on the 3rd day of joyfulness...

dottie angel shared with me

a jumbly bumbly cluster of glee

(skill level : easy peasy with a hint of lemon squeezy)

yes indeedy, another easy peasy one, after all it is the beginning of the week and we would not wish to over do things. as the gleeful season descends upon our nests, i do think hanging little clusters in a jumbly bumbly manner can be most enjoyable. favourite old ornaments from times gone by, mixed in with new ones and a dash of eclecticness in the way of a little happy forsaken soul or two may be just the thing to cheer one up.

this little cluster is called a 'jumbly bumbly' one because quite frankly that is what it is. yes, it is nothing more than a 'jumbly bumbly of things' hung on strings, which in turn has made me joyful.

ingredients:

* ornaments, forsaken little souls, knick knacks, 

(anything you can string and dingle dangle in a jumbly bumbly sort of way)

* yarn, crochet cotton, bakers twine, any thread to dingle dangle things from, 

(but does need to have a little strength to it)

* scissors

* needle

* crochet hook

* button

* cup hook 

recipe:

1. lay out your little collection of goodies and start tying long strings on them.

2. holding one ornament and its string in  your hand, start adding others to your cluster, making sure they lay nicely on top of each other, when you have a nice bunch hanging together and all gaps appear to have been filled in. take all the strings you hold in your hand and knot them together at the top.

3. using more of your string and tucking in the ends at the top, wrap around to keep in place. use your needle and thread to secure your stringy knot and then snip the tail end of your string, carefully avoiding any other strings in the process.

4. i used Mr Hook to crochet a chain, this is not necessary but does give a bit of strength to the whole thing. figure out how long you require your cluster of jumbly bumbly to hang and make a string befitting to that length (remember it is likely to stretch a little, once the chained string takes the weight of the cluster). again use your needle threaded onto one end to attach it securely to your cluster or you could just do some nifty knotting using your boy scout skills.

5. with needle and string, add a button, i also added a felted snowflake, you could add more than one button or indeed go totally joyful and add a bow! gosh yes, some folks do like bows this time of year and this maybe just the moment to introduce one.

6. screw a cup hook into the ceiling (can you tell i live in the US where the ceilings are easy to make a hole in!) if a hole in your ceiling is a no-no then may i suggest dingly dangling your cluster from a little door knob on a cupboard

7. as always, step back and admire your joyful efforts and then wonder to yourself if a 'jumbly bumbly cluster' made on a larger scale, might look rather spiffy and joyful hanging on the front door instead of the usual wreath this gleeful season.

day 4 of joyfulness tomorrow ~ Tif