I love gumdrops. I love the way they look and I love the way they taste. I love them at any time of the year, but most especially at Christmas! A jadeite bowl full of gumdrops is just a happy sight, isn't it?
I saw a gumdrop wreath in a Martha mag years ago and have always wanted to make one, but never got around to it.
Until this year, that is! I decided that it would be the perfect festive activity for Maren to help with, so even though the Thanksgiving decorations still sat in a pile on my table, I set out to make a gumdrop wreath. After looking at two stores with no luck, I happened upon big bags of gumdrops at JoAnn's, of all places! I didn't even think to look there but as I was buying my wreath form, I found bags of candy near the cash registers. Not only did I save myself a trip to another store, I was able to use my 40% off coupons for them as well! It worked out perfectly.
Although the construction seems pretty self-explanatory, I did use the instructions found
here, via
One Pretty Thing. I used a 12-inch white foam wreath form from the craft store, but I did see 10-inch green forms at the Dollar Tree this morning as well. I used nearly three 20-ounce bags of gumdrops (the small size) and that allowed for plenty of 'sampling' opportunities as well. I took Cheryl's advice and used my hot glue gun rather than toothpicks to attach the candy. I went through several glue sticks, more than I had anticipated, so make sure you have plenty on hand. From there, it's easy.
I applied mine in a CPR fashion--CPR in this case standing for
Carefully
Placed
Random. I didn't want to think about it too hard but I also wanted a fairly even distribution of colors. I just fit my gumdrops together like bricks. If you look at Cheryl's photos, it looks like she did one wreath that way and one where they are placed in more orderly rings. I still need to spray my wreath and add a little bit of glitter, and once I decide where to hang it I'll add a nice wide
RED grosgrain ribbon to the top.
I wish gumdrops came in pink--I think a pink gumdrop wreath might make me feel faint from the super-high cuteness quotient. I do remember that Martha showed all-white wreaths made of champagne-flavored white gumdrops in one of her wedding publications, and they were quite pretty. I know that Walgreen's has bags of red and green gumdrops on sale this week for 99¢, so if you purchased a dollar store wreath form and a couple of bags of candy, you could have yourself a very cute little holiday decoration for around $5!
A kitschy-cool plastic wreath in non-traditional colors...
Two unused linen tea towels, still sporting their labels...
A length of vintage patterned yardage...
Felt + beads + sequin goodness...
Vintage plastic ornaments, perfect for next Christmas when I'll have a 15-month-old little boy on the loose...
A bag full of the type of vintage ornaments that make you literally catch your breath and sprint to get the bag in your cart before anybody else spots the treasures therein...
Ornaments that will make it hard to decide whether to keep or sell...
The most perfect shade of aqua... (speaking of which, did you see this? WORD.)
And tarnished silver for which the cashier gave me 50% off, even though it isn't strictly Christmas decor...
I know that I'm not supposed to love material things and all that jazz, but I think my beloved aluminum pom-pom tree and my collection of beautiful vintage ornaments may rank up there in my Top 5 Material Possessions. I love my tree so, SO much. I say it every year, but when the afternoon sun comes in through that window and hits the tree, the *SPARKLE* just blows my mind!
a vintage Rudolph story book that I bought on Monday at an antique store. It's not in great shape (taped spine, ick) but it was el cheapo and it's cute and I can read it to Maren. It's flanked by two vintage flocked red reindeer, both found this year in my thrifting.
This snowman ornament belonged to my great-grandpa and my dad found it in his shed. It has a hole in one side (about 1.5" diameter) and was found with red cellophane sticking out of the hole. We can't figure out what it is--does anyone have any ideas? My first thought was a candy container but it seems a bit impractical for that because the hole is so small. We're stumped!
And some favorite ornaments from the tree:
I found her at a thrift a few weeks ago, but sadly there was no Mr. Claus to be found. I now have a mission: locate a pin bead Santa and reunite him with the lovely Mrs.!
Would you just LOOK at that hair? Hee! It's like Muppet hair.
This one's blurry but Porter is just the happiest, most smiley baby! He'll be 12 weeks tomorrow (HOW?) and is an absolute delight!
I'm going to call this, "A Beautiful Mess"
It may be a disaster but somehow it bothers me far less than the other messes around my house at the moment. :)
Lots of goodies to keep and lots more to put in my etsy shop!
I saw a gumdrop wreath in a Martha mag years ago and have always wanted to make one, but never got around to it.
Until this year, that is! I decided that it would be the perfect festive activity for Maren to help with, so even though the Thanksgiving decorations still sat in a pile on my table, I set out to make a gumdrop wreath. After looking at two stores with no luck, I happened upon big bags of gumdrops at JoAnn's, of all places! I didn't even think to look there but as I was buying my wreath form, I found bags of candy near the cash registers. Not only did I save myself a trip to another store, I was able to use my 40% off coupons for them as well! It worked out perfectly.
I applied mine in a CPR fashion--CPR in this case standing for Carefully Placed Random. I didn't want to think about it too hard but I also wanted a fairly even distribution of colors. I just fit my gumdrops together like bricks. If you look at Cheryl's photos, it looks like she did one wreath that way and one where they are placed in more orderly rings. I still need to spray my wreath and add a little bit of glitter, and once I decide where to hang it I'll add a nice wide RED grosgrain ribbon to the top.
