We don't begin taking down Christmas until after today, Epiphany...the true Twelfth Day of Christmas. The first thing we set up following Thanksgiving is our manger scene. A perfect way remember the meaning of Christmas is to start and end with our Nativity. It continues to grow with new additions each year. You can't really see it here, but we have over a dozen angels flocking around the back. Nearly every item has been a gift....except for a new tree we indulge in each season.
While today is Epiphany with a "E", back in October I had an epiphany with a "e". After seeing Candyce Marten's article in Somerset Studio, where she fabricated trees from stacks of cut cardboard, I had to give it a try, and add one more silver tree to our sparkley forest. I got a good start on it then the holiday schedule crept in and I set the project aside until just after Christmas. I wrote to Candyce to thank her for the inspiration and we shared some lovely email exhanges....then the sweet and precious tree that appeared in the article arrived at our door. A most special gift! When I asked her permission to blog about this she asked that I explain how she wanted to return a kindness, and that kindness is contagious. So true, right? A simple gesture of sending a note with much deserved recognition of fine work, resulted in an unexpected surprise. How often to we miss an opportunity to brighten someone's day by reaching out because we can? Try it....both the homemade tree, and the spreading of kindness, any time of year.
Our existing trees have been collected from TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods, or Michaels. The layered text tree was a score from Anthropologie's after-xmas-sale last week. When I saw this red metal tree at Target (on clearance too!) I knew I could make it my own with a quick shot of spray paint. Shown here as Before and After with my cardboard stacked tree.
As you may remember from past posts about my table top setting, we have a pink tree to go with the pink deer from Judi, a sign for my sister. Another sweet deer keeps her company, gifted from Linda this year. And then I found this tin embossed deer from Pottery Barn....a staggering find with the leg raised ;)
This morning I began journaling about the holiday....love the cut strips fashioned into a tree to remind me of this year, and my new friend. What traditions do you build on each year? Put it in your journal.
Happy Epiphany!
