Another confession and a holiday upcycle

Good grief, we're on a relentless march towards Christmas, aren't we? I'm going to show you something I made for my oldest daughter, but the back story will include information that will shock and horrify many of you; consider this an apology in advance.

Deep breath. All right, here it is: although I read them all during my childhood, the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Little House series were never my favorites--I know, heresy to millions of loyal Laura lovers--put down your pitchforks, please! As an adult, I realized this reaction was a result of disliking the characters of both Ma and Mary, which admittedly may be unreasonable, but still, first impressions stick. It was a recent discovery that mine was not the only negative reaction towards this beloved series in my own family. This revelation came when Hilary, my oldest daughter, informed me she read them by mistake. She got home from the library and realized she wasn't about to read Little Horse on the Prairie, much to her great disgust. I found it hilarious, not to mention comforting, to not be the only person on earth who doesn't worship at the shrine of LIW.

Then, a couple of months following this shocking disclosure, on a counter with other postcards and announcements at Texas Art Supply, the following turned up:

It seemed an ideal vehicle to wish the horse lover/house hater a seasonal greeting. So, I took the notice and tweaked it a bit, till it looked like this:

After adjusting the title, I used embellishments, rickrack and part of an old card to cover the bottom section, then wrote  a verse which was printed and is on the reverse side. 

Meanwhile, to go along with it, discovered in a tub of mostly Happy Meal toys at Sand Dollar I found:

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture before lashing a tree to his back and giving him some holiday decor. He is a  small, plastic horse with dapple gray spots and mane. Flossie thinks he might be a fun toy--for her! No, Flossie, you're not going to grab him to bat around the floor in your own version of horse hockey.

Still, she's keeping her eye on this intriguing pony figure:

The light seemed better in the living room, so I moved in there. 

Here is his Christmas neck wear, a cinnamon dough star and jingle bell. They are threaded together on stiff cord, tied in a bow. The tree is lashed on with narrow green ribbon.

I'm going to link this to Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, which is here:Met Monday. One last look before this little fellow heads to Austin and my daughter's mailbox next week. What do you think? Will she be surprised?

Till next time,

Michele