I dream of a village in candy colors, Inspired by Dr. Seuss & Cindy Lou Who.

Wanting something that could hang high in a room like a model train might encircle a child's bedroom. At my local craft store I found some cool wood shelves that I flipped upside down and painted with Martha Stewart's Chalkboard paint. Then I used the 3 Melissa Francis Ornament House designs and painted them with the same blue, as well as bubblegum & party streamer two bright cheery pinks in slightly different tones (love these colors!). Per suggestion from the awesome ladies at Impress, I used a hot glue gun to construct the houses (hot gluing is a skill unto itself). I'm tickled pink with the way these turned out using only paint and hot glue!

I'm probably going to glitter them up, but that might not be this year. See, I've finally realized that its not worth trying to complete an entire village, set, etc by Christmas because of the insanity, stress and anger (when you keep working & make a mistake when you should have previously stopped) such a project timeline yields. Often ideas take time to percolate. I'm often inspired when I have tons if other commitments or *just* before the holiday. I like to allow time with my art before I add more. I'm a bit of a minimalist and don't want to waste anything by making a mistake. So I'd rather live with a simpler result than screw it up. So I decided to only paint the shelves & houses this year and enjoy them. Then I can make it a tradition to create something for my village each year. The fun goes on and on! Besides, this is a way I can continue the tradition my mom started of gifting us a symbolic ornament each year to mark our annual accomplishments and create our own set of ornaments to decorate our tree when we had our own home. I always loved seeing what she would come up with.

Mom also had this amazing Christmas village that we got out each year. My bro & I loved to set it up - ceramic houses Grandpa painted while in the hospital, wooden houses our other Grandpa made & painted (Mom said he'd even make his own stain by digging a little tar out of the street - crafty guy!) and many other wonderful pieces like the mirror pond complete with skaters. It wa a wonderful place to get lost in. My bro & I dreamed of all the activities in which the townspeople partook. We each had our own set of stories. Sometimes they intertwined, sometimes they clashed and we fought over where the train or snowman (who always fell over, mind) was "supposed" to be. Heh. Pretty cool that mom let our sticky, clumsy fingers play with her delicate village. Many wonderful memories with Mannheim Steamroller as the soundtrack.

So here's to allowing yourself a new tradition and continuing the Christmas fun beyond Christmas Day. Use the quiet time between that and New Years to work on that fun holiday decorating project you so wanted to have and enjoy it if only for a week or so. It's worth it. I feel so happy & at peace working now that I've given gifts and everyone is happy. Maybe you will too!

I had the good fortune to be invited to a quaint gathering at a local city staple, Mad Hat Tea. It was fun, filled with interesting conversations (oh what fun to participate & be a fly on the wall), and at least 5 different kinds of Mad Hat custom Tea blends. Try the creamsicle, you'll be surprised by how tasty it is! I'm a traditionalist, not one for flavored tea or coffee, but this is serious yum! Lightly sweet, smooth, and oh so nom.

So to thank the owners, Maureen & Tobin, I sketched a wild tea party inspired by their Holiday Affair & the delightful Ed Wynn as Disney's animated Mad Hatter. You like? It's Made with Paper