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.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it's a ladyturtle! I mean, a turtlebird!

This is the dodgy ladybird I referred to in yesterday's post. It's not a terrific photo, I grant you, but that still doesn't make up for this sorry excuse of a stuffed toy.

Ladybird? Huh. I think turtle, definitely.

I think I needed to make the base of the turtle, I mean ladybeetle, a touch smaller. That way the outer shell would have been higher and rounder - simple physics. But did I think of this yesterday when I was making it? No, I did not.

I managed to give it separated wings at least, but I'm afraid they don't make up for this debacle. I truly don't think I can charge money for this.

I may have to try presenting it to my customer to see what her reaction is. If she recoils in surprise at the turtle-like aspects of this ladybird, and fixes me with a look of stunned disbelief, I will snatch it back and quickly hasten to add that this was a trial ladybird and clearly not a successful one at that, and that I was simply showing it to her to see if she liked the material I had used. (see how it has cute ladybirds all over it?)

And then I will try again. Smaller head this time. Eyes that are not green. A better "shell".

After I took these photos, I was so despondent that I had to make some dodgy Christmas ornaments out of felt to cheer myself up. I like these much better. But I'm still in search of a polystyrene/foam wreath base that I can decorate. Anyone know where I can get a foam wreath base? Lincraft - of course - doesn't stock them. Have I mentioned how much I hate Lincraft lately??