sweet treats wreath

I'm really digging doing a pastel Christmas thing this year. (Yeah, yeah! I know! Thanksgiving first! But Christmas is only a few weeks away!)

This wreath I made is pretty last-era Katy Perry, right? It's not my fault there were so many cute dessert ornaments at Hobby Lobby. I got all of them for under ten bucks the same day I got my pink tree. My house is generally very traditional with its Christmas decor: lots of red and green, lots of red and white peppermint ornaments, lots and lots of Santa mugs. I'm keeping my pastel Christmas junk in my bedroom.

I tried to find a white wreath, which I know exist (you can find them on Amazon for like, $13), but none of the craft stores I checked had them. So what I wound up doing was purchasing a cheap hay wreath for $3. Why hay? A question for the ages. It sure was a mess when I took the plastic wrapper off of it! But since I knew I'd put this white garland over it, I didn't want green foam to peek through. The garland was, like, $6. It's cheap and flimsy, but very good for my purposes!

I got a little bottle of white craft paint and spent an hour or so putting a coat on the front and back of the wreath. It kind of looked like a gigantic frosted Cheerio or perhaps a circular Frosted Mini Wheat when I was done.

Then I wrapped the garland around it. The garland was 18 feet, but even though the wreath is only maybe about a foot and a half tall, the garland barely fit! It took me a lot of scooting to get an even cover. Then I hot glued the two ends down to the back of the wreath... and glued on candy ornaments at random. Just hot glued 'em right on! They're mostly lightweight, except for this clear sucker.

I like the uber-homemade-ness of the look, so I won't trim off the ornament strings or anything. You really can't see the hay wreath underneath unless you're specifically trying to peer for it. Would I recommend painting a hay wreath? Not really. But I still think it turned out pretty well for a seat-of-the-pants pastel candy wreath!

All that's missing is a big bow perched on the top. I think a striped bow in some pastel shade would be the cutest, or maybe even a silver bow. I left a bit of space between the blue and green lollies for just such a bow. I'll be on the lookout!

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too early? nah

I'm about to shift into HOLIDAY CRAFTING MODE! For, yes, the little baby pink mini-tree I totally scored for $10 at Hobby Lobby needs some ornaments.

I'm really into the natural, sort of earthy-feeling ornaments I've been seeing. (Not a shock, given my love for mori and natural kei.) I love the knit/wood/linen/burlap ones. Yesterday I got these two little birds, who look like they're from the same line, but are from two different stores.

In the past, I've made some felt ornaments, but not for myself. But I knew I had the perfect oatmeal-flecked, natural-looking felt left over from a couple of years ago with which to make a heart-shaped ornament. I drew inspiration from this one by Shape Moth. (I love these, too!!)

It isn't as intricate or pretty, but it suits my tree's aesthetic and was so much fun! I haven't blanket stitched on felt for what feels like a long time. I used to do it so, so, so much. Still, I managed to forget exactly how to do it till I was off and going.

I'm getting together with my BFF E this weekend, and we're going to go look at holiday decor. I'm excited, because I actually bought a lot of ornaments... to perch on a wreath! Can't wait to make that!

Now I must go search out inspiration for a tree skirt!

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sister's ripple: dunzo

According to Ravelry, I started this on Septmber 16. I finished today, November 8. Unfortunately on the very last green row I ran out of green yarn, and it took me two weeks to get one more green skein (most of which is just sitting here now, since I needed only one more row's worth), or I would have had this finished in October.

I hope my sister likes it!

Satisfied selfie.

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November must-haves

It got very cold this past week. Colors are really starting to show in the leaves! When I've been out and about, I'm always in the ol' boots and often in this fox hat. I always gotta have an animal-eared hat.

The air is so nice and crisp right now that Nina is my perfume of choice. (In warmer, sweatier weather, this can be too heavy a scent for me.) And while I almost always gravitate towards either neutrals, cool tones, or very dark colors on my nails, I've been using this orange-toned red polish from American Apparel called Lopez Canyon. I've never used American Apparel polish before, but the application of this stuff was super-smooth. I feel so... red...!

Also, I don't know about you, but I've gotten started Christmas shopping...

Of course, my sisters and I have to have matching Home Alone-inspired t-shirts!! (Black because both of my sisters are so much more stylish and cool than I.) They're getting these babies on Thanksgiving Day so they'll have time to wear them during the holidays. When I was little I always wanted to dress matchy-matchy with my little sister. Some desires never die.

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look down; look up

Nothing's better in the autumn than boots. Of course, boots are good all year!

Trees here are only just starting to change color and still mostly have their leaves. It's crisp outside, clear, and a temperature between cool (sweat weather!) and cold (jacket weather).

I finally bought a table for the sewing machine I got for Christmas -- which is so long ago, now! According to all the stores, it is Christmas time already! I haven't even gotten to use it yet because I'm so shy, I just want to huddle in a corner in private where I won't feel like I'm disturbing anyone and I won't feel like anyone is watching me or listening to me. I'm excited (mostly nervous, really) to set it up and learn how to use it. It's my November goal!

I spent my October days writing, knocking out granny squares here and there, finishing up my sister's green and white ripple, and snacking way too much on Goldfish crackers. I can't help thinking about color patterns for more ripples I want to do...

Stuff I've been enjoying:

• Danny Elfman (composer of everything Tim Burton -- as well as Jack Skellington's singing voice!) singing Jack's Lament, What's This?, Jack's Obsession, and Poor Jack in concert!! So impressive. I love his voice so much. Jack's songs, and indeed the soundtrack to The Nightmare Before Christmas, are the single best thing about the film.
• Boots!! I bogo'ed these mofos.
• rewatching Adventure Time!

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