Ruffle Christmas Tree Skirt {Little Lizard King}

This is just a quick post because I finally got my Christmas tree up and took a picture of the gorgeous ruffled Christmas tree skirt from the pattern that I tested for Little Lizard King

This was honestly one of my favorite patterns EVER to make (but I think I always say that!). It was an fairly easy sew, but I think it would have been difficult to figure out how to do it on my own without the pattern. It was quite time consuming; I think in total it took me about 6 hours, but like I said, it was a fun and easy sew and I was thrilled with the outcome!

I love the idea that I created something that is a reflection of our family... bright, fun, and colorful (and very very busy!!) I love the idea that in creating this tree skirt, I am contributing memories to our family Christmas tradition. It will be something that we will pull out of the boxes with excitement every year; it will be part of the backdrop by which our family celebrates Christmas!

Taking a picture of this was an interesting experiment for me... my house is small and with very little natural light inside, especially in the evening when I took the picture! And the think the picture emphasizes the colorful lights we have on our tree, and while I love looking at them in person, I think they come across as a bit garish in picture. But it is okay, because again, it is a reflection of us... colorful and a bit crazy :)

I think the pattern is being released on her website tomorrow or the next day, so be on the lookout!

Catching Up

Long time no blog! I haven't checked in lately, mostly because life seems to move at the speed of light these days and I just never seem to get a minute to just sit down and blog! And to be honest, November is the worst month of the year for me (closely followed by February, grr, strongly dislike both of those months). I have probably mentioned this before, but a lot of people in my neck of the woods get symptoms of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) myself STRONGLY included, this time of year. It is brought on by the dark and dreary days and just a lack of light which causes depression. So this year, I am letting myself get excited over Christmas early in hopes that having something that I truly love to look forward to will boost me out of the late autumn doldrums. So far, it seems to be working! I am pretty sure that my husband and most of my friends think that I am crazy, but that is okay, because I kinda am :) So what is new? Christmas crafts, that's what! First I pattern tested a ruffled Christmas tree skirt which I absolutely LOVE how it turned out... I have a crappy cellphone picture but I think I will wait to unveil it until it is beautifully wrapped around my Christmas tree. Which by the way, if it was up to me, would already be up! Then today, my friend Amy and I worked some hot glue magic and made a Christmas ball wreath... just one of the many projects I have "pinned" on pinterest. So here it is, in all it's bright and shiny glory.

Our kids helped make these cute little Christmas-y faux gumball machines which was a very inexpensive and fun craft. They are on the second shelf of my latest hutch display.

And the last pic for today is of the same display but a fun technique to capture light starbursts (thanks Addy for your settings!)