Friday, March 28, 2014

The Chains of Everyday (or, A Very Dramatic Way to Title a Post About Parties)



...then, I remembered paper chains (you know, Dear Friends. Middle of a conversation)...

I had a long time to prepare for a Dear Friend's baby shower, so I got to fuss over the details a bit more than usual. And really, details are what sets one thing apart from other things...whether it's a party, or a gift you made for someone, or even if it's the details of your everyday life. No one else can recreate those details just like you. And recognizing and appreciating those details can make your heart light and your mundane life anything but mundane... And isn't that how it should be?

Don't sit around, waiting for the "next big thing".

You know that Little Boy that calls you Mommy? You know that kitchen window where you collect your Maileg Mice? You know that laundry that you need to get done today, and decide to use a new scent of detergent? You know that corner you pass on your way to work every morning, the one with the tree that's flowering so beautifully this time of year? Yes. Those are your "next big things"...

But, back to paper chains...

Scraps and bits of paper have to be one of the easiest and most plentiful sources of supplies. Often when I'm working on a project or a party, I'm taken aback by how pretty my trash looks! Much too pretty to grow away...

I remember putting together chains of paper as a class when I was in elementary school. Probably, it was to keep us busy and occupied, but it always made our classroom look festive. My teachers must have been very wise, to have accomplished all those things with the simplest of activities and using the most inexpensive of materials, and here I am, MANY years later, blogging about them...

Leftovers. Strips and scraps too small to reuse for most decorating. But not for this Creative Genius! (PS, just a week prior to taking these pictures, I saw an Instagram picture of paper-chaining from a famous party-planner that I follow. So, it's really alright for me to refer to myself as Creative Genius since it's a bit tongue-in-cheek. But, it does take a bit of genius to recognize a great idea, so...)

You know the drill, right? Make a loop out of a strip of paper and glue it together (I actually stapled these because I had to transport them a good distance). Then take another strip of the same-ish length, stick it through the loop you made, and glue the newly-created loop together. Keep adding and gluing, mixing up the patterns and colors as you go... Make it as long or as short as you like.

This is just a "pile" of the chain, before I used it as decor, but already it made me visually-happy!

Once at the shower, we strung, "hung" and laid the chains here & there. Adding a bit of pattern and color in various spots...

I think they were a festive addition to an already lovely venue (my Gracious Friend, Kim's, home), a beautiful party scheme and a perfect reason for a party, a Dear Friend's new baby...

Actually, I'm so proud that I remembered to take pictures of the chains along the way of their life-cycle. I often get so excited about decorating and creating that I forget to photograph. And it's the first thing that my mother, you know, the Discoverer of Raw Materials, will ask, "Did you take pictures?", as she is my Biggest Fan and wants to share me with the world.

So, here you are, world... Now, go make an occasion, you Lucky You!

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