Maroon Three and a Starless Tree: Christmas Under Construction

Skirt: Almost Famous, Kohl's

Deer Christmas Necklace

Bow: Target

Bag: Macy's

Top: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Bag: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Dress: Timeless London, Modcloth

Barrettes: Michaels

Joy Soldier Necklace

Tights: Isadora, Zulily

Shoes: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Bag: Macy's; Ring: PinkBopp, Etsy

Sweater: Style & Co., Macy's

Kitsch Kringle Necklace

So here it is, December 10, and I managed to get some decorations up and even decorate myself.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Having a baby makes you use your time wisely.  Well, that and no more sleeping in.  But enough of my mama drama.  I'm here to talk about this trio of maroon Christmas ensembles.  Every year, I challenge myself to come up with new festive fits.  I start with the traditional red and green, then see what I can do with other colors, accessories, and silhouettes to style fun looks.  For these three, I went with hints of Victorian vampire, '50s housewife, and '80s animal print.  In other words, the usual. 

On an unrelated note, last February the husband and I finally tossed our tree.  I still remember that Black Friday sixteen years ago when we bought it at Home Depot.  It was the only one left, a not-very-tall floor sample with a crooked top, but buying it made me feel so grown-up.  This year I ordered a bigger one (also on sale) from Michaels.  I thought that it had only colored lights, but when it arrived I was delighted to discover that it boasts half a dozen settings, including white, blinking white, colors, blinking colors, white and colors, and alternating blinking white and colors.  Needless to say, all those bells (lights?) and whistles made me feel even more grown-up.  And at the same time, also more childlike.  

The older I get, the younger I feel.  Which, Christmas or not, isn't such a bad deal. 😏🎄💖

Tools of the Maid (or Matron): A Lady's Laundry

Cardigan: Merona, Target; Skirt: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's; Bag: Current Mood, Dolls Kill; Belts: Belt is Cool, Amazon

Top: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

When does a fashion fiend not want a belt?  When that belt is actually a belt sander.  Let me explain:

Once upon a time, I read a magazine article about men liking to buy power tools and women liking to buy shoes and feeling vaguely insulted.  I mean, why couldn't a woman wield a drill, or a man work it in wedges?  Or, why couldn't a man or a woman work the drill while wearing the wedges?  It was all so antiquated.  Then the other day, I opened an Amazon box bearing my Chinese Laundry platform peep-toes and another containing some hardware store-looking doohickey for the husband (in my excitement to get to the shoes, I opened his box by mistake).  And I thought, huh, maybe our retail rampages do reveal our gender roles, traditional or otherwise. 

That said, there's nothing wrong with women foaming at the mouth for footwear and men enraptured by everything that comes from Home Depot.  Just as long as everyone's happy and heard.  Also, as long as the men don't cut the women down to size with their hacksaws and the women don't walk all over the men with their stilettos (unless, of course, that's what the men are into).  As for the husband and me, even we can't be pigeonholed by our purchases.  The husband knows his way around an entrée better than I do (except for mac n' cheese; I make a mean mac n' cheese), and I . . . well, I'm good with paperwork.  Which is still supposedly feminine, but oh well.  

Anyway, here are the pumps.  I'm not going to show you the doohickey, because, frankly, who cares?  (Somehow I think that even that drill-wielding woman would eyeball it and shrug.)

Also, here's the box they came in:

I've always loved the Chinese Laundry packaging.  I know it's kind of hard to see, but the elegant eeriness of the face peeking out from the foliage and -- if you look very closely -- shoe-shod feet is what accessory artistry is all about.  If accessory artistry were a thing and if accessories were about weirdness.  But then again, for me, they are.  

Speaking of which, let's take a look at what I've got today, shall we?

Sublime Lime Necklace

Sublime Lime Earrings

I plucked these lime finds from the tree that's my box of finished-but-forgotten projects.  They're the last of my fruit loot for a while, and now that I think of it, not all that weird.  Unless you count the lime in winter thing.  

Which I don't, when it comes to dessert.  Key lime pie over fruitcake?  Um, does a peep-toe trump a power washer?

This lady says yes.

Maybe, some day, I'll make it to that monster truck rally.

Trim the Tree With Tiny Totes

I had so many tiny Christmas totes that I thought, why not hang them on the tree? So I did, not a little haphazardly. Cheerful, huh? That's a brand-spanking new fake, pre-lit tree, by the way. The bf and I had to wrestle two other couples to the ground in the Home Depot parking lot last weekend to get it. Not really. But it was the only one left, and there were two other couples interested in it. It was the opened, sort of busted-up box that clinched it for us, though (thank goodness, as our physical prowess isn't what it used to be). Is it broken? Why did someone return it? wondered the others, hemming and hawing as they accosted various orange-aproned employees to inquire if there were any others in the back room (There were not.). It was in the midst of this melee that we made off with our prize. I'd already decided that I didn't care if the lights didn't work; for $50, we'd throw on a few strands ourselves if we had to.

Thankfully, it didn't come to that.

That last picture features my enchanted tree grove. Yes, that's what I call it, much to the bf's amusement. But what better moniker is there for a forest bedecked in tinsel, Christmas balls, feathers, and sequins, I ask you? My only regret is that I didn't spring for more trees.

I hope all of you are having as much fun decorating as I am.

New and Improved Totes Sport Fresh Coats for Fall

Large Green Goddess Tote

Last summer, when I stopped doing craft shows, I decided that I wanted to put more time into making better stuff. Better as in more interesting, more challenging, and more creative. But also as in improved quality. Not that there's anything wrong with the way I currently do things, or that anything I make is defective (just needed to get that disclaimer out there). Nevertheless, there's always room for improvement.

A few months ago I got curious about acrylic sealer. I've always heat sealed the paint on my totes by ironing the opposite side of the canvas (as directed by the labels on the paint I use). This has always been an effective method of "setting" the paint. Still, I wondered if I could be doing more. So, I bought some sealer (they keep it under lock and key at Michaels) and applied a nice coat to my personal Large Green Goddess Tote. Now, the stuff is highly toxic (not to mention smelly) when it's wet, so I had some reservations, even though I covered my face. But the finish was beautiful. Clear and matte, it lent a truly professional quality to the artwork. Even though the Large Green Goddess Tote isn't a favorite of mine in terms of design, I found myself using it often just so I could ooh and ah over its slick surface.

Even so, I didn't start adding the acrylic sealer step to my bag creating repertoire. I was daunted by the task of sealing dozens of bags at once, and not a little spooked by the toxicity factor. (To reiterate, the sealer is toxic only when I'm spraying it, not once it's dry.) So I temporarily shelved the idea, letting it marinate.

Now I've decided that the time has come to go ahead and do it already. But I plan to seal the bags only as I sell them. This way I'll be spraying only one or two bags every so often instead of a whole bunch at once. This means investing in a more heavy-duty face mask, probably from a place where they mean business, like Home Depot. Adding the sealer also means updating each and every one of my Etsy listings to inform shoppers of the totes' new and improved wonderfulness. People are always asking me about the bags' durability, so I think knowing that I use acrylic sealer in addition to heat sealing will be the answer they're looking for.