Holiday Mantle

The Catholic in me is trouncing my very post-Reformation sense of interior decoration every year around this time. And by that I mean that my Episcopalian home goes all WASSAHHH CATHEDRAL OF TINSEL UP IN HERRR!

Oooh I loves the holiday hanging of greens and garland and general festooning of hearth and home. The real peppermint icing on all of that this year is that I have a REAL mantle. The kind that grown-ups have. Not the kind that newlyweds make out of IKEA bookshelves...

Appendix A:

or that yuppies make out of electric fireplaces...

Appendix B:

This year I've been going whole hog with the festivus of halldecking. Baby Girl got to help me in a big way.

We made angels for the mantle last weekend. I know you're waiting for the step-by-step tutorial that lists all of these scrapbooking tools by their proper name in an esoteric kind of way {oooh! lookit me! A scrapbook buff! no.} . But trust, you know I have no room in my creative space for precision. I hack it all.

For these angels, I credit the amazing art teach Mrs. B of St. Raph's School in Bay Village, OH who inspired the original cherubic model. These angels that Baby Girl and I hacked are made from scrapbook paper that was on sale 6 for $1 at Michael's which we (I) then rolled around various empty ink cartridge boxes, painted styrofoam balls and gold pipe cleaners. We used a glue pad + stamp + glitter for the special adornments on the angel gowns.

After the angels dried and found a place on the mantle like they were Norm finding his bar stool at Cheers, I couldn't wait for Baby Girl to wake up to see them. So, first thing last Monday, I woke her up and said all cryptically, Baby Girl, you're not going to believe what's in the living room!!

The FIRST THING out of that little pumpkin's pie hole? "Oh, Mom! We forgot to put wings on the angels!"

Are you kidding me? Can you imagine waking up with that much clarity of mind? What is that like, to not wake up with your mouth all chewed up inside from vexing dreams where you are forced to snort pixie sticks or you won't be able to catch the last bus for Albuquerque where your Girl Scout Troop AND your Irish step dancing teacher are waiting for you to bring them the feta cheese wraps!!

Anyway. I have yet to repair the wingless angels. They are managing with their obvious handicap in the meantime.

What I have done is make this fetching wreath, though! And yes that IS chalk paint on cardboard, thank you for noticing. This wreath took me no time, which is to say that it took only a few minutes to complete the concept after I messed with the ribbon for four hours.

Y'all, have a JOYful, crafty holiday season.

xoxo K