Turning 50 - Goodbye 2013

50 Years Old - Before and After

The last post of 2013, I thought I'd leave you with a little magic.  2013 was a year of turning 50 - many of my friends, myself, OF COURSE Doctor Who, skateboarding, Johnny Depp, Michael Jordan, Brad Pitt, even Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech, hypertext, the nanosecond, and the zip code all reached this major milestone - along with my little Christmas tree.



Every year I adorn my little tree with it's original ornaments and offer it pride of place, but even I had to admit it was looking a tad threadbare.  Right, I thought, 50 years, it's time for a little makeover.

New tinsel for the tree

 I wanted to keep the structural integrity of the tree, so I cut lenghs of new tinsel for each branch and then wired them on with thin silver wire. 

Attaching new tinsel

 I found that the best results for giving the tree it's strength back were to wrap wire tightly the full length of the branch.  The tinsel easily pokes out of the wire, so I wrapped very securely.

Close up with original ornaments

 I did this for each branch separely and then up the 'trunk'of  the tree as one.  The star was not original and had seen better days so I replaced it with the best I had - until I find something just a little bigger.

I had a few scraps of tiny bead garland so I added this in red and white and secured the original ornaments more permanently on the tree.  I'd hate for them to fall and break, and tempted though I was to make new ornaments with some of my lovely beads, the point of this exercise was to return the tree to it's original magical condition.

Reworked tree with new tree skirt.

This year it went back to it's usual featured position on the mantle, with a new tree skirt as well.  I made this in thin crochet cotton like you'd use for doilies, and though the multi-colour choice may seem non-traditional it reminds me very much of some paper garlands and decorations that I LOVED as a child, so it makes sense to me.  The border edge is done with faux white yarn which I must say was a little tricky with such a tiny crochet hook - I was glad I didn't have more to do.

I love my little tree.  I've always loved my little tree.  But now people can see it a little more like I've always envisioned her. Magical!

Happy New Year everyone, and all the very best for 2014!