Friday the 13th {postscript} : Winter Holiday Wake-Up Call

Which Martha Stewart are you?

Turn this into your LUCKY day and get a pre-season read on your holiday-preparedness state of mind.

Before the high-octane holidays set in is a great time to find out what you’re up for by taking this 10-question Apartment Therapy quiz. Choose from among five options for each question and jot down your answers on a scrap of paper. It would be great if the quiz calculated for you, but it’s not too taxing to tally how many of each letter (A-B-C-D-or-E) you had to ID your Martha “era.” Whatever you chose the most corresponds to a different era of Martha’s life and career.

I ended up tied between EMPIRE Martha and COOL Martha. That settled, I now know how much I can take on this year. I’m assuming Empire Martha would get others to do the work and Cool Martha would just not worry about any of it, which would suit my husband Chris just fine.

IF my Empire Martha side can influence him and get some help with the decorating, I may try some of the ideas I found this week. So which Martha would I be then? How about RICH Martha?

Which one are you? Tell me in the comments.

Crafty high-5

Just too gorgeous to miss!! Copy one of Michael’s five designs or come up with your own.

I love cranberry decorations at Christmas but never bought a wreath like this because of price. Making it myself would be a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

 

Before you start collecting supplies to make this one, here are nine more ideas from previous years. Choose the one that makes your heart sing.

Yes, I know the headline says 10, but count ‘em yourself if you don’t believe me. These aren’t that Christmasy as is but could be finished a little differently to make them so. I’m partial to the feather wreath, and tipping some feathers with metallic paint would add sparkle. Ditto for the corn-husk and cotton boll wreaths. I also like the pussy willow and eucalyptus wreaths, and red berries would do the trick on them, though it’s a bit late in the season to collect fresh materials.

Important to note that when working with live materials, to make the wreath with fresh-cut materials and let it dry in its finished form, otherwise it will shatter. Pack it with lots of material because they shrink as they dry.

The site says six, but I count five. I guess we need a basic math course for bloggers. I love the twig one pictured, and I think a cute addition to it would be to wrap brightly colored thread, yard or twine in solid patches on the sticks.

If you tanked the Martha quiz and want to skip the crafts, check out this week’s pick of holiday look-book lovelies:

 

How cute is it that it doubles as a cubby for presents? This could either work as an advent calendar, OR tuck in ornaments you love—glittery pinecones and starbursts, berry clusters, mercury glass balls, etc. It’s up to you, and every year you can make it look brand new with supplies on hand, which helps to justify the $59.95 price.

Textured glass spheres (3.25 inches in diameter) with 365 degrees of rippling surface that creates a sense of movement as it reflects light. I love that these come in copper as well as gold and silver. Don’t they look stunning simply gathered in a bowl? They’d also look pretty darn awesome nested in that galvanized bubble wreath! $5.95 each.

3. Marin Winter Birds salad/dessert plates, napkins and mugs from Crate & Barrel

Four sweet designs in each set to doll up your dessert (or salad) service with the beauty of nature in winter. Designed by Chicago artist Jane Dixon, made in Portugal, hand antiqued, microwave/dishwasher safe. I would use these ALL winter, especially the mugs! Sold as sets of four, (one of each design), left to right for $39.95, $19.95, and $39.95.

I’m always a sucker for animals, and I love that these ones have BoHo Home triangles on their foreheads! They’d also look cute year-round hanging off a lamp or bulletin board. Deer, bear and fox are made from wood with burned and painted details, $5.95 each.

Like I said, I’m a pushover for animals. These are embroidered and stuffed, designed by artist Gingiber. Dachusund, terrier and cat sold separately, $7.95 each.

Remember, there’s no shame in buying your bliss. 
It creates jobs and salvages your sanity.
 

Until next week,

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