Edward Curtis

Yesterday I heard Timothy Egan on NPR talking about Edward Curtis and his photographs of Native Americans and his book Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher.  These photos are so beautiful and so modern in some ways.  They are my new favourite things.  They are so evocative and magical.

via

Darling Deer

After seeing Sweet Paul's deer with glitter antlers I was convinced that these would make me extremely happy and christmasy.  Mine are not as well photographed (or probably as well glittered) but they are pretty rad.  I used silver glitter nail polish instead of paint and glitter since I figured my accuracy might be better that way.  I'm pretty pleased with them.

Halls, Deck The

This weekend I went home and got a Christmas tree with my sister and my mother and I went all over the fields of the christmas tree farm picking up branches of greenery and the nice lad at the farm let me take them home for free.  They were just going to be thrown away anyway.  This morning I have tied up bunches and attempted wreaths and made swags for over the door.

We are decking halls and lighting candles.  Tomorrow is David's last final and then we have all wide open days until January 2nd when I start my job.  I'm almost finished with Christmas shopping and the mouse is making his merry way toward the 25th.  What are you doing at your house to ready yourselves for Christmas?

Wreath

After seeing this pin last year I had fantasies of displaying all my Christmas cards on a wreath like that.  It never happened last year but sometime in the spring I found that weird siamese twin pinecone and yeah, I hoarded it till this Chistmas.  I bought a 16" embroidery hoop and used the inner section for the wreath.  I hot glued a red ribbon and the conjoined pinecones on the the top.  I picked up the medium sized clothes pins from Michaels (their app is out of hand, 40% off coupons galore) and hot glued them around the edges, alternating facing in and out.  I think I might get more and increase the number of pins facing outward.  So far the hot glue has been strong enough but a really quality crafter would probably have used epoxy or something.  And I later picked this dripped hot glue off with my fingernail, because I'm mucho glamorous.

Last night we also put up the advent calendar, already 6 days late.  David had a cloth one with a mouse that would move through the days and the first year we were married I made the calendar and last year I used Vintage Ric Rac's Mouse Pattern to make a tiny mouse to hop from day to day.  I glued a little bottle brush tree into his wee arms.

Winter Branches

Sometime over the summer I saw this pin and wanted to do something with paper birds and natural elements this Christmas but I wasn't crazy about all that babies breath and thought it wouldn't last very long.  I thought about glittery birds in a winter branch.  All fall I kept my eyes out for a branch I thought would work and pounced on this one in October (and stored it in our closet and David asked me eighteen times why I had it and when it was going to go away please).  On Saturday David was at school prepping for finals and I was trying to put off going to the grocery store and doing laundry.  I pulled out some of my stationary cards (I didn't have any real cardboard) and Modge Podge and some Martha Stewart glitter  and I was ready to roll.

 I made a cardboard template (on my very messy work surface) of a flying bird and then traced it repeatedly on my card stock.  After cutting out a bunch of birds I brushed them with Modge Podge and covered them with glitter and let them dry.

Mean while I strung this branch by thread from the ceiling using pushpins to hold into the ceiling. 

 Once your wee glittery birds are done you just poke a whole in them with a push pin and hang them from your branch.

And yes.  There are too many photos in this post.  And yes there is a ladder in these photos as I was standing on it to hang the wee birds.  And yes if you make this your father might say "I don't quite get the concept." and "it's a disembodied branch, what's it suppose to be?" but he'll still go see Susan Stamberg read Chanuka stories so it's okay.

Cookies: for Christmas, for rolling, for eating

The afore mentioned sugar cookies cut into hearts and spread with toffee are delectable. Just a thought.

Note: Apparently there is some danger of toffee made in the can exploding and pouring hot sugary death all over everyone.  Here is what I've done many times without incident (but be away of hot sugary death as a concern)  - remove label and put can of sweetened condescend milk in a heavy dutch oven.  Cover with water and let water boil for about two hours.  Top up water as needed but if you fill it all the way up and keep a heavy lid on it the whole time you shouldn't have much trouble.  After two hours turn off the heat and let it sit until you can remove the can without tongs or anything.  Pop it open and spread it on all of the cookies and fill a cake with it and eat it awkwardly in the kitchen by the spoonful.

If You Read This Blog...

Tell me what your favourite Christmas song is. I need some new holiday tunage. It's that or bake cookies and quite honestly my jeans can't take any more cookies.

Thanks.

Giving, For Boys

This year has been a crazy year for David and me.  We moved from Durham to DC, we went from two incomes to none, we went from two forty hour weeks to one eighty hour week and one zero hour week* and from a duplex with a wee yard to a teeny one room flat.  David has been rocking law school and I think he deserves an extra great Christmas.

1.  David howls like a lunatic while watching Stephen Colbert (or Colbizzle as he is called chez moi)  and so America Again might have to make an appearance under the tree.  Colbert is always better in audio book so you can hear his crazy face voice.

2.  To celebrate a new school and a new degree in a new city (and because I am way into university pennants this year) university pennant.

3.  David is big into Fair Isle, big into Christmasy sweaters, big into J. Crew.  This sweater is gorge.

4.  Last year we got my father and mother slippers and David got me slippers.  I think maybe it's his turn and I can replace the battered slippers he has worn into pieces.

5.  David is insane about dogs.  He will cross a street like a loon for a chance to pass an Airedale and Roger (the schnauzer) is his best friend.   He could spend hours looking at cute dogs so what could be better than photo book Dog Dogs by Elliott Erwit.

6.  Given the sixteen hour days (sometimes longer!) that he spends in the library at least he can have stylish notebooks.

7.  His family tartan tie (or mine, whoever has a tartan and a pretty one)

8.  We have an ongoing battle about small bedside alarm clocks.  I hate digital and he he hates the tick tick tick of my old analog.  This tick free Big Ben Clock is pretty and quiet.

9. This wooden iPod Dock would be very nice on his dresser.

10.  David is definitely the sentimental one in our family and he wants to keep photo albums and get picture frames.  I love these Pinhole Press photo books and I think he would allow these instead of pasting photos into an actual album.



* that would be my unemployed ass.

Not Buying

This Visual Essay about a year without shopping by Sarah Lazarovic is great.  I keep thinking I should try a year without buying.  But maybe that would be better done in my fifties.  Like Judith Levine.  I just got an office job for the first time in three years and I need to look good and I'm a chubster and need new clothes that fit.  So I can look professional and people will promote me.

I guess I buried the lead.  I got a job.  And it's a really good one.

Giving, For Besties

1. For all the drinking - May You Never Flask
2. For wearing to brunch - Raw Pink Tourmaline Earrings
3. For hanging on the walls of their groovy apartments - NY Print
4. For wearing to the farmers market - Clutch
5. For wearing out to lunch with a sundress - Silk Clutch
6. For when one just needs salty and sweet - Bacon Chocolate
7. For the most stylish of fridges - Gemstone Magnets
8. For keeping notes on everything - Colour Block Notebooks
9. For wearing every single day - Trio of Earrings
10.  Because we should bring back Friendship Bracelets in style