Thank You, Mommy

Snuggling into my newly rose-festooned bed, courtesy of mom.

Christmas Decorating--Last Minute Edition

Okay, either my mouse is acting weird, or I've completely forgotten how to write a blog post. Something strange is going on which isn't allowing me to cut and paste photos. I'll do the best I can.

Welcome to my Christmas dining room! Normally, there is just the one table, but when we need to seat more than four or five people, out come the extras. One of the benefits of having a large fabric stash--you always have a tablecloth!

Polka dotted candlesticks were about 25 cents each at the thrift store, just last week. Oh, how I love dots!

I didn't clear off the shelves this year to make way for Santas. Just added ornaments for some shine and sparkle!

Baubles and Bits

Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house...

...everything is still a mess, but I take comfort in the tree. I love these old ornaments.















I love all the variety. Painted, glittered, indented, different shapes, different sizes.














This one is the most beautiful combination of pink and orange. I couldn't seem to capture it in a picture, but it just glows.


















Some of them emerged from their brittle, tissue-paper nests looking as shiny and new as the day they were created.


















Others are a little worse for wear. This one has a huge, gaping hole in the back, but that's our secret.
















Even the ones which seem to have lost their lustre perk up and look lovely once they're on the tree.


















This kind, with the painted picture, is one of my favorites. I love the lights strung between the trees.














These were new to me this year. Busy Santas toting sacks full of toys. Thank you for finding these, mom.













This one has a place of honor. The colors, the shape--I think it's beautiful.


















More humble, but no less charming, a cheery bell is another favorite.


















Of course the lantern must be positioned just so so a light will shine from it.
















I hope, like these ornaments, everyone can come together this holiday season. Whatever your quirks, differences, and flaws, no matter how different your backgrounds, we can all make something beautiful. Merry Christmas.

Peppermint

Okay, so I didn't exactly make the flock of robins I envisioned, but I did make a prototype, and I think it came out pretty well! I'm not used to that much hand sewing, but the stuffed cat gave me confidence to try, and I think I could get used to it. It's just so hard to slow down and work on something like that when the holiday is so rapidly approaching!

I made the stuffed candy canes using a $2 thrifted sweater. Let me assure you, they look easy, but they are tricky little buggers. So far I've gotten three ornaments out of one sleeve, so I have a lot left to work with. Any suggestions for other shapes, projects, etc? I just love the cheerful stripes, so I'm being a little hoard-y with it and want to find just the right project.

How to Make a Bow

How do you make bows? Well, this is how I do it!

You need: Ribbon, obviously. Scissors you don't mind cutting wire with. Wire in a medium gauge. Too heavy is a pain, and too light won't hold.

Determine how long you want your tails to be and leave that much before you start making loops. Play around with the size of your first loop until you find a size that looks pleasing. Generally, wider ribbon=larger loops.

Twist your wire around the loop once or twice to hold it in place.

You've pretty much learned the entire method now. Make a second loop to match the first...

....and wire it as before.

Continue in this vein, making a loop and wiring it in place.

When you have enough loops, you're ready to make the little pouffy loop in the center.

And that's all it is--another loop, just much shorter than the rest.

Wire it as you did for the others.

And just puff it up in the center. Cut your other tail to match the first, and you're done!

Rockin' Robin

Remember the cute robins from Cath Kidston?















I sure hope she doesn't mind...















...if I make a few for myself.

Oh Tannenbaum!

So, this is pretty much The Tree. I still have a box or two of balls to hang, mostly to fill in on the sides and back to give it more dimension. Thanks to my mom for running down with several additional boxes of ornaments! I've never done the big tree all in glass, so I was running a little short.

As long as that tree skirt is there and the lights are plugged in, Isabella's happy place is under the tree. She's my little pudding!

Need Any Ideas?

Just to torture myself, I have the Fjorn website bookmarked. There are so many beautiful things I'd love to have, but the prices...oh, my! The set of ornaments above: $123.99. And they're SOLD OUT! Maybe I'll just have to try my hand at making a few. My favorites are the soldiers and the mushrooms. How about you?

A few other lovely items from the site:

First Sign of Christmas

I decided.

Fake tree for ease and expediency.

Vintage glass ornaments for a change.

It's not done yet.

Just a peek.

We're Not in Kansas

I have this friend who has two super-cute nieces. They are at the stage where they're all about princesses and fairy tales, and they want to wear their princess gear all the time--even to bed. I tipped her off to a nightgown I saw in an Avon catalog which features three Disney princesses at once, thinking that would be a big hit. I mean, three at once! Come on! No. As she put it, "Apparently "Aurora (or whichever character is in favor that day) doesn't wear a nightgown with her picture ON it!" Ahem.

Here's where I come in. Jeanne (my friend) asked if either I (or my mom, but this is her busy season) could make them nightgowns based on Dorothy's outfit in the Wizard of Oz. Sounds like fun! Sure, I'll try it!

My thinking on this was that a nightgown should be simple, soft, and roomy, and it should have no buttons or zippers or any other nasty hard bits that might be uncomfortable to sleep on. I started with Simplicity pattern 5695, view E and just added the bib on the front.

Those bias cut straps seem to be vital to making a semi-authentic Dorothy! Thank goodness I looked at lots of Dorothy pictures before I started, or I might have made a huge mistake!

Now all they need are red bedroom slippers and a couple of little Toto toys and they're all set!

Souvenirs of Our Trip

No matter where I roam, I love to visit thrift shops. In Ireland, they call them charity shops, and the ones I run across most often are Oxfam, Mrs. Quin's, Vincent's, and Enable Ireland. Want to see the treasures I picked up on our trip?

How could I resist an Irish counties puzzle? I got this for just €4 at the Arklow Vincent's. My plan is to stick the pieces down with some BluTak and prop it up somewhere like artwork.

I'll always remember it was from Arklow, because it's conveniently marked on the puzzle! Oh, someone tried to rub it off, but it's there! Thank goodness the outlines of the counties are marked underneath, because I need the help!

This child's mug is another treasure from Arklow; this time a bargain from the table outside Mrs. Quin's. Just €.50. Mrs. Quin's in Arklow is tiny, but we always find a thing or two. Last year's Garda doll came from Mrs. Q's.

Gerry's mom came from Arklow and worked at the Arklow Potteries, so he loves things like this. And I have a little collection of children's china, so we're both happy!

Gerry was a little dubious about this one, however, and I can't say I blame him. We came across a lovely Vincent's in Greystones while we were looking for a geocache, and I spotted this blanket for €2. It's really too bad I didn't think to take a "before" picture, because it looked nothing like this before I washed it. I knew it was filthy, but even I was surprised by how bright and colorful it turned out to be.

How could anyone resist an Irish wool blanket for €2? And check out this fringe! Wheee!

Next time you're traveling, don't forget the charity shops! You can find lovely souvenirs of your trip--unique things--at bargain prices.

Link to the Irish Charity Shops Association.

Weigh In on My Dilemma

We're already into the second week of December. We just got back from vacation. My Thanksgiving decoration (yes, that's all there was) is still up. I am almost, but not quite, done with the mountain of laundry that emerged from our suitcases. There are piles of new goodies we brought back from the trip waiting to be absorbed into the household.

And we need a Christmas tree. Enter dilemma.


We have an artificial tree that we've been using for the past few years. (That's a picture of it last year.) I'd never had an artificial tree before. Gerry, on the other hand, well, let's just say handling pine/fir trees gives him welts, and he always seems a little terrified that the whole thing is going to go up in flames. I can sort of understand that as (a) we are terrible about keeping trees watered and (b) he grew up in Southern California where Christmas trees seem to be dried out before you even get them home.

So we have this fake tree. It was just a cheap tree, bought in an after-Christmas clearance sale. I have to admit, you can really pile stuff on there, because every branch is strong and there are lots of spaces to fill up. And, okay, I admit it's nice not to worry about watering the thing. And we already have it, so it's FREE. Always good, right?

So what's the problem? The problem is that it takes a lot of ornaments to make that pitiful green plastic thing look good. You can't just hang a few, simple, well-placed ornaments and expect it to look good.

And that takes time. It's fun, though, decorating the tree. What's not so fun? UN-decorating it after Christmas.

So here I am, pining for something simpler this year: a real tree that's beautiful even before the first ornament is hung. But a real tree is going to cost what? I don't even know anymore. Twenty five dollars? And then it gets thrown away. And Gerry will get welts. All good reasons to use the tree we have.

I just don't know what to do. I just about convince myself to just spend the money and get a real tree, then I'm afraid I'll miss seeing all my favorite ornaments. But packing them up in January...ugh, I just don't know.

Comments?