Craft Project: Christmas Carol Garland (and our first real tree!!)

My sewing machine hasn't seen the light of day since we moved almost a year ago. I rarely use glue and my scissors are used for mundane tasks. All of my "craftiness" seems to have vanished out the window since having Wendy. And I'm okay with that. But occasionally the inspiration still hits. Around this time of year especially, I get the urge to create and decorate and go a little crazy. 

Last year we closed on our house six days before Christmas. I was very pregnant. For the first time ever, I didn't decorate. I think I stuck our gingerbread family outside in the garden so we wouldn't look like complete Scrooges to our new neighbors and that was it. 

But this year . . . I'm making up for it! We have a beautiful, real, smells-so-amazing Christmas tree. I couldn't wait to decorate right after Thanksgiving!

I also couldn't wait to make this amazing "garland" that I saw on Laid Off Mom. My family had a Christmas caroling party every year while I was growing up, so Christmas songs mean a lot to me. How cool to put one on my tree!

The hardest part was choosing which carol to use. I don't have a favorite, but I ended up deciding on Silent Night. I used some fancy textured paper I bought especially for the project at the craft store. I played around with different fonts and ended up using one called  Bickham Script Pro Bold. It had the classic, old-fashioned look I wanted. 

There was a lot of measuring involved because I can't draw or cut a straight line to save my life. 

Here are the finished "ribbons." 

They look so beautiful on the tree at night when the lights illuminate them! 

I tucked them into the branches all around the tree. 

The words are such a beautiful reminder of why and what we are celebrating. 

And there you have it: our first real tree. White lights. Silver, blue, green, and gold ornaments. Lots and lots of glitter/sparkle (I definitely own too many sparkly ornaments). And now, a beautiful Silent Night garland!