A Pineapple "Chanukah Bush"

This year it seems everyone is creating 

Pineapple Christmas Trees!

So, I decided to give it a try as well....

I started with a standard store-bought pineapple 

and put it upright in a pretty bowl

I wanted to decorate with small ornaments... 

but the pineapple leaves would not support them. 

So, I tied ribbons all about & trimmed after

I filled the base of the bowl with dreidels, 

added a bow atop...

and an old pair of sunglasses to make it cool!

I decided to display "her" surrounded by 

menorahs my kids made 20 years ago...

instant Chanukah color!

HAPPY CHANUKAH YA'LL!!!

...For the love of Silky & Honey

It has been 2 months since "THE WEDDING". 
We survived- celebrated- and the photographs await scrap booking.
When I nagged my son once again about the thank you cards- he actually told me "our pen ran out of ink". 
INK! 
An apartment of 5 residents shares only one pen & it is now out of ink... seriously?

Anyway... I concluded- I can not control everything, but there are things I can take on. 
Ready emotionally or not, it is long overdue. 
Years have passed, and now he is happily married. So it is time to reclaim his bedroom and turn it in to a guest room. 
He and his WIFE will visit eventually & bunk beds just won't cut it.

So I finally took a deep breathe and decided to stop procrastinating.
A room full of a lifetime of memories, laughter, tantrums & love. 
A room he so easily left behind- perhaps without so much of a second thought-
now bringing me to tears.. as I am full of thought.
A shrine you might say to my little guy.. minus the mess on the floor it always had when he lived 🏡 home!

So where does one begin to pack up the childhood of all those "had to have its"... 
Those things taken on by a younger child as MINE MINE MINE- and so easily discarded by an older son. 
Disney toys once actively involved in sibling play. They took him to Infinity & Beyond!
Leagues of Lego's & Action Figures- replaced by Gameboys & WW11... both Later further replaced by MACs & XBOX.
Hours and hours spent with Pokemon Cards & Comic Books- ALL later replaced by Internet reads & text messages. 
Every nook and cranny reveals a forgotten treasure... an abandoned "MINE MINE MINE"

Well- WTH do I do with all this collectible stuff NOW???

When my son was 8, we visited Japan. His bear "Honey" and a small bit of soft flannel cloth known as "Silky" were left behind. I cannot remember a day from the time he started crawling he was not dragging them along. 
The world could have come to an end that day. 
NOTHING ELSE MATTERED. 
He was inconsolable... and it was MY FAULT they had been left behind when we switched cities. (Everything is ALWAYS the mothers fault after all).
Amazingly, Honey & Silky were rescued by hotel staff and shipped to us first class. I shudder to think of the cost of their travels- they HAD TO BE RESCUED & language barriers allowed us the option not to ask.

And now... 16 years later... I found them buried in a corner... beneath a papermache top hat. Poor Honey... 

I am packing up so much that I doubt will ever be looked at again. I know the cast of "The Big Bang Theory" would kill for those comics and Pokemon cards. The fully built Lego models... the action figures and All Things Star Wars.

Of course I will cherish & safely pack away Honey and Silky forever, but what of all the rest. After the "must saves".
I honestly don't know WTH one does with it. The collectibles, the books, the hoarded saves. 
ARGHHHHHHH!

So... for now at least... time for a break (& to stall a bit more).

Heaven help the next person 

who unsuspectingly opens his closet!

 an update:

...BE OUR GUEST!!!!

It took 4 coats of bright yellow paint to cover 

the blue walls & repair patches

 It is amazing how much you can order on line... 

and get delivered to the door shipped free!

 After all the furnishings were assembled... 

the big decisions of which quilts to hang dominated...

 I've spent endless hours snuggled on this loveseat 

reading with our kids... 

now it is ready for overnight guests

BE 

OUR 

GUEST

A game of TETRIS- balanced by family emotions

Ever wonder if it possible to spend every moment of the day planning a wedding- while also achieving IDGAWF status??? YEAH... it is!
Every month- 
Every week- 
Every day of the wedding count down- 
brings with it- a new set of tasks that must be completed. 
Among the worst most recently:

The seating Chart... it's like being forced to play 
a game 
of 
TETRIS 
balanced 
by family 
emotions.

names on post-its for table settings

By the time the seating chart was completed... and then adjusted 3 more times for late RSVPs- I knew I better find a craft or risk  slitting my wrists with a post-it!

I wanted to make my future daughter-in-law one of those fancy $30 hangers for her wedding gown. 
I printed out a "template" from pinterest, used the wire supplies I already had, some wooden spoons to help shape curves, & painters tape for a straight line.
My only investment was $2.49 for the wire.

Pinterest has many examples of wedding hangers & how-to's

I used 12 gauge wire and bent it with needle nose pliers in to letter shapes... trying to keep within the boundaries of the painters tape to keep things lined up.

We drilled a hole on both sides of the hanger to attach the wire.

I tried our name a few different times... this was the best...

so it will have to do...

I know it doesn't look as snazzy as a $30 ETSY one... but it's made with love... 
Hopefully they will like it...

Couples Wedding Shower 

April 2017

And now... a bit of a rant...

The unofficial stages of Planning my son's wedding... 

The first stage of the wedding drama is "denial". Of course all the planning will be stress free... & everyone- everyone will work together to create the perfect drama free celebration. 

The next stage is "frustration" & eventually "ANGER". I am happy their wedding date is growing nearer... but the shit is really starting to hit the fan. What happened to the A-team? 
And why do our dearest friends and family members find it so hard to return a self-addressed- stamped RSVP envelope.

The third stage is "bargaining". The budget is long since forgotten & I have abandoned all hope of assist from the A team...
The goal now is to find a deal... any deal- any where- of any kind to help remember what a sense of acceptable budget & positive feedback & accomplishment is.

Stage 4 of wedding planning is "depression"... It's the reality that wedding planning is NOTHING like the weddings on pinterest or planning his Bar Mitzvah... & for whatever the hell the reason- things are as they are... No matter what I do... I can't make all things work together.

The last stage is "acceptance". Acceptance, I have given them and this wedding ALL I HAVE TO GIVE... and while it may not be my idea of perfect... hopefully, it will be theirs.
Please oh please- let it be his...

**********

a few Pics a week later of previous projects:

Our flower girl looks out at Boston

May 7, 2017

Boston, Mass.

Welcome bags created, stuffed & delivered

Bridal gown hanging on hanger awaiting dressing

The ribbon wands I made were distributed at the door by the triplets 

& waved at the newlyweds during their recession

Mazel Tov!

"Your Song" 

Creating Wedding Ribbon Wands

My kids are marrying in a beautiful reception space... followed by a cocktail hour "presto chango" whilst the room flips from ceremony to reception. Because we are in one room... I wanted to create something "celebratory" for the new "Mr. & Mrs" as they take their recessional walk back down the aisle.

So I decided to create WEDDING WANDS!

I ordered a 100 yard roll of personalized ribbon on line.

Purchased assorted ribbons in "their colors" & theme locally to allow some variations 

- 12 inch dowels 

- 18 mm jingle bells

- my trusty hot glue gun 

- various colored ribbon

100 yard roll of customized ribbon 

printed by personal creations

All other ribbons, dowels, & bells purchased at my local Hobby Lobby & Michaels.

For each of the wands, I selected 4 ribbons... hot glued on 1 bell with a twist... & eventually I ended up with a weddings worth of wands.

I hope the kids will like this surprise & our guests might decide to keep one as an extra wedding day momento. 

I cut each length of ribbon approximately 30"

My daughter was visiting... so I got her help!

One of her oldest friends stopped by for a visit...

MORE HELP!

They tied a bell to the center of a length of sheer ribbon

Every wand includes one personalized ribbon...

one sheer ribbon with a bell...

and 2 other ribbons from a various assortment collected.

All ribbons are then folded in half- 

tied to dowel 

and hot glued in place

sample of completed ribbon wand

After all the wands were fully assembled 

it was time to even out the edges...

Then each ribbon edge needed to be sealed 

by flame to avoid unraveling

2 weeks later... Wands completed!!!

Packed up and ready for transport!

Thank you Deandra & Gabby...

We are all ready now for our congratulatory wave!

An invite for Junko

So many details to take care of when 
planning a wedding... 
But when a family member from Japan 
promised to make the journey, 
I decided to create a very special 
invitation- just for her!




スコットとロビン・リーバーマン
あなたの存在の名誉を要求する
息子の結婚で
メイソン・ジェイコブ
に
ケイトリン・シエラ・ベネット
日曜日、5月7日
二千十七
夜の6時に
ステートルーム
ボストン、マサチューセッツ州
フォローするレセプション
Scott to Robyn Lieberman anata
 no sonzai no meiyo o yōkyū suru
 musuko no kekkon de Mason Jacob ni
 Caitlin Sierra Benetto nichiyōbi, 5 tsuki
 7-nichi ni sen jū nana yoru no 6-ji ni
 sutētorūmu Bosuton, masachūsettsu-shū
 forō suru resepushon





Scott and Robyn ***

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of their son

Mason Jacob

to

Caitlin Sierra ***

Sunday, the ***

Two thousand and seventeen

at six o’clock in the evening .

The State Room

Boston, Massachusettes

Reception to follow




You will be our guest at the 

***BOSTON HOTEL

Please select 

beef, chicken, or vegetable

for main course dinner.

The favor of a reply is requested

by April 1, 2017








Top Layer: Printed directly on to the fabric

Middle: Slim pink border... fabric will be used later in envelope

Layer 3: hand pressed paper

All layers sewn together on standard 

sewing machine














1/23/17
A follow up!
Our wedding invitation made it to Japan!!!



Our dearest Junko displays her package



Arrival in tact





I can hardly wait 

to welcome her to Boston

 to share the big weekend!




********************




update:  5/15/17

Wedding Day Memories:
















& she even made it on to the dance floor!








Thank you Jun,

We love you...

 your presence meant the world to all of us