Tag : Holidays

71 posts

Happy Syttende Mai!

That’s Norwegian for Happy Seventeenth of May which is Norway’s Constitution Day.  Even though I’m an American, I’m a 100% Norwegian American and do celebrate with my Norwegian friends and family.

Happy Syttende Mai

I have a traditional Bunad such as the one on this cup….although it no longer fits me. It was definitely from the pre-childbirth days.

I still fit into these sølje though. *grin*

spoons

spoons

Sølje, which translates roughly to spoons, are traditional brooches women wore at the collar of their white bunad shirt. Mine are shamefully tarnished.

I even bought a bunad for mini-me when she was about 2. She was very unhappy with me when I put it on her to get a photo before she outgrew it.

Bunad_9-1-05 002

Oh how the time has gone!! Speaking of which… J got his drivers licence yesterday!  Wowsers!!

Errands are on my list today and a couple projects that are works in progress.

What are you doing today?

On Wednesday I was on a mission to get all of my errands complete before the snow then wicked cold snap was to hit. I went 11 places in just under 4 hours. Shockingly I didn’t spend a bunch of money either. I was hitting all the loss leader deals at various stores while still getting the essentials to last into next week. I wasn’t even planning on going to Michael’s but since I was just down the street from it I decided to check out the 80% off all Christmas deals.  I picked up the needed supplies to make a couple of wreaths.

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

Since we are putting away all of our Christmas decor today, it was now or never next year for wreath making. So I gathered my supplies and set to work.

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

I also had to find a video tutorial on the process of creating a deco mesh wreath.

This one worked for me.

What I didn’t comprehend was just how huge this was going to be!

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

It became painfully obvious that the scale of the elements I had purchased would be completely wrong.

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

I added some ribbon…and what appears to be a nice bow in the photo. Nope…just shoved the rest of the ribbon in there for storage until I can find someone to help me with the bow. Did I mention how much I suck at making bows!?! I called my crafty neighbor for help and evidently she lacks that skill as well. I’m thinking with the addition of a proper bow and perhaps some plastic Christmas balls this would work for an outdoor wreath.

Next I set to work on a winter themed wreath. Something to take you through until Easter.

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

Did you notice the price sticker on the deco mesh…? Goodwill $2.99 and I used a 25% off coupon so it was really $2.24, sweet! The wreath base was purchased previously when I made my burlap wreath. I started out and realized that the green wire base was showing through in a very unflattering way. First I doubled the number of pipe cleaners on the base but the green still showed through. It needed to be white.

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

Lucky for me, the temps were hovering around freezing yesterday so I was able to give the base a quick shot of paint in the garage.  Honestly, I’m surprised at how quickly it dried. I was really worried since the can said not to use below 55°F.

Isn’t it pretty!?!

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

I was making it for a gift but it looks so good on my front door that I think I’m keeping it. Shhh…

Deco mesh wreaths | Halle's Hobbies

I love the iridescent shimmer in the mesh. Perfect match to a cold winter day.

Do you decorate for “winter” to carry through until St. Patrick’s Day or perhaps Easter?

As I started thinking ahead towards the new year and all it has yet to bring,  I decided it was time for a bit of reflection before letting go of 2015. Briefly my thought was, “Not much happened this year” and then the memories started to filter through.

This year, collectively, our family has had the following…in no particular order:

knee surgery

small kitchen fire

resort vacation

night classes

new driver

honor choir audition

wacky injuries including a 911 call

volleyball camp

computer programing

pneumonia

new (to us) vehicles

job interviews

neighborhood campfires

published article

mother/daughter retreat

choir concerts

deans list

student council

phase 2 braces

and a new teenager(just yesterday)

Whew! That’s quite a list even without the minutia of everyday life and events I’ve likely forgotten or perhaps blocked out. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

So how did I do with my word of the year?

FOCUS | Halle's Hobbies

Not so great, honestly.  I can’t say I entirely failed on my word. I did focus on my family when issues arose throughout the year. I had the intention of focus on myself and what I needed and wanted out of life with this word. But really when I think about it, focus on my family is the reason I am still a stay-at-home mom the majority of the time. I was gifted with a wonderful life and family. One that appreciates the gift it is that I am home most days to take care of the little things. Perhaps my thoughts on my success with focus were a little flawed, My focus was just where it was meant to be last year.

Happy New Year! Be safe.

 

Welcome to the very last T stands for Tuesday of 2015.

T Tuesday : Christmas wrap(up) edition | Halle's Hobbies

We had a lovely Christmas with family. We had my mom over for a big meal at noon. Then I started cooking again for brunch the next day. Getting everything prepped so I’d have an easy morning. We played a board game then watched Home Alone. By that time, I was so exhausted that I told everyone that they had to go to bed otherwise Santa was skipping our house.  ;)

Christmas morning brunch with Mr. G’s side of the family was great…all the hard work the previous day payed off.

I have to show you the gift Mini-me put together for her brother…

T Tuesday : Christmas wrap(up) edition | Halle's Hobbies

She bought him a gift card but wanted a clever way to give it. She used a photo from Pinterest as inspiration. She thought a Mountain Dew reindeer was needed as well.

T Tuesday : Christmas wrap(up) edition | Halle's Hobbies

So darn cute. There is a kit-kat bar under the gift card. Good thing Santa put new toothbrushes in their stockings!!

T Tuesday : Christmas wrap(up) edition | Halle's Hobbies

Big J bought his sister this cute mug and a Minnesota Vikings T shirt. Skol Vikings!

I did make one additional Christmas card this past week.

Christmas card | Halle's Hobbies

I tried out my new water color brush marker to give some dimension.

Today we’ll be shoveling snow and baking a cake for Mini-me’s birthday tomorrow. 13…I can hardly believe it! Now I’ll have two teenagers in the house.

I am also giving some thought to my 2016 word of the year as well as reflecting on 2015.

What are you doing today?

T Tuesday: Christmas rhyme edition | Halle's Hobbies

T’was the Tuesday before Christmas and the day before break,

my mind was a whirl with all I’ve yet to make.

 

The presents are wrapped, all tied up in bows,

 the cookies are baked, but calories? Who knows

 

The tree lights are twinkling and sweet treats abound,

it really makes more sense when there’s snow on the ground.

 

So I looked out the window, and what did I see?

A dusting of snow! I squealed with glee.

 

So funny how quickly my mood turned bright,

and all it took was a light coat of white.

 

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends,

I bid you adieu as my rhyme has reached it’s end.

Merry Christmas from Halle's Hobbies

 

 

I’m not exactly sure why but I’m having a really hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. It could be that our Minnesota winter has yet to arrive. We’ve had temps well above freezing and even a thunder storm on Monday. Super strange.

Bah Humbug | Halle's Hobbies

Last night and this morning we finally had a little bit of snow…very little. When I stepped outside this morning my first thought was “great…now it’s too cold to snow.”  If your not from around this neck of the woods that last statement doesn’t make a bit of sense. Too cold to snow!! Why yes, yes that is a thing that happens. I was right…the flurries didn’t start until it actually warmed up a little bit and didn’t last anytime at all. I’m pretty sure we will not be having a white Christmas.

Since I’m feeling all Bah Humbug I thought it was a good time to share some postcards I made ages ago for a swap. I wish I had taken better or more high quality scans of these so long ago before passing them along.

Bah Humbug | Halle's Hobbies

Bah Humbug | Halle's Hobbies

Bah Humbug | Halle's Hobbies

Bah Humbug | Halle's Hobbies

These were really fun. Perhaps this will get my snarky muse into gear as long as my regular one is either pouting under the Christmas tree or hibernating.

**** Merry Christmas ****

in case I don’t get another post up before then!!

A good friend of mine commissioned me to make a wreath as a Christmas gift.

wire wreath | Halle's Hobbies

I think it turned out quite nice.

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