Deck The Halls: Mistletoe Ornament

I think hanging up mistletoe is super cute. Excuses for more kisses are never a bad idea in my book! But why is it so hard to find fresh mistletoe? I tried to find some a couple years ago to bring to a Christmas party, and I went to a bunch of Christmas tree stands 'cause I figured they would have it and grocery stores with floral departments, but no one did. Finally, this year I got some at Molbaks, but I think you can probably find it at florist shops as well. Since finding it was so hard, I didn't want to be boring and just hang it right up with the tacky plastic ribbon it came with, so I came up with this: Terrarium Style Clear Glass Ornament with Mistletoe! It's a great project if you're throwing a holiday party this year. Just make sure to serve some spiked punch or eggnog, and things could get really wild.

Materials:

large clear glass ornament*

ribbon

fresh mistletoe

string

*Clear glass ornaments can be found at craft stores in a variety of sizes. You want the extra large size for this project, mine are about 4 or 5 inches. I don't recommend smaller because the opening will be too small to fit your mistletoe without ruining it.

Process:

Remove the metal cap and hook from your clear ornament. This should come out easily. Cut several pieces of mistletoe, of varying lengths but all shorter than your ornament. I like to do one that will almost touch the bottom and a bunch about half that length. It fills the ornament best that way. Tie pieces of string to each stem of mistletoe and carefully insert them one by one into the clear ball. Your mistletoe stems need to be pretty narrow, unfortunately, to get them through the opening without damage. Adjust the strings so it all hangs nicely and tie together as one bundle. Now, tie the strings as closely as possible to the metal cap and replace the cap (squeeze the wires together to get them inside the opening). Add a nice ribbon to hang it from and a pretty bow and you're done! Now find a high traffic place to hang it for maximum smooching opportunities. Pucker up!

bookstore bookclub booktime

Today seemed like a good day to head home and work on some projects at the 'rents. I'm redoing a chair for my new room (one of my roomies moved out and I decided to take her old space) and my mom and I wanted to put up the tree together. I'll post some pictures soon.

On my way home I stopped at one of my favorite places in the whole world, Duvall Books. It is the most beautiful, lovely, and perfect place I've ever seen. Bookstores are my weakness and I think that can be traced back to the wonderful worlds this place showed me as a child. The shop is jam packed with books and curios and old photos. Just, you know, all my favorite things ever. It's a place everyone knows my name and I never fail to leave with a treasure or two. 

This time I bought The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Anna Karenina. The former has been on my to-read list and the latter is for The Clothes Horse bookclub. I'm so excited to have new stuff to read and a bookclub is just what I need. I was in a great mother-daughter club back when I was a kid and used to sit in on my mom's bookclub too. But since I've grown up, all my bookclubs have been with cute boys and there were . . . distractions. And then, in all cases, the relationship fizzled by the second book. A nice online club hosted by one of my favorite bloggers seems like a brilliant idea!

cozy cowl

dress - target, cardigan - thrifted, wool tights - mp, boots - thrifted

I'm trying to post a little more often and more immediately. This is actually what I wore today (well, yesterday technically). I love this dress!

Work has been insane lately, with the holidays coming up and all. Today we had a really sketch looking dude in the store, testing pens and leaving creepy little skull drawings all over the place. He had face tattoos and seemed really suspicious so we were watching him really closely which always makes me so anxious. There was also a guy who must have had jaundice or something because his face was totally yellow. And a couple really needy customers. Bleh. Just glad to have two days off for Thanksgiving! I'll be posting a last minute Thanksgiving craft this afternoon, so check back for that!

spotty dots

 
sheer polka dot chiffon blouse - target, wool skirt - target, sheer polka dot stockings - target, oxfords - aldo, amethyst crystal necklace - diy, glasses - joseph marc

I am just loving polka dots lately. Big ones, small ones, even or random, they all look good to me. This blouse combines several things I love: polka dots, blush/nude pink, and sheer chiffon. I also love the way the soft chiffon contrasts the darker wool, in both texture and tone. It also rather delightfully reminds me of the work of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Her dedication to a single, playful form has always intrigued me and I love how she plays off of a very defined style. 

Source: vogue.it via Rachel on Pinterest

"...a polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement... Polka dots are a way to infinity." -Yayoi Kusama

some of my favorite things this week

Source: republicofyou.com.au via Rachel on Pinterest

My new hero is an 8 year old from Omaha who dresses up as a different inspirational woman every school day.

This should be creepy, but somehow it's not: Ask A Mortician

Kaylah over at The Dainty Squid has an excellent post about pressing plants. It makes me want to pull out the beautiful wood flower press my stepdad made and his sister painted for me. I think I got it for my sixth birthday.

I made this butternut squash and chicken stew for a roomie dinner last week and it was a hit.

My dear friend Aly has a pretty great blog about her experience teaching English in Korea.

I happen to like my polka dot tights enough to own several permanent pairs, but this tutorial for temporary dots would be fun for some of the colored tights I own. Better pick up a chalk marker from work!

of monsters and men - - - mountain sound

we will miss you "sew" much

This is a little card I made for a coworker of mine who retired. I used Crate Paper Acorn Avenue and On Trend for the paper, cut in strips and mounted on a kraft paper card. I also used a white pen to add stitching lines around the perimeter and made a little double point pennant for the sentiment. We really like puns at my store and since this gal worked in the fabric department, I had to say "sew" much. The green letters are done with Amy Tangerine Thickers and the rest I think were from Cosmo Cricket, the Tiny Type letters. I think I like this card so much because I think it was really perfect for her. Not only did she work in the fabric department, she also makes these beautiful scarves out of recycled saris. The paper patterns reminded me of fabrics that might be used in a sari and therefore in her scarves.