*Lyrics from Baby It’s Cold Outside as sung by Doris Day and Bing Crosby. There is nothing more comforting in winter than cozying up to old black and white movies or listening to old black and white songs.

December is a month loaded with obligations, expectations and often times disappointment. The build-up for the single greatest day of the year (be it Christmas or New Year’s Eve) can often leave people feeling like, “Really? That’s it?” I have been known to feel that way a time or two (or a dozen). It’s only natural to sense the anticipation around you, and to feel the optimism creeping in when thinking about the promise of a brand new year. And, having been raised to celebrate the most basic bits from Christmas (all the non-religious stuff) – the tree, the gift giving, the time with family, the sparkly lights, the hand made crafts – this time of year usually holds a special spot in my heart. I have to admit, however, to not really feeling into it this year.

I made plans early in the month to do a crafting day with a dear friend (Abbie, of Dave and Abbie; Dave of Team Carpentry) to try to tackle some of the lovely DIY ornaments and crafts we’d seen on Pinterest. I was hoping it would kick-start my lackluster enthusiasm for the season, and make the mainly mild late November/early December weather feel more like the Christmases I’d known and loved (for all you non-locals, it’s gotten properly cold now). Well, the best laid plans and all that… we ended up sort of starting (assembling materials, and making a plan that included trying to DIY a tree based on this inspiration point) but then decided to chop off 12″ of her hair instead (you read correctly, that’s twelve inches – it’s ok, I’m a licensed hairdresser, so we hadn’t gone completely crazy). So, the crafting was divided up, and I was left in the care of Fa-la-la-la Lifetime and Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas to get me in the mood (good thing Jeff’s been working pretty much non-stop or those cheesy movies would never have made it through the cable box).

Lucky for me my instincts for crafts far outweighed my malaise and bah-humbugery so I was able to complete some lovely things, including two paper trees (double inspired by this post) even if they do evoke a certain Christian point of view on the season (I may have said it before but religion and me, well, we don’t mix, and Jeff is an out and out anti-theist). But, who cares? Stars are pretty, and so are trees. And I like the combination. And trees smell good. And I like the shiny ornaments as they twinkle next to the tiniest fairy lights (white only, of course). And I’m a big fan of anything tiny (I used to make dioramas for fun when I was a kid). And I like glittery things, sparkly things, reflective things. Those things aren’t distinctly any religion – those things are human things, if you ask me.

So, some pictures of what I made. I’m afraid I didn’t get to many process pictures, so the actual steps I took (in case you were hoping for a tutorial) will have to be imagined from the captions. Enjoy! xoxo