Merry Christmas

to all my bloggy buddies.... I'll have to see if I can get more organized or more enthused about blogging in the new year...

Got the little chicken in the oven...the spuds mashed and put in the 'fridge 'til later.... carrots and sprouts are simmering away... hope you are all having a nice dinner too.

It is a wintery white day out there ... -20C ... the birds are having fun with the suet and seed feeders... quite a lot of action and entertainment today.

best wishes to all...

An Easter Tree

I was determined to make myself one this year.  I think they are great...and if you Google them you will see all sorts of different types of trees.
This one is in Germany..outside.  They are a German tradition.

Traditional German Easter Tree - The traditional German Easter tree is called an Osterbaum. The tree is not merely created from flowering branches collected in a vase, but can be made from living trees and shrubs situated around the house. The vase or planter that the tree is in is usually decorated with wooden eggs set on the top of the soil as well as hung from the branches. The eggs are almost always colorful as the environment in Germany around Easter is usually drab; the tree is meant to add a colorful, spring-like touch to the home.

... I stole this photo from somebody's blog and now can't remember whose...if it is yours... please say so...
It is a lovely curly shrub isn't it? ...

Pastel origami ornaments (after our traditional Christmas colours) have been on the go for the past few weeks.  In anticipation of hanging them on an Easter Tree.

Muriel,  who makes them with me, reminded me that I better get on it if I was going to do one...it is already into the Easter week..

My 'tree" was going to be just a branch or branches and already I'd been scouting the area for some that would be good for hanging ornaments .   I did notice some perfect trees in the Safeway parking lot and was going to take my pruning shears there one evening ... but, didn't have to do it after all.


The story goes like this.

There was an Estate Sale up the block last week...and I decided to see if they had any old Corning Ware with handles (lots of the new stuff is pretty white containers, but, alas, straight sides ..no handles... )  What the heck? They are useless and dangerous.  Especially when full of blistering hot food.  I know.  I have three. They are difficult to grab with pot holders or gloves or anything really.. too slippery to hold them safely.  I'm going back to the old stuff...and, decided not to pay full price for it either.  Guess what?  I found 3 containers almost brand new.  One has hardly, if ever, been used.  .. only two had lids but I have an extra lid anyway...so, for a whopping $8 ... I have new, safe containers... wooohoo ... and, I intend to check out a few more garage sales this summer as well..for a couple more and a few extra lids.

Anyway...back to the story of my Easter Tree..hahahahha.. man, I digress don't I ??   ..." and all around the circle" la la la ..... la la ......

On the way back from the Estate Sale... with arms loaded...I spied some great branches growing in the alleyway.  Two different shrubs.. managing to grow in pavement..

I broke off a couple 2 foot branches and carried them back as well.  Planted one in my little pastel pail that I got at Safeway for $4.99 ...  added some limestone rocks and a bit of fake moss and voilà ...  my Easter Tree.

Little "Sheepie" loves it.  He stood and admired it for hours...

And,.... see the little tiny buds on the branches?  I mentioned to my sister that I thought they looked like they could bloom or something...and, she said... put a bit of water in the pot.  They probably will.  Well................. today they are looking very green..... I think they may leaf today or tomorrow... how cute will that be?  I have a feeling it might be a Nanking shrub..... they could even flower.....  I'm standing around looking at it a lot now....

hoping...............................

Happy New Year !!

Just popping in to offer my best wishes to you all for a very happy and healthy New Year.

I'm still having fun doing origami ornaments.... it's lovely and relaxing and they are so beautiful.  A friend gave me some especially interesting paper....it's all glittery and quite glam....

Somehow the last 14 were all in pastels..... hmmmm...they could be good for an Easter tree... maybe I should keep some of them out for a few months.


Did anybody save me some lovely gold foil papers? ..... I'm on the lookout....

2015..... ready, set, go!!

'Tis the season to be.... sparkly!!

... and, I've been making more origami ornaments like I do each year since I learned how to make them.  I love doing them and using pretty foil type wrapping papers.  My neighbour gifted me a strip of beautiful, sparkly, almost fabric like paper...wow...it folds wonderfully and looks great!

Yesterday I heard some little noises in the front room and poked my head around the corner to see what it was.....


(click to enlarge them!)

Uh, oh.... sure enough, there were these two on the coffee table... playing with the half done papers ............  Tuffy deciding it must be a party hat .... but, then...  complaining because it was waaaay too big for his little head.

..... then, more muttering....something about,'who the heck was it for anyway'? ....

Frikkles, on the other hand, decided he would claim the one with turquoise and pink papers.... because it matched his big ol' hand made glass bead..... and ...he loves that colour!

I tried to explain to them that they were actually ornaments for the tree .... and, now .....they are lobbying to sit next to them in the tree when I hang them........ hmmmmmmm... trouble comes in all sizes ........

Makin' babies....

... maybe I had some of you there...hahhaha.... don't ya just love deceptive titles?  Sort of a regular on the news and great for selling scandal rags near the checkouts at the grocery store.

I'm making my walnut mice babies...that's what I'm really up to ... for the tree....and to give away.  They are pretty cute and almost everybody wants one for their own tree... why wouldn't they?
                                                                               

Remember last year when I was panicking that I would be buying a Safeway BBQ'd chicken for Christmas dinner ? ...(turned out I didn't have to resort to that, but, it was close) .... because this was where my oven was still sitting on the 21st of December  ..... in the dining room!  Because the cabinet guys couldn't get things right.  Not this year.  All is done ...but, now...I don't have my new dining room table and chairs..oh, well...we still have the old one....and I ain't taking it out til I see the new one in the back of a delivery truck!  which may be first week in January...or not......

-27C...and still digging out...

..one can only toss or carry so many shovelfuls...... yesterday I did another hour and was more or less done in ... today...looks like still close to another hour to get it finished... maybe later...the sun is out even though it is bitterly cold.... usually that is okay ...it feels good on your face .... and I do have a great down coat.... keeps me plenty warm .. and, I bet my arms and shoulders are getting stronger so ..hey... what's another hour? ...

I can do this... poor Mr. BV is working 12 and 13 hour days right now...I hate it when he has to come home and go out in the dark to shovel after days like that... he did an hour too the other day and I called him to get in here for a hot drink... it's a project... can't all be done in a day ...

I'm whittling it down to size ...
But, the pile out front is growing.... I can't toss it much higher... I just have to walk further with the shovel.....

In fun stuff.... I got out my little Christmas ornaments that I love to make each year....

Origami ornaments and my little walnut and hazelnut mice.... I love them both and try to  make several new ones each year..

Remember these?  You can read more about them here if you are interested... I like to have lots on our tree so that folks can take a couple home if they like them...

Okay... that's enough playing for one morning... now it's time to play with some rogue dust bunnies.... and later .. maybe some baking .... it is a beautiful sunny day and most of it should be spent in here .... where the sun  makes it feel lovely.... I'm not so sure on the standing around outside today..... I'll give it a long think................................................................................................................................................

......and decorations on the tree...

I particularly love this little birdie house.. it is made of metal and painted a soft sage green... has rugged old bits of twine holding on some rusty bells...there is a bit of greenery and berries.  Always find a special place for it.



The pile of ornaments grows each year... only by a few though as who needs to buy any more?  But, you know how it goes..sometimes you just see one that wants to go home with you... or a pair perhaps.  Actually I don't have a pear.. maybe some day a partridge in a pear tree might have to come home....                                                                             

Love this plump Santa...with his teddy.  When I bought a few of these..all slightly different...I thought maybe I could make some of my own out of one of the clays..but, so far...nope.  Haven't given one a try.  Maybe after Christmas... for next year...he really is a sweetie.

Our tree is pretty eclectic ...  bits of everything, but still tastefully done, I think.  I saved this tag from years ago... still love it.  Reminds me of the years when I used to have cats...and they would definitely be hanging from our tree or hiding in it ..... kinda miss that....hahahah...and all you cat owners know exactly what I'm talking about!

More of my favourite ornies to make... wish I had some lovely dark green foil ...but, none around this year....

 ..... or, even more of this paler green.... green seems tough to come by...

And...still my fav of all.... a card sent to me by my sis years ago.  I love the depiction of a Victorian Christmas.

having fun making more of these....

Sadly.... only a few at a time...my hand still can't grasp needles or do much precise folding ...before the elbow gives me grief.

Save your pretty foil-y type papers.....even some chocolate wrappers work beautifully.

I can point you in the right direction for folding instructions.... or send you some more detailed pics if I can't find the site... or...we just ask fellow bloggers to help us.  That's how I found a site again last year.

Then, it's just a matter of sticking some points into some other points...ahhahahha...and voila.... a cute little origami type tree ornament.  Attach a gold or silver thread... or ...well, any colour you like, really ...why not?  Make them your own.  Sometimes I like to add a little tiny gold or silver bell....or some beautiful beads ....  my tree is full of these things.   Folks will be able to choose one or a couple to take home with them from the tree.
 Photos in the camera... will upload them tomorrow.... off to physio now...... still at it.   How I wish there was more good stuff happening with this poor old arm.  It is taking sooooo long to notice any appreciable difference...

Recycling the good stuff....

Just a little blurb about yesterday's Christmas card in my tree...well, actually.... the several cards in the tree...every year.  Yesterday's was one from my sister one year ....

I hate to throw away pretty cards... especially those with a bit of bling and also some special meaning. They are perfect for that dark spot...or that wonky spot or ... well, anywhere in the tree actually, where you want a bit of "something" that the balls and other decorations just aren't providing....


This one I just cut around the edge of the gold trimmed centre of a lovely card.... it stays in the Christmas decorations box....been there about 6 years now.... love it...

Store bought cards are horribly expensive and some are perfect for this... and... those beautiful handmade cards? .. well,  they 're just too special to chuck in the garbage.

With some, I save the whole front of a card...some, I just save the middles...or maybe only a particular piece.  Yesterday's ... the whole front...cut with deckle edged scissors...and strategically placed in the tree.. lights shining just so onto it.

You can make labels or tags with the smaller pieces... or use them on your own handmade cards next year... or... well, I am sure you can think up other uses for them as well.  I have a box full of them for when I think of other things to do with them.  It doesn't take up any space at all in my big storage area... just stack it with my other 4 or 5 boxes of things.  The origami papers (oh, yes...don't forget...save all the beautiful foil type wrapping papers too...for those!!  (they only need 3 pieces of 3 X 3 inches each) If you don't want to make any...save it for me! Send me a few bits and pieces in a card envelope.... hey!  I could make you a few and send them back to you next year.... hahahha... oh, yeh...what else?

There is a box of walnut mice....another box of whole cards for making boxes... some boxes of greenery for making some table centres and arrangements.. and,  ... oh, alright, alright....... I admit it.  I have several more boxes ...of all sorts of things for Christmas and other crafts.  Sigh...

Must p.u.r.g.e.  Maybe it's time to give away some of the stuff I just know I'm not going to use anymore.... wish I knew locals who want to do some crafting....

here are the links to last year's card posts...

Better get a move on... today I'm making soup from the tiny chicken carcass... foccaccia bread to go with soup for supper...another 'nog loaf....and oh, ... better do some treadmill.  The Christmas goodies are beginning to show...around my middle.....

.

I'ze bizzy playin' .... and... photo of the week...

I'ze behind a day on Photo of the Week too... and now... I'm supposed to be vacuuming. The dust bunnies are quickly becoming dust buffaloes... (hmmmm....is that right.. ? .. or is it just buffalo ..is it the plural as well. ?..) oh, well..I'll look it up later just for my own edification...because who really cares right? .....anyway....as I was saying when I got sidetracked.... they are getting BIG ! ....

I've begun a little pink girlie..... she is not wool. But... the tufts I pluck with eyebrow tweezers from a chunk of rayon. I like the colour and I like that I can needle in some more loose bits at the end and she looks all fluffy. This is perfect for poodle fur... I've done several stitched poodles from it.. but, it's tricky to felt because the sharp larger needles won't even go into it after two stabs ... they get stuck and if I push hard .. risk breaking them... or stabbing myself a good one because she is sooo tiny. I just use an ancient, almost dull, fine needle instead. It finally gathers ....

It's time to get out the sparkly stuff too. Look what I found right behind the Christmas cards..... hidden...my box of origami ornament supplies. Remember them from last year? I love making them... they all turn out so pretty...and it is just recycled wrapping papers...even doubled up tissue paper... or candy and chocolate papers. I've even used some magazine ads for a couple... good paper and beautiful colours.... that's all it takes. Oh, ...and... trying to figure out how to fold them each year. I can never seem to quite remember it the first time...so now, I leave a couple of pieces just folded in the box.. to remind me.

Add a gold string (thread) ... a few beads... perhaps a little jingly bell on the bottom.. et voila.... beautiful inexpensive ornaments ! Everybody wants one ..... or two, or three...or... perhaps a six pack.

Guess what day it is?

Wednesday already!! Sheeeesh...they blow by so fast! the days that is....... we have had 3 good ones in a row (+20C on Monday!!) I have been getting some exercise.....raking and cleaning out major debris (mostly leaves) from under shrubs and off the lawn. My shoulders know it. I raked up a "Hefty" size bag of cones from one 15 X 15 foot square of lawn; we have no trees.............the neighbour has two huge spruce that are not healthy...ick....they lose piles of needles and cones during the winter. A windy day when it blows from the northwest?.... we get absolutely peppered with them.









So,............ABC day at Mrs. Nesbitt's again ..... and the letter is "O".

These are not new photos...but they are my own from Christmas time. My "O" word is ornament. It could also be origami...because that is what these little beauties are. Made by folding pieces of paper in order to achieve this particular shape.













This is my favourite that I have made so far. Probably because of the colours; love the teals. It is made from foils and the patterned bit is a piece of gorgeous gold and teal doubled up tissue paper. The tissue paper is a bit fragile to use if not doubled or glued to a firmer paper for a backing. It still needs to fold well.. not buckle under pressure, and must hold the shape when folding is complete.










This gives you an idea of the size.










Oh, look... chocolate box wrappers.... all foil-y and shiny and so perfect. You can also use any wrapping papers...a great way to recycle some of the pretty wrapping paper you hate to throw away. If you have origami papers with tiny flowers or patterns on them, they are lovely added to the mix.










I bought my first little origami ornament several years ago. This is it. It includes proper origami papers with pattern of tiny flowers.










Actually, I bought 3 because I didn't know if I would ruin them all trying to figure out how they were constructed. I still have all 3. That number must mean something... because they are made with 3 pieces of 3 inch square paper. I took one apart and it took me 3 days to figure out how to put it back together again. Each year when I try to make another...it takes me 3 tries to get it right. I don't know if I could explain in less than about 33 pictures and plenty of uhm-ing... how to do it. I have searched for a tutorial on it... came up with this. It is not quite the way I do it.... mine is just what I figured out in my own bumbling way and it works for me.










Look at all the beautiful colours I've made... hahah...then I got really silly...and made some half the size ...ohhh, was that fiddly! They can be made into cute little Christmas earrings....!. String a golden thread, add a bead or two and look how beautiful they are. They are such fun to make.

I love bloggers...

See? I asked if somebody had heard of, or seen, my cute little ornies that I have been making. And..... look! A very nice "anonymous" person gave me a clue. I have never heard of Carol Duval, but I googled her and went through several sites until I found a VERY long list of things she has done.... and... finally..... voila! managed to find it. They refer to it as a "beaded origami ornament".
(update) ... the instructions are kind of weird in that at the end of the first line they go to the next line...but go from right to left, and then from left to right on the third line and so on. Strange.

This is a picture of her sample. Now, I have to try one with the proper directions right away! hahaha....... and let me see if I can make it happen.










I have not been folding mine quite the way her instructions show ... ... but I only figured mine out from one I bought .... so I was trying to copy folds, but did somehow manage to make it work in the end. The part at the end of her instructions about sticking it into the other pieces...still is not altogether clear...and that is the tough part for me. Good luck.

And.....I wanna see some samples please!!!