A bit of nostalgia and some plans...

I'm taking longer to de-trim my Christmas tree and take down all the decorations because somewhere along the line the bug that totally knocked down my husband and daughter just before Christmas is doing its best to bring me to my knees.  So far, with the help of some Oil of Oregano, constant rests and permanently crossed-fingers, I've managed to feel under the weather but not actually sick.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that.  I.don't.like.being.sick!  Mind you---who does?  Well, maybe hypochondriacs, I suppose.

Anyway, my firm date for de-trimming my tree has always been January 6th, or Epiphany, or the 12th day of Christmas.  Whatever you want to call it, tradition in our family is that Christmas decorations remain intact and on display until that date.  (This used to be hard when we insisted on having a "real" tree).

It's fascinating how long things can take when you just don't feel good.  Looking at the process purely from an objective point, it's taking a very long time.  But then with piles of snow outside that are nearly 6 feet high, being inside and slowly taking decorations down and putting them away is a good way to pass the time.  Not feeling well has undermined my creative process so I just go past my new products and sigh these days.

One of my favourite decorations on the tree are my silk white and silver butterflies.  They're on thin wires that measusre about 10 inches long and, by wrapping the wire around a branch just right, it looks as if the butterfly is suspended in the air, about to alight in the tree.  I love the effect!  I've already decided that when the silk butterflies finally get too tattered to use, I will replace them with hand-made vellum butterflies that I will heat emboss in silver and to which I will also add some silver glitter.  I may try my hand at that for next Christmas just to see how they would look.  There's nothing wrong with adding a few more butterflies to the tree, after all.

So my tree is quite icy looking.  There is occasional colour but overall, the impression is one of white and silver.  The butterflies look as if Jack Frost has frozen them and they are going to rest in my tree.

Along with the vellum butterflies that I plan to make for next year's tree, I plan to make some of those wonderful Festive Flurry snowflakes as well.  I made several for friends and acquaintances and only kept one for myself.  I really like the one that I kept but think I'll make several along the white and silver theme I already have going as well.

Mind you, I really like the Island Indigo in the snowflake as well.  The large rhinestone looks nice in the centre as well, but I love the look of the snowflake with the now-retired Frosted Finishes Embelishments in the centre.  Once I finished with everyone else's and with my classes, however, I wound up without one for this snowflake.  Thank goodness I have some more coming any day!

For those of you who didn't get the Festive Flurry stamp set, framelits or bundle, you're in luck.  Stampin' Up! is carrying over that wonderful bundle and so you haven't lost out---yet.  Right now they're still available until June 1st.  I can't make promises after that.  If you'd like some gorgeous snowflakes for your tree next year, remember to get the stamps and framelits soon.