On "Careless People": A Book Review

Title: Careless People

Author: Sarah Churchwell

Genre: Non-Fiction

About the book…

Careless People provides a glimpse into the 1920’s, F. Scott Fitzgerald writing of The Great Gatsby, and the crime that may have influenced the writing of it. 

What I think…

While I tend to focus less on the 1920s than other decades, I think I enjoyed this book all the more because of it. It really looks at so much more than the Fitzgeralds doing more to paint a picture of the world they lived in, along with the others who inhabited it.

I liked that Churchwell alternated the subjects that the book focused on and then managed to bring the different subjects together to provide a broader understanding. I also feel that this made the book more enjoyable in that there was no assumption that the reader was an expert in regards to the decade or Fitzgeralds (although, I do feel it would have been helpful to re-read The Great Gatsby and a few other works). Along with the historical facts relating to the lives if Scott and Zelda, Churchwell includes information about slang used at the time and how it changed through the decade, the literary tastes of the time, and, one of my favorite parts, talks about the first traffic lights in New York. 

That a mix of newspaper articles, journal entries, and letters are used to present the information makes it even more interesting.

To sum it all up… 

Much more than a book about F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby, this is a perfect book for anyone interested in learning more about the 1920s.♥

On the Snowflake Failure that Led to Pretty Hanging Things: A Photo Post

I tried to make a decorative snowflake using a pattern I found on Pinterest. It didn't go so well (as you can kind of see below), but I tried the pattern on a single fold and ended up with some very pretty cutouts that when decorated looked lovely!

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On Making a Vintage Look-Alike Elf Decoration

Among my favorite decorations that belonged to my grandma is this Santa and last year I got to thinking how easy it'd be to make an elf to go with him, which inspired this tutorial.

To make your elf you will need:

• A large satin ball ornament (remove the string ahead of time)
• A smaller sized ball ornament
• White and black paint
• A piece of cardboard (a little wider than your ornament)
• A black, a white, and a green pipe cleaner (or one matching whatever color ball you are using)
• Black ribbon or bias tape
• Gold paper (I used the inside of an envelope flap)
• A small piece of felt
• A glue gun

Optional 

• Glitter
• A small pom pom
• Sequins
• A small bottlebrush tree

Instructions

1. Cut the black pipe cleaner in half and shape into feet as pictured below. Make sure you have the loop at the center!

2. Cut a circle out of the cardboard piece that is large enough to fit the feet (I used a peanut butter jar lid). Paint it white and while it's still wet sprinkle it with glitter.

 3. While the base is drying, take the loop in feet piece and using the hot glue attach it over what is normally the top of the ornament. 

4. Take ribbon and wrap around the circumference of ornament to make the belt. Trim edges if they overlap.

5. Cut a square of gold paper that matches the width of the ribbon for the buckle and glue at center (great way to cover the open edges!).

6. Once base is dry, glue the ornament, making sure to get glue on the feet too, to the base. 

7. Glue smaller ornament to top for the head.

8. Form arms of the desired length from your colored pipe cleaner (I recommend folding them over) and glue to sides.

9. Cut out piece of felt to roll into hat, gluing it along the back. Glue to head and then glue pompom to top.

10. Glue white pipe cleaner around base of hat for trim.  

11. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the neck for a scarf, twisting it to keep it in place.

12. Paint on a face and decorate by adding sequin buttons, a small tree, or anything else you can think of!  

If you like this tutorial, here are other past Christmas Tutorials:

  On Making a Vintage Look-Alike Snowman Ornament

  On Fun Ideas For Making Christmas Cards

  On Making a Vintage Fabric Scrap Christmas Tree Ornament

  On Making a Vintage Fabric Scrap Lollipop Ornaments

  On Making Pom-Pom Reindeer and Polar Bear Ornaments

🎄♥🎄