2018 Christmas ornament and our alternative to a tree

Boy, am I behind in posts. Oops.

Anyway, we do a special ornament for the Christmas tree every year. We try to tie it to something that's happened during the year (a trip, a new hobby, an adventure, etc) and then we write up a "year-in-review" summary and keep it in the box. Every year we pull out the ornaments, decorate the tree, and pick random summaries to read out loud.

This year, we opted not to do a tree. I do this every few years or so - just take a break from all the decorating and do a minimalist version of Christmas. Amazing how much it recharges my enthusiasm.

This year I made a book wreath. Before anyone freaks out over destroying a book - this one was already toast. I have a favorite author and book series that I read over and over. So much in fact that I end up wearing them out and purchase multiple copies anytime I see them. Fortunately he's recently released some of them as e-books so I don't have to worry about it anymore. One of the hardcover books was completely falling apart and I decided it would be a fitting tribute to recycle it. It was printed on great paper and even had deckle edges (I worked in the paper industry for ages; I know good paper!).

A bit of internet research and I had a game plan. A few evenings folding pages, and couple days stapling, gluing, and assembling, and eventually, I had this:

Took nearly 250 pages

And now that Christmas is over, I've removed the bow and put it up in my stairwell as a bookworm type decoration. Not bad.

And this year's ornament? It seemed fitting to celebrate the shoes I've made. So I shrank the pattern and made this cutie:

It's about 4 inches long

I have way too much fun doing these things.

You can just see the shoe if you zoom...