Getting into the spirit of Christmas, decorating the tree!

My husband always sets up the tree in the stand and wrestles with the tree lights (not an enviable job). Then we girls set about adding the decorations. The tree was tall enough that we needed to use a step ladder. We also secured the tree to the wall (with eye hooks on the window trim and fishing line) to avoid last year's Christmas catastrophe!


This year I am adding more flag garlands like the one hanging on this door.



Many years ago I inherited a small strand of very old paper American flags and have enjoyed setting them up at Christmas every year. Several years ago we made flags from around the world with cut paper. It was time consuming but we enjoyed these colorful garlands on our tree and draped on our lights and windows. But then I had the idea to scan the flags (into my computer) and make a few more. And that is what I am busy doing this year. I have set up the pages in photoshop so I can get many flags on each sheet of paper. I have printed them such that you fold them in the middle, glue and then have a two sided flag. The edges are not lined up perfectly (though close) -- I'm not a perfectionist.



Once I cut out the flags I fold each flag in the middle. I use thread but a thin ribbon would work well too and would be less likely to tangle. With a little white glue on one inside of the flag I then press the sides together with the thread (ribbon) inside at the fold. I try to space the flags evenly and just use a folded piece of paper as my "ruler".



These are the flag sheets that I made up in photoshop. Feel free to use this for your own garlands (but please do not sell them though) if you like them.























Our family happens to be American, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, and a little Irish, and one of my daughter's is Chinese so I usually print more of these flags. Many of our family Christmas traditions are Norwegian since much of my family was from Norway. There are so many flags I certainly hope that no one feels left out if I didn't include their flag.

During dinner we lit our second advent candle and shared a few family thoughts -- some more thoughtful than others. But holding hands around the table in the quiet candlelight is a sweet moment.

Getting into the spirit of Christmas, the second step!

In reality I have skipped my first step (making our Christmas cards). But I'm not going to let that stop me from going forward. This weekend I promise will make an attempt at that project. I am going to continue our trend of using our children's artwork in combination with a few of their photos.

In the meantime I am continuing my small steps to the holidays. Every year I try a few new handmade decorations to get me in the spirit. I wanted to share one cute idea I had. Being a big collector of driftwood I thought this little card/note holder was a great idea. I had seen many wire holders but none using driftwood. If I had had more time I would have tried making some for my shop but that will have to wait until next year I suppose.



I also made a few more wire "curls" to place in my blue bottle collection in my kitchen "niches". Putting a used wine cork on the end and into the bottle helps them sit up better.





My daughter has a friend named "Annie Ootie". She is an adorable cloth doll in the Waldorf style. This Christmas my daughter wants a friend for her. So next week my plan is to start work on this friend. I think that Annie wants a little boy to be her friend. This time I promised to let my daughter see the process and have some say in the hair and eye color. I have a kit I purchased from Magic Cabin last year and some yarn for hair.