Guys, I am bushed.  I’m trying to finish up handmade gifts for my entire family and I’ve got a huge project to tie up at work before I head over the river and through the woods for Christmas.  Although my camera is working again I’m gonna have to pass on doing the holiday video tour of the house – you’ve seen the projects, from parts one, two, three, and four of the Christmas Tree Disaster of 2010, to the cute Yarn Trees vignette to my new entryway bookshelf and my temporary tree branch stocking holder.

There’s a few more odds and ends to share real quickly, like the way I displayed our Christmas cards around the stocking branch:

And the Christmas pillow shams I whipped up from the same Michael Miller holiday fabric as the stockings.  (Yes that’s a white blanket tucked over our sofa cushions.  It’s kind of tacky and collegiate, but until I recover the sofa I’ve got to protect it from myself and my hot cocoa.  I’m klutzy.)

And these holiday towels are jazzing up my stove – they’re from Crate and Barrel.  I love holiday dishtowels, because they’re one bit of holiday decor that’s totally functional, and takes little space to store.

There’s one more quick Christmas DIY I did for my kitchen island, and I’m going to share that and then sign off for about a week of vacation from technology.

Have you seen the glittered sparkly Christmas candles that were all the rage this year? I did, and though I was loving glitter I didn’t want to shell out any dough for them.  Instead, I rifled through my candle drawer and found two unused white pillar candles. Here’s how I transformed those plain old candles into a glittering glowing holiday candle scene:

1. Lay down waxed paper on your work surface.
2. Using an old paintbrush, apply a thin coat of Modpodge to your candle.
3. Sprinkle glitter over candle, liberally.
4. Roll candle back and forth on wax paper, applying slight pressure to ensure glitter adheres well.
5. Repeat process until all of the outside of the candle is coated.

Total cost?  $1.00 for glitter.  Take that, $10-a-piece glitter candles!!

It’s that easy.  Aside from the glittery mess I made on the wax paper, it was easy as pie!

For bonus points, nestle them in some fake snow, and add a sprig or two of pine branch.

Well, that’s it for me, time for a computer vacation.  I’ll have one more post tomorrow (already written) to share my January projects.   I’ll be checking my email once a day to keep tabs on my Etsy shop, but for at least a week – maybe until Jan. 1 – that’s it.  But when I come back, oh boy, you’d better watch out.  And not because Santa Clause is coming to town, but because next week I’m on vacation, and I’ve got a long list of projects that I can’t wait to tackle.

Finally, after many trials and tribulations, our Christmas tree is up, fully decorated, and lit.  Oh, and drinking water – which I am remember to replenish daily.

I love my collection of vintage glass ornaments, which I obtained mostly from my parents’ collection.  They go more for contemporary and ethnic ones.  My vintage ones aren’t the most coordinated on the tree, but as Ryan reminded me – it’s not supposed to be about creating a perfectly matchy-matchy showpiece, it’s about family and joy.

However, I did try to pull the look together a bit with my glass and sliver balls.  That first one on the far left is handblown iridescent glass.  My most favorite of all time.  I unfortunately only bought two last year. . . and have been looking for more ever since.

Well, that’s it for today.  Gonna keep it short and sweet.  I’ll see you all back here Monday for a video tour – yes, I said video tour – of our home all decked out for Christmas.  I’m not sure why I’m inspired to do it, but I thought it would be fun.  Even though I hate to hear myself talk.  We’ve got little seasonal touches tucked everywhere.

But until then, I’ve got a ton of present-making to do this weekend.  The last weekend before Christmas? Ack!  Hopefully my second attempt at a handmade doll for my niece will be more successful. Happy Friday from a snowy abode!

I had no idea there would be so many parts to the saga of the Christmas tree.

We came home early from work today, excited to get ready for tonight’s holiday party.  We opened the door, only to be greeted by this:

Closer inspection revealed one of the potential culprits teething on the tree stand:

He looks defiantly guilty, don’t you think?

However, the dogs are cowering on their beds in the bedroom.  They have yet to emerge, and we’ve been home about an hour.

Sigh.

You just can’t make this stuff up!

On the up side, Ryan has taken the tree out back.  No, not for a beating. (What is wrong with you people?)  But to cut the end off [again] so we can attempt to set it up [again].  Hopefully this time we’ll actually remember to put water in it!  Third time’s the charm, right?