holiday cheer

It’s the little details of the holidays that always get me. Presents prettily wrapped. Finding the perfect dress to wear on Christmas Day (or finding one stuffed away in a box and rediscovering it!), buying the yearly ornament, crafting up little bits and bobs to decorate the house or myself with… I’ve been toning down things a bit here so I don’t get too exhausted by the frenetic pace I tend to keep up right before Christmas. (which is laughable, I know–humor me and my delusions), so I’ve been focusing on little projects that are easy to tackle in an evening or less.

First up was wrapping! Now granted, we don’t have a ton of recipients for gifts. Nor do we have children yet, so I can do coordinating presents and not worry too much about my wrapping not being appreciated. lol. I really like making packages pretty–it’s something I do for occasions other than Christmas and for Etsy purchases. I also like doing it on the cheap. Which doesn’t mean tacky and shabby of course; it’s amazing what I can throw together that reads “holidays” but uses a lot of supplies I have around the house already. This year I went for a simple scheme using brown kraft paper (already had), red and white baker’s twine (stash), red and white stars (punched using a hole puncher I picked up at JoAnns, but the paper and string were in the paper box) and simple round gift tags I made. The punched and strung stars may look a bit complicated, but they weren’t that time-consuming–just a bit fiddly. I do like the finished look though–and hope the recipients do too!

Now after that little jab at tacky, I do have a few things to show you that do border a bit on tacky. I can’t help it–I do like a bit of gaudiness and kitsch during the holidays; bright colors and a smattering of glitter always seem apropos! But it’s not something I usually gravitate towards, so I though I’d kitsch-things-up for myself this year with a couple glittery headbands and a sparkling deer. Don’t laugh… my sister already did when I told her what I had done. lol. The headbands were inspired by this gorgeous one that Erin sported last week (which looks far better and somehow normal on her than me!), and just consisted of headbands I covered (using my tutorial) and stitched some glittered foliaged I picked up on sale. Easy!

The reindeer brooch is kind of a tradition for me. A couple years ago I bought a bird ornament after Christmas and turned it into a necklace. As someone of acquaintance at the time astutely observed: “only you would go around wearing a bird as a necklace!”. True, very true. In the spirit of my adoration of slightly madcap accessories, I found this sparkly reindeer ornament at JoAnns last week. A few snips to remove the hanger, a bit of hot glue and a couple of good-sized pin backs (yes, it needs two), and voila! Instant Christmas brooch. I shall revel in my tackiness and gleefully embrace it until January 2, when all my gaudy things go back into hibernation until next Christmas.

Have you been working on any little holiday projects? Do share!

December 16, 2010 · 51 lovely thoughts
posted in creativity,holidays · tags: christmas, holidays