This & That | November 27
We are well and truly in Winter, here in Alberta. We got a huge amount of snow over the weekend, and were actually snowed in for a day! I don’t have much to share today, but here are a few things I’ve been working on lately, and one of which I wanted to share before December, in case you want to try it for yourself this holiday season.
Loving: Crafting parties with friends! I hosted a Christmas craft day and we made ornaments. I made some cider and cookies, and a few other ladies brought some sweets and we spent a few hours visiting and glueing and glittering. Of course I didn’t remember to take any photos during the event, but above are some ornaments I made. We also did some folded paper stars, out of old book pages. (And yes, I used old, ruined books, not good, rare and valuable ones!)
Making: This toadstool garland for my sister and brother in law. I saw a garland like this in a boutique a while ago, and immediately thought of them since they both love mushrooms and toadstools. When I saw some plain little wooden toadstools at the dollar store, I decided to paint them and string them on a twine, and it turned out so cute! I even went back to get toadstools to paint for myself; although I’m not going to string mine on a garland.
The other project I just finished up is this blanket box for my mom. It was stained red, but was quite worn and needed some repairs. I didn’t get a before picture, so that is after I lightly sanded it. I did the same streaky paint technique paired with the oil finish and it turned out nicely. I used a foam roller to apply the oil since it was such a large surface area and I was having difficulty spreading it with a cloth. It worked really well. The box could probably use another coat of oil, but we’ll wait until spring to do that, since the oil has a weird smell and now it’s too cold to open the windows.
Watching: I was going to write The Lord of the Rings, and realized that is what I wrote a month ago! I got delayed in watching it, and started over. Maybe tonight we can finally finish it!
Finding: A new Christmas tradition. I heard about Scandinavian advent candles last year, but it was already in the middle of December, so I saved the idea for this year. Each day you burn the candle down to the next number. I got a 12″ tall candle and painted numbers down the side with a tiny brush. I should have put my numbers a little closer to the top, so if you try this, make sure to leave enough space at the bottom. This year the first day of December, this Sunday, is also the first day of Advent, which is kind of interesting.
Reading: I haven’t started it yet, but I will be reading Born a Child and Yet a King: The Gospel in the Carols by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth through Advent this year. I’m looking forward to it!
A final thing I wanted to share, and actually remembered to take pictures of, is this little table, below. It actually needs to be refinished, but this is what it looks like with one coat of Howard’s Restor-A-Finish! I’ve used this product on a lot of wood pieces that look a bit dry and dull, but this was a very dramatic glow up for this table and I wanted to share it, in case you have a piece of furniture that needs a quick refresh.
Well, I think that’s all for today; I hope your week is going well!
