not only do you have like this fun kind of texture and form, but this pot also is such a statement.

>> Jeri Burdick >> Yeah.

<Amanda> And she did a whole series on Edisto.

and this is one of the Edisto pots.

<Mary> Really?

<Amanda> ...I think it's supposed to be kind of sort of like amorphous like the beach.

that she'd found on the beach, which is just really cool, and so we'll tuck that in, and here's a little bit of Spanish moss for you.

I'll get a little more over here, so that you won't, - and again, one of the nice things that covers up the, you know, the mechanics, but also it - just the color's, nice.

It brightens it, I think.

<Mary> I think so too.

<Amanda> ...then <Mary> Let's see what this one looks like.

>> I stopped on the side of the road and found this yesterday, and I'm not real sure how we're going to use it, but we're going to, when I pick things up off of the side of the road, in order to repay nature, I try to pick up some trash while I'm there, you know, some beer bottles, stuff, or plastic, which is - So I think this was just such a fabulous looking stick.

<Mary> It looks great with all the lichens on it.

<Amanda> Yeah.

<Mary> It's gorgeous.

Got it in there?

<Amanda> You see what you can - <Mary> a little bit of a shove.

<Amanda> ...then you're going to put one in the back.

...again it's a good thing that my dining room table is so big because nobody will poke its eye out on it.

<Mary> Great.

I think that looks really great.

Can you get it in there.

>> Yeah, I think- Don't you think that's fun?

>> Oh, yeah.

Let's see.

<Amanda>At least I do.

<Mary>Turn it around.

>>Let's spin him around and look at it.

>>Look at that.

Yeah, because I think this is the front I think that's definitely the front.

<Amanda> Okay [scraping] You know it does kind of <Mary> It looks great.

<Amanda> It's fun.

<Mary> Gosh.

>> I like color.

Jackie gave me this giant... <Mary> I love that >> ...guy, and I thought since this has a good many organic elements to it, we just pop that in front of them.

<Mary> It's a stunner.

It's a really fun take, I know.

Look at there.

<Amanda> How about that?

Yeah.

Five minutes and it's done.

>> That was fast.

It's impressive.

<Amanda> I know anyway, so we wish everyone at home the very happiest of decorating at your own house.

Whatever method you decide to use.

I think we've given them two good scenarios.

<Mary> Yeah, a couple of different scenarios, more minimal, more kind of crazy and all over the place, but I love it.

<Amanda> Let's make this a tradition.

>> Yeah.

Same.

<Amanda> Okay.

>> We sure hope you enjoyed watching tonight's show We had some favorite people with us and Terasa, that counts for you, too.

>> Aww.

Thank you.

It's such a pleasure to be a part of the Making It Grow team and spend time here answering people's questions and highlighting the wonderful places and people that we have in South Carolina >> Yeah.

We'll see y'all next year.

♪ ♪ Making It Grow is brought to you in part by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Certified South Carolina Grown helps consumers identify, find and buy South Carolina products.

McLeod Farms in McBee, South Carolina.

This family farm offers seasonal produce, including over 22 varieties of peaches.

Additional funding provided by International Paper, and the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation and Farm Bureau Insurance.