Let It Snow!

If you've ever read some of my other blog posts, you might recall that I LOVE SNOW DAYS! Yes, I  love them. I love the day before, too, when I am excited about the anticipation of a snow day. The day after is a little bit like when all the Christmas presents have been opened and the excitement has passed; but for now, let me have my snow day.

Even though we're now 13 days into the new year, we still have our Christmas decorations up. We both love the house decorated for Christmas and we have collected so many beautiful and meaningful decorations over the years that we enjoy looking at them . . . especially on a "snow day", like today when the rooms are brightly lit by the reflection of the snow on the ground. (Technically,  it's really NOT a bona-fide snow day, but I'll choose to ignore that fact. There's a lot of ice and snow outside our door, and there's shoveling to do, so to me that constitutes a snow day.)

In anticipation of today,  I decided to make something I've been mulling around in my head for a week or so. To help make the transition from Christmas decor, I usually start putting out some of my snowmen and blue and white decorations in January. The change in the color scheme represents the change to the long winter ahead.

Since I am on a mission to use the supplies I have on hand and not buy more unless I need them . . . Please don't ask me to describe "need" to you . . . I shopped my stash and pulled some things out that I thought would work together to make a banner for our living room mantle.

I gathered my supplies.

Left to right: Stencils, blank corrugated cards, ribbon, hole punch, clear glue, gesso, pearlized acrylic paint, Diamond Dust  (which is actually finely ground glass), paper, and scissors.

I had four sheets of this in my stash. It was so pretty that I could never bring myself to cut into it! But, I finally did, but only one sheet!

A closer view of some of my supplies.

I covertly worked at my TV table on Thursday night, tracing and cutting out the letters I'd chosen from my stencil set. I do things secretly because I like to surprise my husband when I create something. He is very supportive of my crafting ideas and activities. He is my biggest fan, my cheerleader, and by default, my design consultant; which he does quite well. It's always nice to have another pair of eyes to look at something and some input, even a non-crafter.

 So, yesterday morning, with the prep work of the letter cutting complete, I started my project. I qued up my audio book, cut and glued, painted and glittered, while waiting for the snow to start falling, which was after record warmth and rain that caused flooding, ice jams, wet basements, and a myriad of other related not-so-fun events for local homeowners. In 24 hours, we went from this . . .

Friday morning.
 After the temperature soared to 60 degrees, the Tonawanda Creek spilled over its' banks. Thankfully, we live uphill from the creek.

to this . . .

Saturday morning.
What a change in only 24 hours! 

But inside where I was warm, dry and safe, I crafted. Here's how the afternoon and evening progressed in captioned photographs:

With all the little bottles of paint that I own, you would think that I would have some plain white paint!  But, no . . . I don't! 

I cut the corrugated cards in half, so I could get two flags from each card. After gluing the letters and snowflakes to the cards, I used gesso and acrylic paint to create the look of snow. While the gesso and paint were still wet, I covered the entire card with Diamond Dust.

After shaking the loose Diamond Dust off the surface, I put the flags aside to dry.

I waited for the gesso, paint, and Diamond Dust to dry overnight. I assembled the banner this morning. 

It is hard to see the sparkles in the "snow, but if you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can see the sparkle.

It really does sparkle!
(No pun intended!)

I think you can see some sparkles in the "snow" in this photo.

Let It Snow
I'm very happy with how it turned out and, as usual, I learned a few things about construction and materials while making it.

Had I been able to run to the store yesterday, I may have broken my own rule and purchased snowflakes that I imagine are on sale just about everywhere, but I persevered and used those hard-to-cut-out paper snowflakes! Between the weather and the fact I have been restricted from driving the past six weeks (post surgery) I wasn't going to go anywhere in the car!

I put the banner together this morning and waited...and waited...and waited for my husband to make his way downstairs. I thought he'd never come down! When he had finished his morning coffee that I had carried up to him earlier....which bought me more time to fiddle around trying to hang the banner... he descended the stairs. It is actually good that I had that extra time because I kept feeding the ribbon the wrong way, getting it twisted around the fragile snowflakes, and putting knots in the end only to discover it needed more slack. Have you ever tried to untangle a tight little knot in organza ribbon before your second cup of coffee?

But I like how it turned out, and it really does serve to help me visually and mentally transition to January. My husband likes it, too. :-) He said it reminds him of one of our favorite movies, Frozen, which would be good to watch today while we are having a "snow day"!

Whether you are inside or outside today, dealing with snow or not, I hope you are enjoying yourself. These unplanned days when we are required to slow down and break away from the normal routine are what I tend to remember most fondly. Doing something other than the ordinary day-to-day activities we all must face is a gift. It is refreshing to break away from the familiar and the sameness of a typical day. Make today a day that, when you look back on it, you will feel a smile start to form on your lips. There's time tomorrow to resume the usual, expected-of-you stuff.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post today. It is my sincere wish that you will be making some memories this winter, and that they will make you smile in the future when they cross your mind. ♡ And until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy