Party Hats and Jingle Bells

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

this chick a-crafting

Today I'm joining in the birthday celebration of Rebecca of A RE-Purposed Life. She's throwing herself a big ol' party and since my middle name is "Party"...you know I gotta be there for the fun and the cake. Have I told y'all I love birthday cake? Yeah...so much so I'll go buy one when it isn't even a b-day...just 'cause I can! The girl at the bakery and I are on a first name basis...I call her Honey and she writes my name on top without asking...but I digress!

R.E. has put together this great party with only a couple of rules like showing something we've made as a gift. Um...O--K...let me think! Christmas is a time for miracles...so-o-o...maybe I can make something. I do believe...I do believe...I do believe!

Is it just me or is there something about Christmas time that makes all women just a little nuts...starting just around Thanksgiving and ending December 24? Suddenly for about a month, we all have this overpowering urge to create...even those of us who are scissored challenged!

Now I'm not talking about those of y'all who actually do this all year long. Oh no...I take my hat off to y'all. That's art and y'all are well prepared. No, I'm talking about the crazy ladies like me who suddenly think they can take an empty toilet paper cone and crepe paper and create a masterpiece.

I compare it to the same feeling we get when we decide to have a baby. Nothing or no one better get in our way...there are primal urges at work here and I pity the fool that tries to stop us.

In a flurry of excitement, we go digging in boxes looking for things to put together that will thrill the beholder. Not content to go to the store and buy something...after all that defeats the whole purpose of "home made"...we scrounge up coffee cans, tissue paper, broken jewelry, and bits and baubles to satisfy this longing that just won't go away.

Our families try to dissuade us, having seen some of our works of art in years past, but to no avail....our mantra being "Give me back my glue gun or I'm gonna hurt you"!

We scour magazines and surf the web like the Big Kahuna, seeking inspiration, (Ok,I'll be honest. I'm looking for ideas to steal...I mean borrow. Don't hate me...it's not my fault...blame my hormones!) until we find the one we think we can master. AH-H-H...then the fun really begins.

Hunched over a card table, (that has one leg shorter than the other, resulting in a wobble-while-we-work effect) glass of wine (more like a bottle) close at hand, we toil harder than any of the elves at the North Pole. Snow and glitter flying, we feverishly glue, paint, tear, snip and cuss (more than just a little), all the while praying it will hold together!

No room in the house is safe. We've scattered crafting crap from the living room to the kitchen. Forget home cooked meals...the stove is buried in melting wax...the table by a sewing machine (that had to be dusted before being used) and scraps of burlap. We are on a mission and buddy boy...you are on your own!

'Cause don't forget that in the middle of all this chaos we also must decorate the house for Christmas, make cookies, buy and wrap presents, prepare for Christmas dinner, make countless runs to Hobby Lobby for supplies, and still find time to brush our hair...maybe! Let's also not forget the round of parties, Christmas plays, and open houses we must attend as well.

Now you tell me...this has got to be a hormonal thing 'cause who in their right mind does all this and why is it only at Christmas time?

But do it we must. So armed with our baby food jars, mica flakes, and old greeting cards, we continue relentlessly on our quest to make. A quest that is as old as paper and countless women before us have quested.

If we don't get distracted and if we only take on one project, we will reach the top of the mountain. Sadly...so sadly...one idea, like Lay's potato chips, is never enough. Oh no...those darn ol' hormones push us to have six going at the same time 'cause nothing says love like home made...right?

Finally, after much blood, sweat and tears and band aids, we reach the end of our journey. Our entirely, hand-made Nativity scene is complete and it only took 24 days and $275 to make.

Fighting the urge to strap it on the hood of the car and drive around the neighborhood for all to see, we carefully place it under the tree and run to get a camera to capture the moment...turning only to see the cat proceed to sit on the Three Wise Men!

So Rebecca, I had planned on showing you a lovely hand-made gift...but the dog ate my home-made work!

Instead, I'm making fun of myself, making a little merry merry, and making the best of the time left until Christmas Day.

I'm wishing you the happiest of birthdays and hoping I also made you smile...out loud!

These mem-OH-ries

For-ever young

Three generations

Two naughty lists

AND A HAPPY BIRTHDAY R.E.!