Christmas in ... September?

This morning there was the teensiest autumnal nip in the air, just a whisper really but enough to make my mind leap ahead to dreams of spiced cider, hot chocolate, and roaring fires. (I'm really not much of a summer gal. I melt at temps above 70.) It will probably be a sweltering 95 degrees this weekend, but that little taste of fall was enough to also flash me back to what I was doing at this time last year, when I found myself waist-deep in glitter, musty Santas, and an army of knee-hugger elves. Allow me to explain.

I've never really been what one might consider a "crafty" person. A little here and there, but nothing on the scale of, say, the fabulous Betty Crafter, who I swear could make something amazingly retrotastic from nothing more than duct tape, coat hangers, and, like, a corncob. But still, I have my moments. Last year, when I was off work for 5 months recuperating from brain surgery, I got crafty by necessity. I was bored beyond belief (who knew I'd miss going to work so much?), couldn't drive, and was thoroughly overdosed on daytime television. Reading was still a challenge then, and I had to find something to DO. I'd been stockpiling and hoarding adorable vintage 1950s-1960s Christmas ornaments and ephemera for the last few years. These are just a few of the little lovelies that were rattling around in my collection:

I mean, I had oodles of the things, more than I could ever fit onto even the most heavily bedecked retro tree, and I was also desperate for a way to fill my days. And then magically, I stumbled upon an awesome craft I could make from all this stuff: WREATHS! I (very ambitiously) decided to make wreaths for all the wonderfully caring family and friends who'd helped me through such a difficult year. One hot glue gun and 12 tinsel wreath forms later, I was in business. I turned my mom's dining room table into Craft Central (there was an appalling amount of mess, and I'm so grateful for the tolerance she showed to her deranged and very clumsy post-surgery daughter) and after 5 solid weeks and about 10,000 glue burns (note: this is a conservative estimate), I had a wonderful crop of handmade holiday gifts that I was pretty darn proud of.

Here's one of them on my friend Linda's front door.


Kind of wonderful, no? I wish I had a better pic that you could zoom in on, because these suckers were just jam-packed with vintage goodness.

So that tease of autumn in the air already has me plotting what this year's holiday craftstravaganza might be, should I opt to go that route. Shhhh! Next week I have my first-ever crochet lesson at a nearby yarn store. On the horizon: AMIGURUMI! If my fingers cooperate and Gidget the Wonder Cat doesn't abscond with all the balls of yarn.