So Long, Year!

In typical post holiday grump fashion, I'm not sad to see 2010 come to an end. I suspect it's because I look forward to the end of the holiday season and a bit of break from hurried making, baking, cleaning, traveling, shopping and whatever other "ing" words you associate with the season. I plan to take a week or so to finish up my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project which I have slacked off so much on that no progress has been made since that post. Yikes!

Don't get me wrong, 2010 and I got along just fine for the most part although there were some rather jarring changes and quite a few things were shaken up. The year kicked off with my being in the hospital and being diagnosed with Endometriosis which was closely followed by Joe being laid off from his job. As it turns out, the job market for a television specialist in New Jersey is a bit slim so when his old job opened up in South Carolina, we packed up our entire lives and moved. In just two short weeks. At first I was fine, but within weeks of being here I slipped into a pretty depressed state and would spend my time alone sleeping or crying interchangeably. I worked a brief stint at Starbucks to pull myself out of it and was pleased to confirm that some of the people here are even bigger jerks then some of the ones in New Jersey. For Joe's part, he loves his job, likes being here and has already made several friends!

A large chunk of the year was relatively uneventful as I worked on my art more regularly and forged a relationship with Lugh. My eye began acting up and I quit Starbucks (Thank the Gods!). I suffered a bit more depression, saw two of my best friends get married and took some important steps towards healing from past events.

Without further adieu, 2010 in pictorial review:

I'm not one for resolutions at this time of year, I never keep them. However, I know quite a few people who have done One Little Word Project in lieu of a resolution and it's something that appeals to me. I'm cheating a little and using a phrase, because it best suits what I'd like to focus on this year:

Let Go

1. To shout something out or expel something; to shout or express something wildly
2. To relax completely and enjoy yourself
3. To stop trying to control something; to not take action.
4. To stop holding on to something.

This year I will remind myself to let go when I get angry, let go when I feel trapped, let go when I'm worried I'll look like a fool, let go of the past and to let go of whatever else I want or need to during the year.

Are you doing the one word or making a resolution yourself?

Brightest Blessings for the New Year!

Christmas Cooldown

Some of you may have noticed I've been absent since Yule, the reason for that being that we absconded to New Jersey for a whirlwind Christmas weekend with our families.

We left at 5 in the afternoon on Wednesday and drove all through the night, reaching my mom's house and a bed to sleep in around 4 in the morning. Needless to say, the day after Yule was a very, very busy one for me while I got last minute packing and gifts together and made double and triple sure we had everything for the weekend.

After we woke up late Thursday morning we went our separate ways to see our friends and joined back up later on to have Christmases at three different places as is typical of Christmas with us. This year was a bit bittersweet for me, as it may very well be the last one with my siblings and I all together. I'm not going to dwell on that now though, I'll just have to wait and see how events unfold and take things as they come. Aside from that little twinge, our holidays were wonderful and involved:

Exchanging gifts with each other on Yule:

What could the giant present be?

It's a mushroom stool that Joe made for me! If you want to see more photos of all the little details click here to see the write up he made about it!

Playing Poker with my lady friends on Christmas eve-eve:

Christmas Cracker Crowns:

Gifts from Santa:

A send-off of sparklers and a hot air wish balloon:

We missed out on snowfall all around. It snowed in South Carolina while we were in New Jersey and we made it out of New Jersey well before the storm hit on Sunday. The only snow we saw was already on the ground.

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays!

The Longest Night Ball

As the sun sets and we begin the longest of nights, I welcome you in to warm up and celebrate amongst the candles and twinkling lights.

There is a feast a'plenty on the table near the tree, and gifts below just waiting to be received.

If the ornaments do inspire, take a moment to admire them as you mix and mingle, there are so many we've acquired!

Say hello to the Yeti and the birds who are ready to party with their hats in place. Take a candy cane if you'd like, the guard is quite nice, the taste will put a smile on your face.

You've brought a card? I love the art! Please hang it before you depart, to visit with La Luna on this Solstice night.

Yule Blessings

May you be filled with serenity on this the shortest day and longest night.
May whatever despairs or sadnesses you carry be burned away by the returning sun,
for every period of darkness there will be one of light.

May you be surrounded by loved ones and laughter,
May your home be filled with joy and warmth,
as you rejoice in this festive season.

May you take some time for yourself,
to reflect on days both past and future,
May you find peace in the beautiful quietude of Winter.

Warmest wishes and brightest blessing to you and yours on this Solstice day!

I revel in the return of the sun and the coming of longer days. I bid farewell to the Holly King; hail to the Oak King! Hail to the return of the light!

Paper Trees

Have any of you ever made paper trees from old books or magazines? It's one of those crafts I remember doing around this time of year as a kid. My brother and I would make them out of my mom's old issues of Reader's Digest magazine. I've been wanting to make them for a few weeks so I trolled my local used book store and grabbed a few books for under $1, grabbed a marker and my craft knife and sat down to make some decorations for the house and write up a quick how-to for anyone who hasn't done this before!

Step 1
Remove the cardboard cover off of the book, getting as much of it off the spine as possible but leaving the glue alone.



Step 2
Now there are two ways to proceed with the next step. One that's safe for wee hands and one that isn't. I'll go over the one that's kid friendly first.

Kid Friendly, Craft Knife Free Option
Have your child fold the pages down to the center of the book to form a tree shape.


Once you've folded a few pages over you can start to get a feel for how your tree will be shaped. If it's too chunky for your liking, fold the page once more in the same direction to create a slimmer tree form.

Once you're done, skip down to step 3. If you're an adult who'd like to make a slightly fancier tree and isn't afraid of a sharp craft knife, this is the way you'll want to proceed in step 2.

Adult Friendly, Sharp and Messy Option
Draw your tree shape on the first page of the book with your marker, grab your craft knife and start to cut along the lines.



This is what your tree will look like about halfway through!


Step 3
Once you've either folded your pages or cut them up it's time to shape your tree.

Gently fold the book around and back on itself to create a rounded tree shape. With old books with well worn binding, this will be simple! If your book is new, you"re going to have to do this by first bending the book to stretch the binding every few pages.

Once your tree is rounded and fluffly, paper clip the end pages together and display it! Feel free to ink, paint, glitter or otherwise decorate your tree.

Once the season is over, remove the paperclip, push it back to it's previous book form and store with your other decorations.

If you try this out and use the cut-out method, please remember to recycle or reuse the paper scraps! also, if you want your tree to have more of a point at the top then mine does, just start your pattern closer to the spine!

Happy mess making. :)

A Seasonal First

I recently discussed in a post about the holiday season that this time of year and I have had a sordid past. Typically while others are having an overblown case of the holly jollies, I'm having a case of the Grinchy grumps. This year, for the very first time, I've felt compelled to dress my altar for Yule. In years past the Samhain decorations and trapping have stayed up until the pumpkins and gourds begin to look a bit soggy, but not this year.

For your perusal, here are some photos of my first ever Yule altar, a sure sign that the relationship between myself and Winter is on the mend.

You can see my seasonal tapers are lit, illuminating Lugh in the background. Yellow chime candles await the Solstice, ready to welcome the Sun.


My heart stone sits, collecting and storing healing energy, next to my labradorite sphere and stag head offering dish.

Do any of you set up Yule altars? If so, please share! I'd love to see them.