Let's start with the cards so those of you who have no interest in my babbling, bumbling life will get what you came for and not feel like I've done an ol' bait and switch.
I need a bunch of birthday cards, and out came Ombre Builders to give me two pretty, pink cards...one for a girl with a curvy personality and one for a girl who's square.
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I like how this raised panel looks a bit
like a whimsically decorated cake layer. |
These types of cards, with lots of white, splashes of happy color, and graphic style, make me bounce in my chair and clap my hands like a kid getting ice cream
with sprinkles on top.
It's too cold in Ohio for ice cream right now.
Note that the curvy card gets a curvy sentiment, and the square card gets a square, sans serif sentiment. That's key. Also note that, on the second card, the word Birthday is on a line with the next-to-bottom square. That subtle alignment unifies the card subtly.
But there's nothing subtle about the hot pink and bright green. Reminds me of a wrap-around skirt my mom made me around 1978-79. Pink and green print with frogs on it. So very preppy. Yes, I wore the skirt with a white Izod shirt and carried a Bermuda bag with matching cover.
Ah, to be young and stylish!
Anyway, let's get to Treezilla before I go winging off to Never-Never Land. If you read
my latest post on the other blog, you'll know I'm in a verrrry weird mood this Advent season.
We have a tradition of going to Big Tree Plantation to cut our own Christmas trees. We didn't go last year because we spent Christmas in Omaha with hubby's family. Clearly, missing a year has turned us into idiots because we saw this tree (pictured with my cute and cold 14-year-old) and thought it would fit in our living room.
Seriously, it looked large but not ridiculously so.
Here's a gratuitous picture of my 17-year-old hipster son and six-year-old furry golden sunshine.
Aren't all three just the cutest?
Anyway, we cut down the tree (and by
we I mean my husband and elder son), and the nice folks at Big Tree shook out the old needles, trimmed the bottom branches, wrapped the tree in twine for easier handling, and tied it to the roof of our car. It was a lovely experience, full of festive laughter and joy.
Then, we got home.
"Man, the tree is really heavy," said my husband.
"Really, it's way heavier than I remember previous trees. I'm not kidding," he insisted.
"It's giving me a hernia!" he continued.
"It's too heavy for the tree stand. It'll tip for sure," he worried.
"Let me go buy a bigger stand before we take it inside," I replied.
"Okay, that's a good idea," he agreed.
Forty minutes later, the two big guys carried the tree inside, we got it in the stand, cut the twine off, and out springs...
TREEZILLA!!!!!
Y'all, I laughed hysterically for about ten minutes. Hubs thought I'd never stop. This thing is ridiculously rotund. No wonder it was so heavy. We did have to trim the top a bit to fit our nine-foot ceiling, and the trunk is a bit crooked. But dang. Our furniture is all out of whack, and we'll need to take it out of the house in pieces, but what an awesomely great--and stupid--thing we did.
Here's the tree in its decorated glory.
Decorating this behemoth was intimidating, prickly...and exhausting, which is why I didn't post anything last night.
We will NEVER forget this tree. It's epic.
I love Christmas.
Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Ombre Builders, Birthday Basics (second card sentiment), Gina K (first card sentiment)
ink: I can't remember
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: craft foam, glue
