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Tag: christmas

getting ready

getting ready

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the claim:
make your own ornaments! source and then also source
the test:
well, i started out trying one thing and ended up doing another when the first didn’t work, and i made a combination. whatevs.
since neither of these really had directions, i went to crafts direct and kind of guessed as to what i needed to make these ornaments (first sign that things weren’t going to work?).

scrapbooking paper, ribbon, rustic jingle bells, hemp cord and glitter glue. (fyi – in no way, shape, or form do i associate with scrapbookers. just standing the aisle gives me the willies *shiver*)

i actually wanted to glue the pieces of paper onto ball ornaments, spread with glitter, and be done a la my first source. i tore up the paper, and since the edges were white and the rest antiqued, i had to soak them in tea to get the whole pieces of paper yellowed


after the paper dried, i tried out glueing it to a ball ornament. DID NOT WORK. i gave up and went another route.
you can see the failball in the upper left.

i glued the scraps to some cardstock i had leftover from merrill and once it was pasted on, i painted sparkly glue over the whole thing.
after that was dry, i grabbed my cookie cutters i had just purchased (for cookies – not this project) and traced them onto the paper and exacto-knifed them out.
put a couple jingle bells on the hemp and made a pretty bow, and ta da! ornament.

the verdict:
my original plan didn’t work out. i’m thinking it’s because they actually used newsprint versus scrapbooking paper, which is heavier. and my improvised secondary plan wasn’t really the same as the source, but it worked out. a lot of work. 3 out of 5 stars, mostly because it was just ok. cute, but not quite what i was going for.

night divine

night divine

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i’m not a church going person. i go two days a year basically, with some random days scattered throughout. this year i’m missing christmas eve mass, which i really do enjoy. the christmas carols, the fact that everyone dresses up, the familiarity of the readings and the gospel. it’s just a nice time of year for church.
the highlight, however, is when one of the choir members sings "o holy night". it’s something i look forward to every year because she hits that high note and it’s absolutely spot-on, tone wise, and just clear as a bell. it gives me goosebumps and just about brings tears to my eyes it’s so lovely. i’m sad i’m missing it this year.
i hope everyone has a merry christmahannukwanzaaka. and happy festivus for the rest of you.

bears repeating

bears repeating

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i was bored and read all my LJ entries from 2004. took 45 minutes. anyway, i found this gem, and i thought it was appropriate for the season:
from James Lileks’ Backfence column in the Star Tribune, referring to Charlie Brown Christmas music:
What makes the music last long after you’re grown is something you sensed when you were a kid, a wistful tone that almost makes you sad to say goodbye to the Christmas not yet come. As an adult, you hear the sadness between the notes, the sense of loss for the Christmases of childhood. But the notes themselves are cheerful and offhandedly wise. As a kid you leaned forward into that mood; as an adult you look back to find it. And you meet right there, in the opening notes of each song.

ah christmas

ah christmas

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what other time of year can a creepy old guy with a beard, matching pants and shirt, and "Scream"-killer black boots go around calling everyone HOs?
anyway, i am waiting for the christmas spirit to kick in. i know it’s gotta be there somewhere because i hung some lights around my kitchen window and wrapped presents and watched "elf" tonight, but it’s not quite there yet. the tree is going up this weekend, so maybe then it’ll happen. and it finally snowed a reasonable amount to stay on the ground, so that helps a little.
wrapping presents, i realized i am big on giving books. and i spent a TON on my mom. and i’m still not done wrapping and i need to go to bed because shoveling my driveway this morning wore me out.

Contentment defined

Contentment defined

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I drive home every night from work after 8 p.m. through residential areas, and many houses are lit up with lights – blinking, white, colored, shaped into deer – you name it, it’s out there. And every night as I drive home, I wish I could just force myself out of the house after dark and drive around to look at the lights.
When we lived in Austin, often during the month of December, my dad would take me or me and one, two, or all of my siblings on a drive through town to look at the lights that people had put up. My mom wouldn’t necessarily come with; sometimes she would be there, other times it would be just my dad and a couple of his kids.
One particular time I remember going to Rochester to look at lights. For some reason, Rochester seemed a lot farther away than it actually was – it was only 30 miles from Austin, on a freeway no less, but it always seemed like two hours to get there.
My aunts Colettie and Kathleen were with, and Liz might have been with also. We first drove downtown, where all the deciduous trees had white twinkle lights strewn through their branches, something I had never seen before. Lights were made for pines, right? Apparently someone was thinking outside the box…or triangular branches, as it were. Even today when I see lights on smallish maples and other leafy trees, I think of that first time I saw them downtown in Rochester.
Then we drove through the “rich” neighborhoods, pausing at each house as the lights reflected in our eyes. Cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac, we drove in circles looking at all the lights the owners had put out for others’ enjoyment. 20-foot pines with colored lights up to the top, each window and eve lined in small lights, green and red lights winding up pillars that held up porch roofs. I couldn’t get enough.
But the best was yet to come. After we had exhausted ourselves looking at lights, and Lizzie was snoozing in the back seat, my dad pulled over in one of Rochester’s parks and pulled out a thermos filled with hot cocoa. I held my styrofoam cup in my hands and watched the Christmas lights in the distance across the lake, distorted by the steam from my cocoa. It really was the perfect evening trip. Contentment defined.

antsy

antsy

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nate has hidden my present! i don’ t know where it is!! this makes me antsy. i want to shake it, even though it’s something i picked out.
three more days of work then a long weekend!! woohoo!

my xmas tree

my xmas tree

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today i dragged nate out to a tree farm where we got an awesome blue spruce, got it shaken and baled, and it cost $40. then we went to menard’s and bought a tree stand and a tree skirt as well as ornament hooks, and they were all on sale because apparently it’s late in the season.

then we came home and he cursed and got mad while i stood there and rolled my eyes as we got the tree to stand up straight in the tree stand, which, i might add, is a pretty cool tree stand. you stick this separate part onto the tree first, then slide it into the base, and it rotates so you get it in the right spot, then lock it in.

after supper we put on the lights and garland, which nate didn’t like because the tree poked him all the time, and i pointed out that it was poking me too, but do i make a big deal out of it? nooooo.

so then  i got out all the ornaments and put hooks on them, and nate put up like, two, then left me to do the rest. toward the end, he sat on the couch and watched me.

putting up christmas trees brings out the best in everyone, eh?

well, here’s the tree.

and here’s the star i made for the top since i forgot to buy an angel.

after the tree was up, i realized something was missing, and it turns out it’s the color red and some big lights. so, i went to walmart and bought red ball ornaments and red beads, which will go up tomorrow, and the day after christmas i will buy some big lights for the tree. and more garland.