Missy Diggs

As we get to this most craftiest time of the year, I am busy making lists of crafts I want to do. Of course, I have to add all these new craft ideas to my list from last year… which was added to the list from the year before that…  It’s turtles all the way down.

My biggest priority this year is to get an advent calendar made for the Vivid Girl before December 1. Here are some of the advent calendars I find inspiring:

magnetic advent calendar from love, joleen

Tiny Christmas Tree Advent Calendar from Scribbit

the classic felt tree Advent Calendar, this one from Kaboose.com

this gorgeous advent calendar from Craftster

the adorable Stocking Advent Calendar from Soule Mama

And there are more. Many, many more. In one dream (the one in which I have a differently-themed Christmas tree in every room of the house, natch) I have advent calendars all over the place. Maybe I can make one a year and soon they will definitely add up.

Last week I went through all our books and picked out the best holiday choices. I put them in a basket and stashed them away. I want to make sure I have 24 good holiday books so I can wrap them, put them in the basket, and use them for an advent calendar like this one:

Charlotte Mason Advent Book Box

Of course, I haven’t even gotten started on the Advent Calendar and I am already looking around at other adorable crafts. The Vivid Girl and I got all stocked up on the stuff to make these cinnamon dough glitter birds from Martha Stewart, but the dough recipe didn’t turn out on our first try (too sticky to work with, then the glue started to dry) and we haven’t had time to try again. Looks like there are some good troubleshooting ideas in the comments.

The next thing I want to work on is a wreath for the front door. After lugging around a box of wreath making supplies for years, but never getting the darn thing made, I realize I need to choose a different kind of wreath to make. Something easy and fast. My favorite is the gumdrop wreath from Kiddley via Martha Stewart, but Mr. B (perhaps wisely) is not too excited about all that candy hanging at the Vivid Girl’s eye level. Still, so pretty!

So now I am all about the button wreath. There are so many different possibilities! And it will allow me to dig into my button stash: about 20 years ago I bought two antique jars full of vintage beads from a junk store in Attica, Indiana, and I have been slowly working my way through them ever since. The Vivid Girl, of course, has gotten her hands on them and she is working through them much more quickly! Which means that to make the wreath I see in my mind, I will probably need more buttons. And this is where I may need help, because I have started bidding on buttons on eBay. Oh yes! Wonderful buttons, in beautiful materials and Christmas colors! I hope I will find the time to work on the projects I have in mind for these buttons, because right now I am very excited about them. But it does often seem that I am very excited when I buy the materials, and then… something happens.

Here are some links for buttony inspiration:

Button Wreath from CraftStylish

Button Flower Wreath from In the Treetop

A Button Wreath Tutorial on flickr

the button wreath ornament

Just popping in to write a quick pre-holiday post.

This Sunday is the 12th Annual Empty Bowl Project. Always the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This year it will be at the Mexican American Cultural Center from 11 to 3. It’s super fun and for a great cause. For $15, you get to choose your own handmade bowl, then take it to volunteers who gently wash it, then you can choose your soup (you get a roll too!) from the tasty offerings of local restaurants. Then you get to sit around at big tables with lots of other local folks, listen to music, eat soup, compare bowls…. yum! When you’re done, wipe out your bowl, wrap it up in newspaper, and take it home. We have a fabulous collection of bowls from past years, and the Vivid Girl was even featured in a TV news story about the event when she was a toddler.

The Chuy’s Children Giving to Children Parade is the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving. The parade starts at 11 and lasts about an hour, but you’ve gotta get there early to get a good spot along the route. It’s a pretty good parade, with the big floaty character balloons, dressed-up ponies, and tumblers galore. Local bands perform Christmas songs on floats. So fun! At a certain time, the whole parade stops and volunteers collect new or gently used toys from the kids. These will be used by Blue Santa to provide Christmas gifts to children who otherwise might not get any.

And don’t forget the KUT John Aielli Christmas sing along and tree lighting ceremony on the South Steps of the Texas State Capitol Building, Saturday December 6, starting at 6 pm. This has become a huge Austin event and is fun fun fun. This year the Austin Farmers’ Market will even be setting up across the street starting at 5:30.

Finally, the Zilker Park Trail of Lights will be open from December 15 to December 23. We love to take the bus from Waterloo Park and walk the trail, ending up under the Zilker Christmas tree where we spin and spin and then buy huge bags of the best kettle corn on Earth.

These are the holiday traditions where our family gets to really feel like a part of the city we live in, and we love them and look forward to them all year. I like having them spaced
a bit so we can take things at our own pace and enjoy cozy nights at home as well as big boisterous community festivals like these. As we tumble along into the holiday season this year I find myself feeling incredibly grateful for all the communities that have so lovingly supported my family, as well as for the fact that I feel good enough to get out there and really celebrate again!