Christmas Decorations 2022

 This year, with both girls in college, I didn't decorate as much for Christmas as I have in the past. That being said, there are things I do enjoy putting up each year. 

One of the things I put on the windows each year is the collection of window stars that I have made throughout the years. These are the stars on the dining room and living room windows. 

 

One of my favorite things is the St. Nicholas Village that I have in the dining room. A couple of the buildings belonged to my parents who had a little village set up in the living room. 

In 2018, we had a fire at our farm. The building where the majority of our bins with Christmas decorations were stored burned to the ground...and with it many of the little buildings that my parents owned. It was very disappointing. However, the following year at Christmas I was thrilled to see that I had transferred a couple of the buildings already to the basement.

So, starting in 2020 I began adding buildings and people to the village. I go to the second-hand store and look for St. Nicholas Christmas Village boxes. This year, I found a ski chalet (far left in the picture below) and a home with Christmas lights (far right in the photo above). 

This year, on September 6th, my step-father-in-law died. Two of the things we inherited were these Santa figurines. I put them on our woodstove (when we don't have fires in it) so we can see them each day.

I put the stockings that I made for each person in our family (on the left) and our dogs (on the right). As I look at the stockings, it seems really bare in comparison to past years when we had many more animals - stockings for 4 family members and 13 pets (4 dogs, 6 cats, 2 horses, and 1 hedgehog). 

Right before Thanksgiving, one of our senior dogs - Scooby - died. He was 15 (almost 16) years old. So, it's hard to see only 3 dog stockings up there.

In the family room, I have a couple of Santas. If I open them up, there are smaller Santas inside them. I don't know where I got there...maybe an antique store?

For our Christmas tree, we were given one which was nice. Normally, we go to a local Christmas tree farm and cut a tree, but it didn't work with both of the girls' schedules when they were home for Thanksgiving. 

So, I put a bunch of lights on the tree (about seven or eight strings of lights) and added a few ornaments. This is one that I got for either Sophia or Olivia when they were younger and received gifts from St. Nicholas on December 6th. 

This is another ornament from Gammelgarden Museum (a historical museum that focuses on the Swedish immigrant experience). I always thought it was a horse. It's not. It's a goat...a Yule goat.

This is one of the ornaments I inherited from my parents when they died. This one features blue jays. There are two other ornaments with birds that are commonly seen here. 

This is one of many ornaments that Sophia, Olivia, and I made when the girls were much younger when I was homeschooling them (in early elementary school age). They were clear ornaments and we put acrylic paint in them that we swirled around. The result was these marbled-looking ornaments. 

In the family room, I have the flag from my dad's burial (he was a Korean War veteran). I put little nativity figurines in front of the flag. My dad, who was a deacon later in his life, would have loved these little figurines.

I have a nativity scene in the living room. Between last year and this year, one of the kings broke (the leg came off). I need to glue on the parts I can, but it won't fix his leg completely. I have had this nativity set since the girls were little - so probably a good 20 years now.

This is the advent wreath that Sophia made last year when we went to St. Croix Falls. There was a church that was offering this free craft using wood from a tree that had fallen down about a month earlier. They provided the (fake) greenery, candles, and decorations. 

Outside, I have lights that are strung on t-posts. For the past couple of years we had smaller lights. However, they were damaged last year by an animal that chewed through the cords - a rabbit...I have no idea. At any rate, it was frustrating to have to toss the lights. I do like these, lights, though. They are colorful and festive, and they are a nice welcome home when I come home in the dark. I also like seeing all the colors reflected on the snow when I wake up in the morning and it is dark outside.

So, that's some of the Christmas decorations around our home this year. Some new...some old...and the majority attached to memories that sustain me throughout the month of December. 

September Scavenger Hunt

On Swap-bot there's a September Scavenger Hunt which I thought sounded fun. There are five items to photograph: Something unexpected, something monochromatic, something battery-powered, something made by a child, and a newspaper headline. Below are the photos I took that show these items.

Something Unexpected

On September 1st, this bald eagle flew right past the pontoon boat I was on. It was amazing to see the eagle in flight so close. No matter how many times I see an eagle, the wingspan still amazes me. It can range from 5.9-7.5 feet.  

Something Monochromatic

In the 4-H Building at the Minnesota State Fair, there was a drawing that was done by a youth in black and white. The pattern as well as the shading gives this image such an intriguing multi-dimensional look. 

Something Battery-Powered

Nothing exciting...just the remote to the t.v. and cable. Living in the country, we need to have cable in order to see the local stations. 

Something Made by a Child

This was a quilt at the Minnesota State Fair in the 4-H building that was done by a youth under the age of 18 years old. 

It caught my eye because the frogs are three-dimensional and are made from fabric.

Even the center of the fabric flowers are somehow folded and attached to the flower petals.

There was another quilt in the Creative Activities building that also had three-dimensional elements to it. It has piqued my interest in wanting to create something like this. 

A Newspaper Headline

At the Minnesota State Fair, there's a newspaper museum in the same building as 4-H. There are many different types of letterpress printing machines there that are operated by volunteers to give visitors a feel of a 1930's newspaper office. It is operated by the Minnesota Newspaper Foundation. 

"The Maynard News" is type set and then printed by volunteers. They also print free items - like bookmarks, posters, postcards, and notepads. 

The Guerilla Art Kit (Book Notes)

I've been interested in the guerilla art movement and came across the book The Guerilla Art Kit - Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out Into the World for Fun, Non-profit, and World Domination" by Keri Smith. 

There are a lot of fun ideas in the book. Below are some of them.

- Make seed bombs - add greenery and life (and also food) to places that are neglected or rundown. There's an artist Masanobu Fukuoka who was referenced. The seed bombs will self-germinate when the right conditions occur. You need 2 parts mixed seeds (native is preferred), 3 parts compost, 5 parts powdered red or brown clay, and water (enough until mixture is damp enough to mold into balls).

   Pinch off a penny-sized piece of the clay mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands until it forms a tight ball. Set the balls on newspaper and allow them to dry for 24-48 hours. Store in a cool place until ready to sow. 

- Chalk Quotes - collect some quotes - the shorter ones work best. Find a good location - in front of the post office, the library, or on a street. Sidewalks use up chalk rather quickly, so bring more than you need. Visit the location at another time and watch people responding to the quotes. 

- Guerilla Gardening - you'll need a towel, seeds, watering container, and soil (optional). Look for sidewalk cracks, empty planters, ditches, ugly green spaces, spaces next to ugly buildings, etc. Add soil if the conditions are less than desirable. Plant and water.

- Public Chalkboard - paint the desired surface with chalkboard paint (either green or black). Leave chalk for people to share their own thoughts. 

- The Unexpected Object - you'll need a jar, found object, paper, and pen. Get a jar and write on the lid, "Pick me up." Put something of interest inside it - a note, a found object, etc. Leave on a park bench. You could also put tags on objects that say, "A Gift for You." Another idea is to leave hand-written or typed notes in the pockets of pans for sale in a store. 

- Moss Graffiti - you'll need 12 oz. of buttermilk, several clumps of garden moss, a plastic container with lid, blender, and paintbrush. This recipe will create several small pieces or one large piece of graffiti. Gather several clumps of moss and crumble them into a blender. Add the buttermilk and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Pour the mixture into a plastic container. Find a suitable damp and shady wall onto which you can apply your moss milkshake. Paint your chosen design onto the wall (either freehand or using a stencil). Return to the area over the following weeks to ensure that the mixture is kept moist. Soon the blended moss will begin to grow into a rooted plan and create the design. 

- Wish Tree - create an envelope or use an existing one. Cut out blank tags from paper or fabric and punch a hole near one end of each tag. Tie 5" pieces of string to the holes. Place tags in envelop. Affix envelope and pen to a tree somewhere nearby. Write some of your own wishes on a few of the tabs and hang them there to encourage others. Instead of tags, use colored ribbons approximately 10 inches long. 

- Origami Additions - choose an origami format (e.g., crane, balloon). Make multiples (30 or more). Find a place, such as a tree, to hang the objects.

Window Star for Olivia's Golden Birthday

Olivia had her golden birthday on the 18th. It's hard to believe she is an adult. I thought I'd make some gold window stars to decorate the windows to celebrate this special day. I've never done a display of all gold stars. It was a nice backdrop to meals and opening presents on her birthday.

I found a new pattern on Pinterest that I tried for one of the window stars: 

For the paper size, I used 3"x5". This is how it turned out: 

I'm happy with it and would make this pattern again. 

More Window Stars for Easter

I made some more window stars since I'm finding I have a bit more time because of the stay-at-home order in Minnesota. It has been fun to try some new patterns that I've pinned on my Pinterest board.

This is a closer look at the left side of the window:

This is a closer look at the right side of the window:

The first window star that I tried was a pin that led to an image.

I used 3"x5" paper because I couldn't figure out the size from just looking at the image. Maybe trying a larger square would create the star - perhaps a 4" or 5" square. My version, in pink, looks different than the yellow star, but that's fine. I'm happy with it.

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Next, I made a purple star from a pin that led to Meinesvenja:

I used 3"x3" square paper for this window star and it came out just as the image above.

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Next, I made a gold star using the pattern below. It came from a pin that led to Origami Maniacs.

This is my version of the window star:

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I found another pattern I liked on Pinterest that led to Origami Maniacs.

It didn't turn out exactly like the instructions. It's kind of difficult without knowing the paper size since even something that's off by 1/4" or 1/2" can substantially change the way the final window star looks. 

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I've had my eye on this pattern for a while because the points are different at the tips than other stars I've made. Since it's Spring and almost Easter, I chose lime-green paper for this 16-point star. The pattern is from Deschdanja.

This is my version:

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Last, I tried this pattern. The pin doesn't lead to an image, so I just followed the directions on the left side of the image. It does not even come close to the image on the right. If I had looked closer at the directions, I would have noticed that before starting.

What's interesting is that when folding the points, they end up much smaller at the center so instead of 8 points, 16 points are needed to make the window star.

Even though the window star didn't come out even close to the image of the red star, it's fine. I still have a pretty star for our Spring/Easter window. 

Two New Window Stars

One of my goals this year is to try two new window star patterns each month. I have quite a few patterns on my Pinterest origami board. The two I picked this month are below.

The first pin is of a yellow window star with the instructions in a different language. (The pin doesn't lead to a website.) I was able to see that the paper is cut to 7.5 cm x 8 cm. At least that gave the size which is important. To make the window star, I just followed the pictures.

I made the window star using blue kite paper, and it turned out like this:

The second pattern I did was of an eight-pointed star that led to Origami Maniacs:

I did the window star in purple and it turned out like this:

It was fun to try some new patterns. What I found out, though, was that my ability to do window stars for any prolonged period of time is no longer possible which essentially ends what I can sell in my Etsy shop.

Even after spinal surgery in October 2019 due to being rear-ended by another driver in November 2018 (it was his fault - he wasn't paying attention), the ability to keep my neck in the position it needs to be still hurts and limits what I can do. At least I can make a couple stars here and there for my family or gifts.