Surprise! I’m back with another blog post, even though last
week I threatened to take a two week break from blogging. But you see, I came
across some battery-operated lights at home, and they demanded to be worn and
before I knew it, I was repurposing a Wacky Wednesday hat from a few months
back…into a Christmas tree!
Last week I felt ready to take a break from costumes for a
couple of weeks. I had zero intention of making something to wear today. But yesterday
I had an unsettling realization. I noticed that I’d posted blogs 49 times in
2016, and somehow this did not sit well with me. That number felt
anticlimactic. Unfinished. 50 sounded like a complete set, so I decided I could
squeeze out one more post this calendar year. Yep, I know that’s a strange
reason for posting, but hey, I’m being honest, and my strangeness is just one
of the reasons you love me!
It took only fifteen minutes to turn this hat into its
current incarnation. Usually I glue my costumes and hats but this one is
intended to be temporary and under those circumstances, duct tape is an
excellent solution: fast and strong, but temporary. I felt victorious. With
only fifteen minutes I’d created a tall, festive hat, and since all supplies used
were already on hand, this cost $0 to create. I did a Christmas happy dance.
And then the photo session began. That’s when the trouble
started. Apparently it’s an airtight law of the universe that when your costume
only takes 15 minutes to make, capturing it in a photo takes a zillion hours.
Sigh. The first photos weren’t bad, but I felt like they didn’t capture how
bright the lights were. So I took some photos in a darkened room. All were
annoyingly blurry. I attempted to persuade one of my kids to take my photo.
Major resistance. Then I decided that I didn’t like the way the lights were
spaced on the tree so I took it apart and started again. I made the room darker
to showcase the lights. More blurry photos. I set up the camera in a new spot
and promptly tripped over a big crate I’d forgotten I’d left on the floor. “SON
OF A REINDEER!” I shrieked with frustration. Next came photos with the tip of
the tree cut off. Photos with the right side of the tree missing. I glared at
my camera and through clenched teeth growled, “You piece of candy cane!” Finally I had a few photos
I could use, but at what cost? I was exhausted, as though I’d given birth to a
six-foot tall Santa, complete with beard and hat.
Yet the show must go on. And now that I’m sitting down again,
downloading photos, I feel fine. Here are a few photos that (kind of) capture
the magic of my Christmas Tree Hat.
Hey—anybody have a sleigh and reindeer I can borrow?
