nail or fail?

Now that we are settled in from a whirlwind Thanksgiving holiday weekend it’s time to buckle down and wrap up all of my Christmas DIY projects that I started several weeks ago. This drizzly weather prevented us from getting our Christmas tree Sunday and Monday (ugh), but it worked out for the best since I still had a few ornaments to finish assembling. Here is a recount of the progress, thus far:

This is what I started out with. Whoa nelly, am I sure glad the husband wasn’t home when I walked through the door with these bags in hand. I will say, Hobby Lobby was having a HUGE 50% off sale on all its Christmas décor and I had an additional 40% off coupon for one single non-sale priced item. Win!

PROJECT 1.

I searched high and low for glass ornaments of varying shapes. Unfortunately, I could only find the average round ones. However, I didn’t solely find glass ones; I found plastic ornaments! I know, glass is much nicer and would dreamily sparkle against the lights on the tree, but we have two cats…one of which is a maniac and a little unbalanced.  That’s not to say that we don’t love him, it’s just that last year I probably swept up 6 broken ornaments that he clearly thought would be fun to play with. Not so much. Anyway, I bought a few bags of feathers ranging from white, brown, and a mixture of both. Instead of stuffing them with only one, I loaded them up. The more the merrier, right? 

I also purchased some moss and stuffed a few with that too to switch it up a bit. When I was finished stuffing, I cut some twine to hang them with and voila, finito!

I think that they turned out quite nice.

PROJECT 2.

I am still debating whether or not this project was a nail or fail. I definitely think that it was more trouble than it was worth, as I am not a huge fan of hot glue guns due to the mess that they make and it’s hard to make fabric look good on a round ball. Anyone disagree? I started this project out with styrofoam balls, both large and small.

I bought some trimmings and cut several strips of burlap from scraps leftover from our wedding. I didn’t think too much about the thickness of the material and wish that I had. If you’re going to attempt this one on your own, use fabric and cut strips instead of buying ribbon or trimmings. I thought that I was taking the easy route by buying pre-cut, but I was wrong. Way wrong. 

After hot-gluing the ribbon to the ball in an orderly fashion, I inserted a T-Pin at the top of the ball to hold it all together and attached the twine that I had cut from PROJECT 1 to hang it with. 

This is what I ended up with:

They don’t look anything like the image I was trying to mock, but they are original and will still be hung.

I had a surplus of styrofoam balls so I decided to take the unused moss that I had leftover from the previous project and hot glue it to a couple of balls. It was a messy task, but I love them. I’m just worried that Coco and Goose are going to love them too.

PROJECT 3.

A big thank you goes out to my mother-in-law for collecting all of the pinecones for this project. They have trees, unfortunately we do not (condo life…whoop!). John also gets a shoutout for buying the rope for me at Home Depot. He goes there every day, fortunately I do not. I started by making the burlap bows out of burlap garland purchased from Michaels. So much easier than cutting strips from the burlap fabric by the yard like I did last year for our outdoor wreaths. I was just trying to make use of what we already had. Once the bows were made, I inserted wire in the back to use to tie them onto the rope.

Then, I got out the handy-(not so)-dandy hot glue gun and glued each bow to the top of a pinecone. Here’s the kicker: once I finished up the pinecones, I decided that I no longer wanted to attach them to the rope. Yes, it looks lovely in the picture, but I started to think about what it would really look like on the tree. I’ve never been a huge fan of garland so after a few glances back and forth with the hubby, we decided to just turn them into pinecone ornaments. Here is the finished product:

PROJECT 4. 

With the leftover pinecones, I decided to mimic this door adornment. I used both burlap garland and the extra ribbon that I used in PROJECT 2. This undertaking was SUPER easy. All you have to do is cut several strips of ribbon at the length of your choice (I cut 2 feet of each), glue a strip to the top of each pinecone, tie a knot at the top, and hang. It turned out really cute!

And lastly, here are a few more ornaments that I made using a lot of different goodies:

 birds nests.

These are actually what I put my bridesmaid's gifts in. I wrapped with twine and yarn.  

bells.

 birds.

and balls.

That’s all for now, folks. Nail or fail? You be the judge.

give thanks.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I hope that everyone has a wonderful turkey day in the care of family or friends. I thought that I would pay tribute to this day by making a list of what I’m especially thankful for this year:

1.       My husband. Thankful that he loves me unconditionally. I could go on for days…

2.       My parents. For providing for me over the years and selflessly giving me the wedding of my dreams in March.

3.       My family. Both old and new (and one very new). I am one lucky girl.

4.       My friends. They are always there.

5.       My church.  A place where I am free, fed, and loved.  

6.       Photography. Opened doors.

7.    My relationship with God. Without Him, I am nothing.

8.       My health. Thankful for a successful surgery in June.

9.       Birmingham. Love my life here and everything it entails.

I’m thankful. Be thankful.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

yule tree.

I think I made it pretty clear in this post that I like to enjoy the Christmas Season for as long as possible. Four weeks just isn’t enough time! So, last Friday I did the big tsk-tsk and took down all of the condo’s fall decorations, cleaned, and then brought all of our CHRISTMAS decorations out of hiding the closet. YAY!  I spent all evening making bows, hanging wreaths, and stringing lights—pretty much turning our abode into a wintery wonderland. There is only one thing still missing: the Christmas tree. Have no fear, this is one tradition that I am willing to wait on until after Thanksgiving. We are three days away from Thanksgiving, which means that we are three days away from buying our Christmas tree! Yes, friends, I have been counting down the days. Seeing that we put the tree up earlier than most, our biggest feat is keeping the tree fresh and alive during the holiday season. It would be SO much easier to put up an artificial tree each year, but it just isn’t the same. Don’t you agree? There is something about the smell of fresh Frasier fir, the drooping of the branches from the weight of ornaments, watching the cats drink the water from the tree stand, and finding fir needles all over the condo (okay, that was a stretch. I don’t enjoy that part at all) that makes me covet a real Christmas tree. So, if you are like me and like to keep your Christmas memories alive by putting up your tree the day after Thanksgiving, here are some helpful hints from "The Daily Green" for keeping your tree alive:


1. Handling

Once you have your tree, it's important to start taking care of it right away. Tchukki Andersen, a staff arborist for the Tree Care Industry Association, suggests wrapping it in a plastic tarp to protect it for the journey home. If you bought a pre-cut tree, it's important to make a cut across the bottom, removing an inch or an inch and a half off the bottom. That's because once it is cut, the sap in the tree will start sealing over the base, and this will hinder its ability to absorb water. According to Andersen, that process takes about three hours. As long as you live reasonably close, you can ask the dealer to make the cut for you.


2. Watering

As soon as possible, get the tree in water. Either set it up in its stand or place it in a bucket if you aren't going to trim it right away. The base of the cut tree should never dry out, in order to keep the needles fresher. (A recent university study even confirms that watering works.) According to Derowitsch, a rough rule of thumb is that a typical tree might absorb a quart of water for each inch of its diameter. This means many stands need to be topped off daily. As a last resort, if your tree does end up getting dried out in its stand, you can try drilling some shallow holes at the base and refilling with water.


3. To Feed or Not to Feed?

Andersen points out that some people swear by commercial Christmas tree preservatives, which can be mixed into the water in the stand. "Many people have found success in their tree longevity by mixing a tablespoon of corn syrup or sugar in the basin water as a food source for the tree," she added. (Some people say they use aspirin.) However, the jury is still out on this procedure, with some experts arguing that adding such substances "doesn't do anything." Derowitsch told The Daily Green that using additives is "totally unnecessary."

4. Setting

Keep the tree away from direct sunlight, heaters or fans, as these will speed up the drying process. Andersen suggests using a room humidifier, which can help keep the needles fresher longer, as well as reduce fire risk. Speaking of fire risk, make sure any lights you put on the tree are in good working order, and are designed for the purpose. Newer LED (light emitting diode) holiday lights cost only pennies a season to run, so they are a good value, while they also decrease fire risk because they stay cooler. Also make sure to keep any open flames away from the tree.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/keep-christmas-tree-fresh#ixzz1eOWzEtIz

sanctuary.

I am so happy to not be working today. Thankful for this day of rest. I have suffered from a few sleepless nights this week leaving me both emotionally and physically exhausted. Do you ever have those days that you feel like you can burst into tears at the drop of a pin? Days where all you want to do is curl up in bed and drift into a careless abyss? As much as we would like to cross the threshold into this hidey-hole, we have responsibilities, accountabilities, evanescent and lifelong commitments that we must remain loyal to. Insert: the other refuge. Stillness, surrender, praise, lifted hands, worship, rest, prayer. Oh how I love this place of rejuvenation and healing of my body, soul, and Spirit where God's grace and peace are overflowing. The throne of God is our Sanctuary. It is a place where we are raised up above all our worldly trials, anxieties, and afflictions. No matter the obstacles that we face, no matter the load of our sin, no matter the sorrows of our hearts, we can find perfect peace and rest in His Presence. My prayer today is that in the midst of whatever is pulling your heart away from God, you find time to go to the Sanctuary and experience the peace of worshipping our Heavenly Father.

I want to share a song that inspired this post. It is a song that I have listened to countless times—especially during the times that I feel distant from God, times when I want to forget about my current circumstance. It never fails to ignite the longing in my heart to meet God in the Most Holy Place. Have a blessed weekend. XOXO.

Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord."

picture perfect.

Oh boy, I can't believe it has almost been an entire month since I promised you the big reveal of Shug’s birthday present. My bad! Let's get right to it. 

I must admit, I am not the one who drew inspiration for this project, Mrs. Bryant did. She is the magazine queen and while flipping through the pages of an unknown magazine (to me) she stumbled across some wall art that she quickly became enamored with. Here is the torn out page from the magazine:

Notice the prints? TO.DIE.FOR. The good news is we had all the pieces to put the puzzle together (well, kind of) so, why not?! 

The Bryant’s yard is sprinkled with beautiful oak trees. Mr. Bryant planted a handful along the driveway using the allée technique when they first built the house 20 plus years ago. You can see a couple of them in this engagement picture of me and the hubs:

You get the drift. They are absolutely stunning. The main attraction is the oak in the backyard, whose branches span from the house to the barn. This tree, without a doubt, was the one that we were going to use in the pictures.  So, one day I headed over to the house, with my camera in hand, and began snapping away. First attempt? Fail. Note to self: turn your camera vertically to get an “up and down” snapshot. To make it worse, I spent quite some time editing the picture before I realized this. DUH, Lauren. I wasn’t thinking. So, back to the house I went and boom, we had some winners. After picking the perfect two, editing and changing the pictures to sepia, they were ready to print. However, we weren’t really sure of the size. After much deliberation, we decided to size them each to 20 x 30 inches. A few days later, after a weekend away, I came home to “the box.” Let me tell you, it felt like Christmas morning!  However, I was so nervous to see how they turned out. Would they look good next to each other? Was the quality going to be up to par? Were they too big or not big enough? You better believe I tore that box open faster than you can say, goodnplenty. One word: LOVE. They were perfect! Here they are in all of their glory:

I spy Goose!

Close-up of the gate.

Close-up of the barn and willow tree.

Our next obstacle: the frame. John decided from the get-go that he wanted to make the frame. He is a skilled builder so I didn’t see a problem there, BUT, it would also entail getting glass cut and that whole nine yards. Let me also go ahead and add that three days had passed and still no sight of frames. I don’t want to be known as the “nagging wife” so, on Wednesday, with three days to go, we were on to option B—get them framed. Unfortunately, an option C crept up on us when we were told that night that she wanted to be in charge of the frames because she was still unsure of what color frame and width she wanted. Ummm, she knows about the pictures?! Thanks, husband.  Fail again. Therefore friends, I do not have a huge TA-DA! reveal for you like I had hoped. Perhaps in the very near future...

As far as the pictures go, this was such a fun and easy project. If anyone is interested in doing something like this as a gift for someone or splurging on his or herself, I say go for it! 

On an end note, does anyone else subscribe to Alabama Magazine? If you don't, you definitely need to. It is one of my favorites. In the recent November | December issue, there is an entire article on the allée technique. It is really interesting. 

via Alabama Magazine

Check it out HERE. 

Happy Wednesday!