…eucalyptus wreath…

When we pulled out our Christmas tree ready to decorate on the first Sunday of Advent, we hit a pretty significant snag – our decorations were missing. An entire crate of baubles and ornaments and a whole host of handmade goodies. We both took a look through the container and the shed, and…nothing. All we had was the tree, and a small crate with the lights, the stockings, and one of our wreaths – the front door wreath.

I’d made this wreath a couple of years back, from a metal ring, with felt leaves and felt ball “flowers” down one side, and a string of cardboard houses in the centre. It’s super cute and I love it. My family is less-enamoured, and ask every year if I plan to finish it. This is then rapidly followed by a rant explanation that it’s not unfinished, it’s asymmetrical minimalist, you philistines.

It was perfect for the town house, where our front door was protected by a nice, deep verandah. The cabin, however, has no such protection, and our front door is west-facing with no shade and no cover from the elements. My beautiful wreath would be trashed within an hour if I hung it on the door.

When I created our advent calendar, and was having a poke around my Pinterest boards for ideas, I came across a cute little willow wreath, and decided to use that as a starting point for the children. On Thursday, it came up as our activity of the day. While I quilted, the children jumped on their bikes and went exploring, and came back with a basket full of eucalytpus branches, and a few extra bits and pieces. The two little kids made mini wreaths from a single branch, but Boy2 took himself off to sit in the sun and spent time weaving multiple branches and embellishments together, and created a lovely wreath full of greenery that now hangs over our doorbell.

It likely won’t last past this season, but for now, it is the perfect, rustic wreath to decorate our rustic little cabin.

Today we are settling in for a deliciously slow and lazy Saturday after a busy week wrapping up our various activities. It’s cool and raining, so the smalls are curled up in various blanket nests all over the lounge room watching cartoons. I’m planning to get the binding attached to my quilt and getting the heel turned on my sock. I want to get a start in these Christmas outfits. I have two new books demanding my attention. If the rain clears off I might even try and get our Christmas photos done. Before all that though, there’s a big cooked breakfast and another cup of coffee calling my name to get the day off on the right foot.