Mt. Airy 'Mayberry', NC at Christmas

Back in December we took off for what's become a kind of annual December road trip.  This year we headed back to Biloxi, Mississippi.  In order to get the most out of the trip, I researched everything to see along the way.  As it turned out, Mt Airy NC wasn't all that far off the main highway we needed and I thought it would be pretty to see at Christmas.  We went in the fall of 2021 and it was fantastic.  I knew Christmas would be great.  Andy Griffith was born in Mt Airy and this is the REAL 'Mayberry' and it's so, so worth seeing no matter what time of year.  

No matter how many times I uploaded the pics, they continue to load last to first and I just don't have the motivation to fix them.  So they are in the order of 'after dinner to mid afternoon'.

This is in the park downtown.

It was ICE COLD the night we were here.  In the teens.  The crescent moon was so crisp!

Store windows downtown were gorgeous.  So festive and homey.  Truly a throwback to a simpler time.

We stayed here.  I try to go with the local 'mom n pop' places whenever possible.  

Andy's office and the jail cells. 

Otis' cell.  Decorated for the holidays.

The Darlins! 

Goober says 'Hey'! 

The Darlins' shack

Country singer Donna Fargo is also from Mt. Airy.  She had a hit in the early 70s, 'Happiest Girl in the Whole USA'. 

Last time we went in 2021 I made Russell pose under the sign and theatre. It was just too cold this time to ask him to get out of the nicely heated truck. 

There are tours around town in the sheriff's car.

We ate breakfast at this cafe the first time we were in Mt Airy in 2021.  Tons of Don Knotts and Barney memorabilia and autographs inside!

Decorated upright basses all over town.

Fans of The Andy Griffith Show will remember their frequent references to Mount Pilot.  That's the real Pilot Mountain, just southeast of Mt. Airy.

More Holiday Crafting

Well I was going at a healthy clip, making projects that I'd seen on Pinterest and wanted to tackle, but then everything in my life went sideways through no fault of my own, and I ended the month of November really sick which was not surprising considering the way I was run ragged and right into the ground.

But I did manage to get this one completed and I'm really pleased with it.  I got the shadow box at AC Moore.  It had some text on the back that I don't even remember and I covered it with silver glitter paper.  Next, I had to drill the hole for the battery operated LED lights, then pulled them through but left them outside till I finished with the tree scenes.  I used some styrafoam chunks to elevate the trees and then glued the other trees in place.  That took a day or so to dry.  After that I ran the lights around it.  The project that I was using as a guide had the wires showing like this and actually I kind of like the effect.  Once the lights were in place, I stuffed some cotton snow in the bottom, then used gold glitter paint around the edges (hard to see in this pic).  The sad thing is, I have no room for it but I'm going to try and find a place. 

And then I finished experimenting with a bunch of ornament ideas seen on Pinterest, just to check them off my craft bucket list.  I ended up giving all of them to my stepdaughter.  No idea what she's doing with them....but I don't have the room for them so better her than me!  lol

Stuffed with colourful pom poms.

This one was a disaster.  Supposed to be easy....pour in nail polish then swipe around the sides with a Qtip.  Well I used more polish than I should have so it got everywhere.  I had to let it drain in the trash for about 15 minutes before attempt the Qtip part.  I had polish all over my fingers for days.

The project I saw for this just had pearl beads in it but that looked really bad so I used a long strand of pearls I found buried in my ribbons container.

Same thing with this strand of red.

This is kind of pretty....just some fibers and stuff.

This one is stuffed with iridescent fibers.

Another pain in the butt.  I was going to just stuff the whole thing with that snow stuff but thanks to static electricity, it was hard to fill and hard to keep from sticking to my hands, shirt and basically everything in site.  So I threw a bunch of little holiday bits and bobs into it and made a 'spot the item' ball instead.

This is an interesting effect.  It's supposed to be like mercury glass.  You spray some mirror paint inside and swirl it around, hit it with a hair dryer to partially dry it, then put a drop or two of water inside and shake the ball to spatter it on the sides.  

Finally, glow in the dark paint.  I never fully charged it to shoot a pic after it was glowing.  I assume it worked.

Right now my craft table is a hot mess but I'm hoping to get a few more altered art projects done.

The Holiday Are Upon Us!

I remember back in January, when the year started off so incredibly horribly for us and everyone else, I couldn't wait to see the end of 2013 and here we are again, less than 30 days from another year gone by.

After Russell left for the week, I broke out the decorations and got to work.  It was A LOT of work too, and I can't find some stuff I know I have.  There are enough decorations and ornaments to do every room in the house, but I kept it confined to the livingroom.  It took hours and hours too, although I was trying to clean the house and organize stuff at the same time.  

                                                           

Putz houses I got on ebay that are like the set my parents had when I was a kid.

I really like the way these pics came out without the flash.  I am going to have to go into Sandwich and re-shoot all the 'Sandwich Giants' again.  

Glass blobs on a bottle I made last year.  Yes that's Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo.

Some needlework (back left snowman, center Santa, back right 3D sled scene) and a bowl of glittery bulbs. 

I didn't do the beaded thing in the back, but I did do the beaded candle cup in the front.

The Christmas Shelf I made last year.

Rudolph characters.

Those 2 open scenes play music when wound up and the characters around the center move around.

Outside deck.

Make-It Bake-It kits I made back in the mid-70s.  It's really hard to find these kits anymore.