Homemade Christmas Tree With Paperback Books

  This is my Christmas tree this year, which I finally set up today.  It's a tapering stack of paperbacks wrapped with lights, surrounded by sheets of book paper recycled from a discarded book and mini Christmas trees. The star was cut from cardboard salvaged from a box, layered with some quilting fabric scraps, and decorated with a white paint pen. Very economical as it was all made from stuff I had lying about the house, and fairly time efficient as it took less than an hour all told. I wish I had set it up weeks ago as there is now not much of the season left to enjoy it, but I will be leaving it up through New Year's at least. I haven't been terribly organized with my holiday preparations this year, so a lot is being crammed into this week.

So today I also painted a clay pot snowman to join the clay pot toy soldiers I made for the front porch a few weeks ago (may post pics later), aaaand I took my two year old daughter shopping for a Christmas dress and new shoes. At the mall, during rush hour, the week before Christmas. This is what happens to people who do not plan ahead. But we found a dress she loved, which was cute. I wasn't expecting her to have much of an opinion at her age, but when we tried this one little dress on and she saw herself in the mirror, her face lit up like a baby angel's. Then she looked up at me, eyes all hopeful, "What do you think, Mom?" 

Awww. . . that made the whole trip worth it. Of course then we had to buy shoes, and as H and Little Guy were with us and we were all getting tired, dragging through half the mall on this errand was not exactly anyone's ideal way to spend an evening. But at least she'll be suitably shod and I. . . between crafting my homemade tree, painting clay pot decorations, dress and shoe shopping for an indulged toddler on top of my usual days' events. . . am feeling fairly drained. 

But it is so nice, now everyone's asleep, to be sitting here in my living room with my lit "tree", laptop, and a hot mug of Lady Grey Tea with a slice of floating lemon. I may break out Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in a minute. "Marley was dead, to begin with. . ." 

*breathes a contented sigh, snuggles more deeply into sofa, and takes another sip of tea* 

Happy Holidays, everyone. 

:)

Leah

Entering Simon Says Stamp and Show's Gift-spiration Challenge.

also Collage Obsession's Shades of White Challenge