HOW I MADE MY TREE SKIRT and having fun

EVERY year...I would think..I am going to buy a NICE tree skirt..and then I would either not find one I liked or they were too small for our 10 foot trees or I WOULD find one big enough and 

not want to spend the BIG money....

And then there was the issue that so 

many of the ones I found were..and I know this will sound counter intuitive...but they were 

TOO CHRISTMASSY for me.

Finally..I just made my own...they way I liked!

 ....and I made it for under $20!!
TUTORIAL:
Supplies - new or used Twin (or larger is fine) quilt or coverlet
I got my quilt on the end cap at Target on clearance for $13.99!!! Queen size!
                 scissors
                 seam binding (optional)
                  ball fringe or trim (optional but OH so FUN!)

1. Fold your Quilt into quarters and cut a curved line like this:
Oh and I meant to draw this...also cut a small curve on the opposite inner corner for the TREE opening...

 2. Open it up and you will have a big circle....like a donut, or well, a tree skirt! and Cut and opening..and then sew on your trim around the outer edge
and either hem or sew on your seam binding around the interior circle and down the opening.

 Thats it you are done...enjoy your TREE SKIRT!!!

I apologize, I said we would look at Christmas decorations together this morning and that never happened...I got all distracted...went over to PINK WALLPAPER...one of my favorites and started catching up on Shannon's posts and came to where she is musing about not being a "fun Mom" a few days ago...and it made me think of a scene from Modern Family. I OFTEN have either Modern Family or The New Adventures of Old Christine on in the background when I paint and I do not exaggerate when I tell you that I have listened to each episode easily 20 times each...I have whole scenes memorized and I have a terrible Memory.

There is an episode on Modern Family where everyone is on their way to a restaurant for Manny's 13th birthday. Everyone has their own thing going on..and the underlying theme is about having fun, letting go..letting your hair down. Cam and Mitchell are racing through a mall and Cam keeps telling Mitchell he is too uptight but what he does not know is that Mitchell is racing to get to a flash mob which he has joined to surprise Cam. Manny is sad because he feels in being such a serious boy he has missed his childhood and Jay hides Gloria' s keys because he is tired of her always losing them. Claire and Phil take two cars because they have bet that they will beat each other there...each of them claiming to be the better driver. Claire has Luke in her car and Phil has his two teenage daughters. The daughters are trying to figure out how to tell their FUN parent Dad that they can under no circumstances do "FAMILY CAMP" again this coming summer. 

and when Claire asks Luke which of his parents is more fun..he says, 

"Definitely Dad!"

and Claire Says...

"You can't have two fun parents. You know that kid Liam, that boy at school who wears pajama pants everyday and pays for everything with hundred dollar bills? TWO FUN PARENTS- mark my words!"

This morning when I dropped my kids off at school, in an attempt to not lecture on our tardiness..

but just to stay calm, I turned on the radio.

A song I actually knew the words to was on

"Sister Golden Hair" by America.

I started singing...every word and it felt so good! 

As we pull up to school, my daughter says, 

"Um Mom, when you pull up to school and open the door, could you turn the music down..

you know, er, uh, so um, so I can hear you say "Goodbye' and stuff"!

You can't have two fun parents. Oh well. 

Walking out of the gym today, I stopped to peek into the nursery...my guilty pleasure, and I stood there mesmerized and watched as a teensy toddler...obviously a new walker,  took step by meticulous step, across the room to get to the other kids....all while holding a toy pot in her hand. I waxed nostalgic about  how each of my children seemed to need something to hold...to balance when they were learning to walk. 

Now, they are pretty good walkers...but they are still learning to stand up on their own two feet.

And in my moments of clarity when my ego is in check and I have had my coffee...I know that 

my words, my jokes, and even my lectures are that little toy pot...invisible in their hand and as they navigate the bumpy halls of Middle School and High School...I am with them...

Now ...where was I?

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!!