June 25th, Rudolph Day...

June 25th!  We are now at the halfway point between last Christmas and next Christmas.  Amazing.  And while I'm not a real fan of seeing Christmas everywhere so early, I do think that when you make things by hand, you have to get an early start, or things just don't get done.  

Pamela at The Lady of the House Speaking introduced me to the idea of Rudolph Day; that is designating the 25th of each month as 'Rudolph Day' and making ready.  That made sense to me.  I don't have to think about plans and preparations all month every month, but I can think about them on the 25th and take small steps to be ready(er).

So if you hate seeing Christmas pulled out mid-year, avert your eyes.  I am going to try to post one Christmas project on 'Rudolph Day' each month from now to Christmas.

One thing I have been wanting to do for awhile is to paint a canvas as a backdrop for our nativity scene, so this morning at 3:30 a.m. (yes, that's when I usually start on crazy things) I just jumped in.

This is an awful piece done at one of those wine-and-friends painting 'classes.'  They are fun to attend, but don't always render the best results.  I decided to paint over this canvas which heretofore has never seen the light of day.  (Frugal re-use!)

Did it turn out great?  Meh.  Do I want to re-do it?  Pretty much.  Am I going to?  No.  It is done, which is more than it was last Christmas, and done is better than perfect!

And it doesn't look too bad when set behind the stable made by my father in 1981 (which I dug out of the closet for this photo).  I think it will look even better when officially done up at Christmas.