Christmas Ornament Decoupage

Dare I say the word? Tutorial.
There. I did.

I dedicate this crafty post to my lovely friend Kirsty from you had me at bonjour. I have not a single crafty bone in my body so when you see these découpage angels and ornaments you should believe that you could do it too.

The Littlest did it nearly all on his own. And look how pretty they turned out.

my angels; Ma Fille, Littlest & Middlest

I've wanted to try my hand at découpage since seeing all the choices of form and paper at the garden store.

Garden stores in France are like mini-Michael's. They have much, much more than plants and soil. You can find cute home stuff, gift items, animal supplies, birds, fish and fun craft project ideas.

I found these angels in a pack of three; one for each of mine. I bought a selection of red and gold toned papers made specially for decoupaging...this is my way of Englishafying a French word and I do it all the time....and the special découpage glue that goes on white but dries shiny and clear.

Here's to the tutorial piece. Don't freak out, I know it's not like me to get all detailed and organized on you and it's quite beyond my capability to do so so don't expect much.

Materials:

cardboard or wood form for covering (angels, stars, baubles, reindeer, penguins)

multiple sheets of découpage paper--try to pick some across the color wheel and in different patterns so it's not too matchy

special découpage glue; I used the 'Decopatch' brand seen here:

 

small and medium sized brushes, one is specifically for découpage and the other is just a watercolor brush

First, you tear your paper into strips and pieces. The size of the pieces depends on what you're covering but as you're probably not doing an end table you can go pretty small. The kids loved this part as much as the gluing.

torn paper, glue and wooden forms

It's simply a matter of gluing the small pieces of paper onto the form with a brush. You can even use your fingers as Mom did when working on the edges.You lay one piece on, glue it down and then add another, layering until you've completely covered the brown paper or wood form. 

It is such peaceful work. I don't know if I'm going loo-la or what but it makes me feel all zen. 

And it comes out so incredibly pretty and varied. Just like something I'd spend good money on at the home stuff section of the garden store.

We made the angels for our tree and there they proudly hang. 

It turned out so well that I had to do more. 

I thought it would be cute to make ornament invitations for Ma Fille's Fete de Noel so we did that today. We chose balls and stars and this time they were wooden rather than cardboard like the angels. This is probably way too OTT for the French but I couldn't help myself. I want her to have a special party.

Here's us working on the invitation ornaments:

bauble

star

And here they are all ready for the envelopes.

aren't they so pretty?

 As to that end table.....I'm thinking of trying it. We have an old one that's knocking around that would look trés chic covered in cream and turquoise paper and shiny glue.

Cheers Kirsty!

Memorials

This morning around 11 o'clock we heard drums. It was a beautiful, sunny, fresh morning so we had the terrace doors flung wide to bring it inside. We heard the drums and then the horns, followed closely by singing. Mom said, 'What in the world is that?, surprised by the sudden burst of music from our normally quiet residential street.

What it was was one of the beauties of France. There is a stone pillar in the center of the parking lot across the street. It is etched with just a few words, 'Place des Combattants en Afrique du Nord" and today a small group of well-dressed, patriotic French honored them by gathering to sing La Marseillaise and placing flowers in front of the pillar. If you know of any special meaning behind 5 December and the French in North Africa please let me know. I searched but found nothing specific to that day in history.

I do know that there are stone and marble memorials to fallen soldiers in parking lots just like the one near my house all over France. There is one next door to Les Canadiennes for those who fought and died in Vietnam. I also know that each monument has its day of tribute through song and flowers. It is this that makes them special although they sit,  year-round amid the coming and going of petanque players, market goers and dog walkers.

It is marvelous to sit in your living room on any given day and hear the French national anthem drifting through the windows, knowing they are honoring their fallen soldiers in that moment even if no one really notices besides the handful of scented, coiffed and scarved elderly men and women standing around singing for the dead.

Turkey Trot-toir

This year, thanks to a Texas friend, I decided we should add 'turkey trot' to our list of family Thanksgiving traditions.  

Mon Mari and I already watch our special Thanksgiving movie early in the morning before the kids wake up so why not add a light family jog to the proceedings? And since Sara and G-Ton (my new name for The Husband going forward) were going to be here it could be a bigger, more jovial inaugural trot.
I told Sara to bring jogging clothes and to be ready to hit the street early. She wasn't overly excited but in the spirit of traditions, she indulged me. Thanks Sara.

G-Ton and my two boys all wore their UT sweatshirts in readiness for the big game we'd recorded for later in the morning. Tradition #3, check. And they looked so cute all lined up and matching.  

See? Cute.

Mon Mari was in charge of Clementine.
Ma Fille was the last to emerge, being held up by some fashion concerns. Apparently it is important to look nice when jogging through deserted French streets at 8am.

We set off from the house with a burst. Tres dynamique for so early in the morning.

Mon Mari & Clementine

The Littlest ran the whole thing, chubby arms pumping and cheeks flushed. He kept saying, 'I'm runnin'!, I'm runnin'!' as he went. The Middlest showed off by turning on his 'booster pack' and flying way ahead of us all.  

'I'm runnin'!'

The Middlest, he's so fast he's a blur

G-Ton took photos as Clementine ran alongside Mon Mari and Sara, Ma Fille and I bounced along at a reasonable pace. At one point I was jogging backwards, having a look at the Littlest and cheering him on when I nearly fell over Clementine's lead. G-Ton managed to snap a photo just as I started the arm flailing free-fall from which I thankfully recovered. Thanks to no one.

Do you think he did that on purpose?

We came home and had pigs in a blanket and mimosas before heading back into the kitchen to do the final bits. We had fun explaining why we call them piggies to G-Ton. 'It's a little pork sausage so it's a piggie and see, how it's nestled all cozy in the pastry? That's its blanket. Now eat it.'


The rest of the day was spent cooking and eating. Watching football and Christmas movies, tradition #4. Laughing and talking and enjoying delicious wine. Dare I say it?, Tradition #5.

Thanskgiving Dinner, Tradition #1