Holiday - grace grits and gardening

Those Barbie Dream House Years

December 19, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Vintage Barbie Dream House - Christmas Memories

Those Barbie Dream House years were melt-in-your-mouth easy. Santa didn’t have to spend one moment pondering what to get my sister and me for Christmas. As long as he dropped Barbie and a few of her latest accouterments down our chimney—a shimmery ball gown, a groovy convertible or a hip Malibu Ken to ride along on her adventures—we were set for the year, and Santa was free to fly to someone else’s rooftop.

A few days after Christmas when Momma began to count the seconds until school started back, we loaded up our new Barbie things and headed over to Little River to visit our cousin Lesa and her new Christmas Barbies.

Yes, our Barbies were cousins too…

For hours we played in the living room around Lesa’s Christmas tree while Momma and Aunt Lavern camped out in the kitchen guzzling Folgers and inhaling banana pudding or whatever pie still sat on the countertop after all the Johnsons had feasted. (Aunt Lavern made the BEST banana pudding, the best everything for that matter…)Do you girls want some pie? Aunt Lavern called out.

No, we’re too busy, Barbie’s getting married!

December was always the month for Barbie weddings (mainly because Lesa hadn’t yet chopped off all her new Barbie’s hair…)

As Barbie walked down the aisle with a Ken she barely knew, Momma and Aunt Lavern lamented the details of their next diet which would start January 2, right after black-eyed pea and cornbread day.January was always the month for dieting.

6 more sleeps…

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Fred Astaire

Vintage Book Christmas Tree Craft Project

December 13, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

I made Christmas trees using pages from a vintage children’s book.

(Consider this a great way to recycle damaged books that would otherwise end up in a crowded landfill. The old Dick and Jane book I used had torn and missing pages and was of no value to a reader.)

For my example, I made tree ornaments and paper bunting, but these trees can be used in a variety of creative ways such as holiday cards, bookmarks or as scrapbook embellishments.

To begin, start with a half circle. (Any size will work, but the size will determine your tree.)

To make my half circle, I placed the center of a bowl on the middle edge of a page and outlined around the top of the bowl. If you aren’t a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of crafter (like I am), you can use a template. But, it doesn’t have to be perfect…

Vintage Book Christmas Tree Craft Project

After you cut out your half circle, fold the right side over almost to the center of the page, placing the edge a tiny bit above the paper.

Fold the corner back. This point will be the top of your tree.

Flip over the paper.

Fold the top right side down (almost to the edge but not quite) to make a triangle.

Flip it back over again and voila! A Christmas tree.

cute already!

Seriously, you can make dozens in no time…

Now for the best part!

Decorate your trees with supplies on hand—buttons, rick rack, glitter, ribbon, stamps, jingle bells, etc.

Hot glue tree trunks to the bottom using card stock or scrapbook paper.

For Christmas ornaments, hole punch the top and string a loop of ribbon to make a tree hanger.

vintage red buttons

vintage green rick rack and a jingle bell

I made bunting by stringing four trees together, stamping the word “Snow” and adding red glitter to the boughs.

red glitter, contrasting tree trunks, “Snow” bunting…

This project works well with scrapbook paper or sheet music as well. Just remember, both sides of the page show, so use paper with complementary front and back colors.

Whatdya think?

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

a Christmas memory: buying the tree…

December 12, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner

Keiser Supply Company, our small town hardware store, received its shipment of Christmas trees in early December. We weren’t allowed to buy one until Momma could borrow Daddy’s truck to bring it home. And since Daddy worked AllTheTime, it was almost Christmas before we finally drove into town for our tree.

Way in the back warehouse where it was chilly, fresh Scotch pines propped against the wall. Momma held tree after tree upright so we could see from every angle.

Momma said until the tree “fell” it was impossible to really know what it would look like.

I didn’t know what she meant.

I thought they were all beautiful.

My sister and I circled through the Christmas forest inhaling fresh, fragrant evergreen until we became so cold, we agreed on a tree.

Mr. Cunningham tied our perfect specimen to the truck bed so it wouldn’t flip out into a field on the way home.

“Momma, should I ride back there with it?” I stared at the tree, worried it would get smashed by Daddy’s tools.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll freeze to death.”

She wouldn’t let me.