a 'week of glee' ~ day four

for today's dollop of 'glee'

i have delved into the 'gleeful' past to bring you something i made two years back...

it is quite truthfully my favorite 'gleeful' item of all time.

i look forward to getting it out of the attic and i dislike having to put it back in the attic after the 'gleeful season' is done and dusted.

it is i believe, to be a perfect example of how a handcrafted piece made from 'leftovers' can bring 'glee' year after year.

so without further a do, i bring you

a 'cluster of glee'

quite simply made

and

brings a whole lot of 'glee' to a front door this season

as i said above, i did this in 2007 but i am willing for you, my dearest readers to delve into the archives of my crafty memory and tell you how i made it,

so in turn you can go about your 'gleeful' day, gathering odds and ends, to make your very own 'cluster of glee'

now here's the tricky bit, i did start with a string of bells as my base.

i had these lurking in my christmas box...

this could be a problem for any on the handcrafted thrifty challenge, and then again perhaps not, for you are a crafty lot and have plenty of inspiration of your own.

my thoughts are perhaps some vintage baubles hung on a cord or lace may make for a nice starting base,

i could just see a wonderful little grouping of colored ones,

or perhaps just plain silver.

i took some

yarn

(wrapped into snowballs)

felt snowflakes

(i saved from a gift given to me)

red felt hearts

(a garland from ikea i chopped up)

odd scraps of lace

(you could cut up old doilies for this)

and

large vintage shell buttons

i proceeded to thread them all together in a pleasing order.

i made seven strands, all varying lengths,

finishing off by handstitching them together at the top

of the cord, holding the bells.

this looked a little messy and so i hand stitched a nice piece of vintage lace over the 'mess', thus disguising the 'messy situation' that had occured and making it look like it was all part of my master plan in the first place...

and that's it.

i do like a 'gleeful' project that can be made from leftover crafty bits,

has the potential to shine in it's handcrafted 'gleeness'

and does what handcrafted things do best,

makes a house into a home.

and she is thinking, one can't ask much more than that from a little 'cluster of glee' ~ Tif

footynote: just a thought, as it's impossible to tell the size of my 'cluster of glee' in the pictures, this little sweetie measures 26" or 66cm, from top to toe :)