Time to take the wreath down

It's well past Christmas now, and so it's time to take the wreath down.

I really like this one, and I really feel like leaving it up, because every time I look at it I think of boiled lollies or chocolate freckles or smarties, and it reminds me of childhood and happiness. Obviously I associate childhood with chocolate.

But if I leave it up there, it won't be special at Christmas time, will it?

And I suppose part of loving things means appreciating them at the right time and not taking them for granted. (Hm, sounds like a life lesson snuck in there somewhere.)

I got the idea for this wreath from the famous tutorial on Pickles - I knew straightaway that I wanted to try it.

It was a long project and I have the calluses to show for it - in addition to stringing the felt balls, I also anchored every individual ball to the styrofoam wreath with a metal dressmakers' pin, for added security. It was worth it. It's a wonderful object to be greeted by when I get home, and everyone who comes to visit has commented on it.

If you want a felt ball wreath like this for Christmas 2012 .... then let me know now! They take forever to make .

Here are some other great felt ball wreaths - and the first picture is of the original Pickles one:

image from here

image from here

image from here

Wreathed in happiness

You know one of the things I love about Christmas? The sales that come after them. Sales of Christmas wreaths, particularly.

Let me digress here for a minute. Many of you are familiar with my anti-Lincraft raves (check here and here if you're interested) - and today I have another annoyance to add to the list. For most of the Christmas period I was searching for a plain foam wreath, so that I could decorate it in the method of my choosing.

Perhaps something like these?

At any rate, do you think I could find a plain foam wreath anywhere in the greater Melbourne surrounds? No, I could not. Lincraft had ten thousand decorations, but no bits and pieces you could put together to make your own. And no wreaths at all of any kind - pre-decorated, plain, wicker, foam, or otherwise. What kind of fabric-and-crafty shop doesn't stock ready-to-decorate wreaths at Christmas time?!! Good heavens.

So I gave up on the idea of a new Christmas wreath, and My One True Love and the Amateur Actress made do with this one from last year, which I made out of old fabric scraps and a wire coathanger.

(If I was honest, I would tell you here that I am not only honest but also lazy, as the "Christmas" wreath has been on the door throughout the entire 2009 year because we did not get around to taking it down. The entire year. Hey, maybe that was the reason for all the rubbish luck in 2009 - because isn't it bad luck to leave your decorations up past the 12 days of Christmas? Sheesh, why didn't I think of that!)

At any rate, I posted here about the great lack of wreaths in my life, and wouldn't you know it, it was my FATHER who commented to tell me that Spotlight had them in stock. Sigh. If only I'd asked him on the bloody phone months beforehand! However, the moment for wreaths had clearly passed by then, so I didn't rush out to Spotlight to buy one and decorate it in time to hang it for five minutes. No, I had Too Many Markets to do instead. So I forgot about it.

Then of course My One True Love and I spent Christmas in the country with my parents, and a trip with  my mother to whichever local fabric shop is on sale on Boxing Day is part of the Christmas tradition. In Melbourne, that means Clegs. In the country, that means Spotlight.

So mum and I rocked up to Spotlight about a minute after the doors opened, and I veritably swooped on the foam wreaths. Swooped, I tell you! Foam wreaths on special at 75% off! I bought eleven at $2.50 each instead of $10 apiece. Eleven - a new one for our house, and ten for the market stalls I'll have near Christmas this year.

I am very smug and proud. Spotlight, I love you. I never thought I'd say that.