I know it's too early...

...but I can't help myself! I've been dreaming up a new Christmas Tree theme for this year.

Typically I'm happy with my mini trees all over the house, "MY" tree which is only decorated in white & silver on a tall skinny clear pre-lite tree  (think snowflakes, icicles, stars, birds, etc...) and Bobby and the girls have their multi-colored pre-lite tree with all their misc ornaments.

Sadly, the flooding that got mixed in with our unplugged upright freezer with thawed out frozen food/meats ruined my tree... [cue the sad "awww" soundbite] ...Bobby tells me I can't have a new tree this year.

So, what's a girl to do? Dream up a new themed tree! I want a multi-colored (think the hip pink/aqua/purple/lime colors) candy Sweet Shoppe Tree. I envision a sweet display of  thick color ribbon, sprays of glittery balls spring out from the tree, ornaments of lollipops, cakes, ice cream, popsicles, frosted cookies, gingerbread girls & boys, gingerbread houses and the like.

However, when I popped into the Dollar Tree today, the color scheme I was going to go with went out the window (unless, I do get another tree).

I brought home goodies in bright red and green. I am still going to do the candy theme, but it will be more of the peppermint candy theme.

Let me show you what I got....for $45...

I love these signs, they will add some "bulk" to the tree that is so stylish right now. I bought 2 each of the Joy and HoHoHo but only one Peace, mainly because the coloring was different.

This curling ribbon was so cute with the matte & shiny and the skinny & fat paper ribbon. There are 2 each so I'm going to alternate them and make them part of my tree topper.

What's a candy tree without large candycanes? These will be fun sticking from the tree too!

I'm not a fan of bulky garland on trees, but the shimmering of this would certainly add some glam to my tree with a hip look to it, keeping it on the trendy side.



Finally, the candy! Bring on the candy! :) LOL Here are some "wrapped candies", they have a hole drilled in the bottom of each one, so I guess you could create a garland or hang something from the end. I bought several of these, to have them sprinkled throughout the tree.

Here are some CANDY ornaments made from a resin material. I had planned on making some from Sculpy clay but this is cheaper and hey, it's faster! There are other projects that I can make to get the satisfaction of creating something. So, I bought several packs to fill out the tree.



I also found ribbon candy made from translucent red and white plastic. I'll still make ribbon candy from ribbon and ribbon spirals. I'll add more details on that later when I get ready to make them.

Here's, what I got to work on and I'm probably most excited about this.

The label on the flat round Styrofoam circles (2 in each package) reads 4 7/8 x 3/4". I plan to make two different things from these.

I will print out a peppermint candy pattern and glue to the front and back. then use that handy dandy transparent clear gift wrap (you know, the stuff you wrapped your gift baskets in) twisting the ends to make them look like over-sized peppermints! Much like this :

 

The others, will be turned into lollipops once I pick up some thin dowel rods and cut them down to size. I will insert the stick in and secure it with a little glue to make lollipops! I have several options for the lollipop design but I think I'll go with a glue & glitter option. I do glove my glitter!  Again, I'll share pictures when I make them.
Here is an inspiration piece, you know with Styrofoam, I can carve the design in it easily.

 

The little round balls you see...well, I have two ideas for these, and will have to pick up another pack. These are just white with a little glitter on them (they had gold and silver...but not the look i wanted for this tree) they are made of Styrofoam, I will insert them onto floral wire, add red glitter then I have my glittery sprays to spring from the top of the tree.

But when I got home I realized they would make awesome little lollipops. I can pick up normal lollipop sticks, but I'll insert the stick slightly off center to add the more whimsical look.  I'll add glitter to them of course!



I nearly forgot to share this cute little guy. He'll be cute on the tree too! :)

It's only a car

Last week, I woke up at 2am from Cookie (our puppy) wanting to go downstairs....turns out Bichon's are good little watchdogs. I get up, go downstairs with her, and notice a car parked just in front of mine. I heard a loud grinding noise as if gravel was inside her engine. I thought about going out to see if she needed help, but she was getting in and out of her car (revving the engine, but it wouldn't go), she unloaded the contents of her trunk and tried to take off, again her car wouldn't move (I wondered if her emergency brake was on), when it wouldn't move, she loaded it back up again. I saw the glow of her cell phone, so I figured she was waiting on a ride. I went back upstairs told Bobby that someone was having car trouble outside.

At 6am I had just gotten up to get ready for an Open House at my office but there was a knock on the door. I went downstairs, and it was the police. Never a good sign, you instantly start to worry about who's hurt or what's wrong. Two officers were there and they inform me that my car had been sideswiped. I look outside, and there's a car (what I thought had been pulled in just in front of my car (parked on the street, because I didn't want to park Bobby in) with it's lights still on, but left abandoned. The police officers quickly informed me, that my car wasn't struck on the traffic side, but rather from the sidewalk side.

My Car: was struck from the sidewalk, pushing it further out onto the street,

and swiped the entire way down causing damage from bumper to bumper.

Her car:

The officers said that it looked as if she turned onto our street to fast, lost control went into the median, bounced off a sign, flung her car across the road onto the sidewalk, struck my car until she came to a stop. You can see that her tire rod dislocated from her car, it actually gouged the road.

The police impounded the car, they had the information of who the car was registered to, but it was a male, so they were going to find out who the blonde woman was that I saw at 2am. They would let us know as soon as they could.

Now, we're waiting for the insurance companies to work it out & for the body shop to complete the repairs. Here are a few pictures (with daylight!) of my car. Bobby moved it out of the street and into our driveway, waiting for it to be towed (flat bed) away.

So, for the month of November, I'll be sporting around in our rental car. It's funny, my parents have always owned Fords, but this is the first Ford I've driven since being an adult!

I am so thankful that nobody was hurt. It is a little unsettling to think that if this had happened just a few hours later, Abby would have been standing on that sidewalk waiting for the school bus. It's only a car, it was a stressful morning, it's a little aggravating, but it's just a car, it could have been so much worse.

 

Bobby had flowers delivered to me at work today, which was so sweet. I love him!

 

On a side note: Today would be Teresa's birthday. I love and miss my sister so much. She was truley one of my very best friends. I think about her all the time.