A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

I guess you could say I have a bit of OCD; I like everything to be planned to the last detail and everything to be arranged in a neat and orderly fashion.  Over the years, I’ve learned that everything just goes so much smoother and most of the stress is eliminated when I can set a schedule and stick to it. Some of the events that I host have been using the same basic format and schedule for ten or more years.  I found a formula, and I stick with it.  I don’t think I could operate any other way.

This hasn’t always been the case.  Yes, I always wanted to be organized and efficient, but it just didn’t happen.  Take Thanksgiving, for example. I would get up Thursday morning and have this huge laundry list of food that needed to be cooked, rooms that needed to be cleaned, tables that needed to be set…you get the picture.  I felt like a chicken running around with my head cut off, and my poor family…we’ll let’s just say they tried very hard to stay out of my way, and when they couldn’t, they would find themselves tasked with something they hadn’t planned on doing.  Then my daughter, Christen, and I came up with an almost foolproof plan one year that has worked very well ever since -- we planned everything in reverse.

The idea was really Christen’s to start with, when she asked, “What time do we want to eat?”  From there, we were able to work our way backwards through the myriad tasks, delegating each to a timeslot (usually with a built-in time cushion), and instantly, we knew exactly what had to get done and when we needed to do it. It was like the sunrise dawning on the first day!  From then on, we planned every event to the last detail, working our way backwards through all the prep work, until there was really no doubt about what needed to happen.  Having that list is a safety net, so that I don’t catch myself panicking because I forgot to boil the eggs for the dressing, or the guests are arriving and the table hasn’t been set.  We’ve also added to the list over the years; we included my niece in the planning, stretched the planning to include the entire holiday season (right through New Year’s Day), and even started prepping some of the food a day early.

Don’t get me wrong; I still get off schedule.  This year, dinner was a full hour late.  Even though I cooked all my cakes and pies the day before, I was up into the wee hours Wednesday night cleaning up my living room and dining room; my son, Steven moved last weekend, leaving behind boxes and piles of useless stuff he didn’t want or need any more.  In the mean time, my niece, Ashley, moved into his room, and we had piles of things to go to the shed, boxes to be donated, and more personal items that still needed to be put somewhere.  I did what I could Wednesday night, and then got up Thursday morning and started on it again with help from my hubby (Mark) and Ashley.  It put us behind schedule, but we pulled it off, and when the earliest guests started arriving, we put them to work, too, finishing the set-up on the tables, peeling potatoes, and arranging trays of appetizers.  It all worked.  No one complained they were starving, and I happily went on with my very well planned To-Do list, knowing exactly what needed to happen and in what order, albeit an hour later.  It was almost entirely stress free, even when the gravy boiled over (twice) and the dressing wasn’t browned on time. 

Now I’m super excited about the rest of the holidays. I met with Christen and Ashley last Monday, to plan out the entire holiday season, and my next project is to turn all of it into an annual “Holiday Planner” for my family, complete with recipes, schedules, guest lists, gift ideas, decorating and crafts, and more.  I plan to set it up in a Happy Planner of some sort, with sections for each holiday, and subsections for all the lists I need to keep.  I’m thinking the lists themselves will be a combination of pre-printed forms and lists, Project Life pocket pages, hand embellished scrapbook-style pages, December Daily, 30 Days of Gratitude, New Years Resolutions, and more. I want it to be something that not only lets us plan and enjoy our holiday season, but also to reflect on it year after year.  

So watch for bits and pieces of my holiday planner to show up here on the blog throughout the next few weeks, and hopefully I’ll do a final flip-through after January 1^st.  Until then, keep crafting!

Quick Last-Minute Decor for Fall/Thanksgiving

I know it’s a little late for a new Thanksgiving/Fall project, but this one was so quick and so cute, I just had to share.  I’ll admit that I did not come up with this project on my own.  I was scrolling through Instagram one day and Hobby Lobby had posted an ad with these cute papier-mâché pumpkins and I just had to give it a try!

I found the paper I wanted and two sizes of papier-mâché pumpkins at Hobby Lobby, but for balance, I wanted a size in-between as well. 

That’s when I decided it didn’t really have to be a papier-mâché pumpkin; this technique would work on plastic or other materials as well.  So I found a couple of Styrofoam pumpkins at Dollar Tree in the perfect size.  I also like that all three sizes are slightly different shapes, so it gives it a bit of interest.

The first step in creating these beauties is to cut your paper into long strips.  I started with 1 inch, but quickly found that was a little too wide for the medium pumpkin, so as I worked on it, I cut some of the strips in half.  

On the second pumpkin, I went to ¾” strips.  The 1” strips worked just fine for the large pumpkin. 

Why does it make a difference? The pumpkin curves—not only up and down, but side to side – and the paper is flat.  If the paper is too wide it will pucker and wrinkle as you lay it down.  The thinner the strips, the less it has to curve, and therefore, the less it will wrinkle.

The length of the strips will vary depending on the size of the pumpkin.  I found that my medium pumpkin was about 8” from the stem down to the middle of the underside, including a bit of overlap.  I cut all my pieces into 8” strips and was left with an equal number of 4” strips.  The easiest way to decide what length you need is to take one of your strips and hold it next to the stem while you wrap it down the side and across the bottom.  Let it cross over the center and then fold it back the direction it came.  That’s where you’ll cut it.  They don’t have to be exact, either, because they are all going to overlap each other on the bottom.  So as long as it covers the bottom center of the pumpkin, you should be good.


Unfortunately, the 12" strips weren't long enough to go all the way to the middle of the large pumpkin.  So when I finished wrapping all the strips around the pumpkin, I covered the spot with a scalloped circle punched from the same paper.

I used Mod-Podge because it’s my go-to collage medium, but you can probably use other glues.  I painted a wide strip of glue onto the pumpkin and also on the back of the strip, that way you know you have good coverage. Start at the stem and wrap the strip down the pumpkin to end at the middle of the bottom.  I worked on the “valleys” first, because it’s easier to cover the curved parts if you don’t have to worry about getting down into the creases.

After I did all the valleys, I made my way around the pumpkin again, this time overlapping the paper where it came out of the valley.  If the wide curved part is too wide for your strip of paper, just cover one side of it.  The main point is to overlap the valley strips.  You might have to go around the pumpkin a third, fourth or even fifth time, depending on how wide those curved parts are, and how big the pumpkin is.

Once I covered the body of the pumpkin, I let it dry overnight and then covered the stem with hemp.  I covered the entire stem with redline tape and then started winding the hemp around.  Start at the top of the stem and stick the twine down to the middle.  Wrap it tightly around the stem, leaving no gaps.  When you get to the bottom of the stem, find a good spot to cut it and tack it down so that it’s tucked up close to the base of the stem.

I also gave my pumpkins a spray of polyurethane to finish them off and protect the glue from getting sticky in humid weather.  You can add to the pumpkins by attaching silk or paper leaves, or even bling.

And here is another view of the finished project.

I hope you enjoyed my fun little project – I sure had fun making it!

Until next time, go do something crafty!

Cindy

Thankful

Today’s port visit is Cozumel, and I am so very thankful to be on this wonderful island yet again.  I come here time and time again (every cruise out of Galveston stops here, I think), and I just never tire of it.  I’m not sure, but maybe it is because my stay is always so short.  I just don’t ever get a chance to see or do as much as I would like.

I’m thankful for a lot of other things, too, like the wonderful collaborators I’ve had on this cruise, Susie and Valerie, and of course our guests.  Last night, we thanked them with these cute little bags made by Valerie.  In each bag is a charm pin to remind them of our cruise.

Tomorrow will be our final day at sea before returning to port in Galveston.  Our cruise through the year is almost over, but we still have many more great projects from this cruise to share with you, so I hope you’ll stick around!