the tree!

Well my tree is just about done (minus a few little things here and there as i unpack them!) Every year my tree tends to get more vintage. I'm not using some of my other ornaments as much as the vintage ones i pick up at the flea markets. that combined with a few favorites and my handmade ornaments is what i find so appealing.

my tree topper this year (every year it is different) She is a vintage Bunnies by the Bay collectible bunny (of which i have quite a few!)

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there were a couple of other things i put on my tree this year that are fun and easy to make (didn't think to get a close up shot of them...), but they are tissue flowers. I made some out of vintage pattern tissue paper, but you can use any tissue paper you want. this is another way to fill up gaps in your tree where ornaments won't really hang well. here's a youtube video on how to make these easy flowers:



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so that's it for today - tomorrow is the day that we are unveiling our top hats. You've already seen mine, so i didn't make another one, but i'll post my pic anyway. So after a few days when all the hats are in, i will pick a winner.

if you are participating, here is what you need to do:

do a blog post showing off your hat (please try to include a picture of yourself wearing it; this isn't the Miss America contest, so don't be so hard on yourself!), make sure you've linked your blog post to my blog as well. then come over to my blog and find the linky spot for you to enter your blog information so that we can easily hop over to see your hat!

Holiday decor

here's a really easy project that was fun and inexpensive to do:

supplies needed:

paper mache star wands - i found mine at JoAnne's ($1 each)
vintage text pages
glitter
white paint
modge podge glue
small glass Christmas balls - mine are vintage, but use what you have
glass container- mine is actually plastic from the $1 store, it's shaped like a Sundae glass
ribbon
paintbrush
water cup

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*first i collaged the front of the stars with text, let dry.
*next i painted the back of the stars and wand white.
*on the front sides of the stars, also line in white.
*then i hit the front of the stars with more modge podge (slightly watered down) and glittered.
*stick wands in the glass. i cut a couple of them to vary the height.
*add colorful glass balls
*tie ribbon around base
Viola! you are done and you now have a very pretty decoration!

come back tomorrow and i'll share another great tree decorating tip!

so funny!

(As seen on the internet)

Greg sends along this DIY FYI:

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever.Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."