Christmas Baubles

Have you got your Christmas tree up yet? WE DO! It is very, VERY exciting. I have been telling Rich all year he needs to prepare himself for a christmas tree that is way bigger than what reasonably will fit into our apartment. He thought I was joking, I assured him I was not, then of course he was rudely surprised when I picked out the BIGGEST one at the corner stand and made him lug it home for me. (Its nine feet tall. We live in a NYC shoebox.) There's Christmas trees for sale on so many of the corners here, and it makes it feel so lovely and seasonal! Not to mention that christmas trees are a different species here (we have boring old pinus radiata in NZ, which is the same as what we export all over the world for wood) but the trees here smell SO GOOD and are so so pretty! 

I decided this year that I was going to make my own christmas baubles! We had a bunch of clear baubles left over from a project that we did, and I have a shelf of jars that is overflowing with spices, beans, grains, dried flowers and sprinkles, so I put two and two together and it came out amazingly! It was crazy easy, and they are so much fun to do! 

We got the baubles from here. We got the 2", 2 ⅝" and 3", and it made a really nice mix of sizes. They should sell them at most craft shops too! They are very inexpensive (4 for $5), and you can fill them with literally anything you like, provided it is small enough to fit inside the hole! I went with fairly neutral coloured things (apart from the one filled with hundreds and thousands), but you could go crazy filling them with different coloured sand, glitter, sprinkles, bits of cut up paper, whatever you want! I found that dried flowers looked AMAZING. Next year I might go for dried flowers, and other baubles with glitter inside. Another great thing is that when you are done and would like to change your theme, you just empty them out and fill them up again! 

Go crazy with the things which you put inside! Just bear in mind that they can get a little heavy if you fill them too full, so either hold back a little on things like beans and rice, or make sure that they are on really supportive branches. 

A few things that I filled my baubles with: 

• Peppercorns (black and pink)

• Dried flowers (bachelor buttons, daisies, jasmine)

• Whole cloves

• Tapioca pearls

• Allspice balls

• Cinnamon sticks

• Rice (black rice, glutinous rice, white rice)

• Chilli flakes

• Sprinkles

• Dried beans

• Cardamom pods

• Star Anise

• Cacao Nibs

• Dried Lavender

• Sesame seeds (white and black)

We went for a fairly minimal tree this year, it also has a garland made from felt balls which I threaded onto some string using a sharp needle (We both aren't big tinsel fans so this works perfectly), some really small LED lights on a copper wire, and some amazing mushroom ornaments which my friend Aron from Facture goods made for me! 

Obsessed! Excited for next year already.

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