A Kate Middleton Easter DIY

Dear friends,
sorry it's been so long. Chalk it up to winter, unemployment, laziness, lack of laziness, whatever you will. It's hard to get on and blog! Props to the many fantastic blogs out there who never let us down.
Anyway, perhaps it was a reunion of the JEM girls or the extra hour of sunshine in the afternoons, but I was just ITCHING for a DIY. Turns out, I had the perfect excuse to crack out the glue gun AND to purchase tacky, dusty silk flowers. Ladies and gentleman, I give you: The Easter Hat.
When my boyfriend's grandmother saw our Ugly Xmas sweaters on December 24th, she flipped. She couldn't get over the creativity, the hilarity of it all (clearly, she's not online). Only two of us had made ugly sweaters for the occasion, opting to surprise my in-laws rather than get them in on the fun, but everyone was eyeing our warm, cozy sweaters with eggnog-fueled jealousy. And then, Mrs. P came up with a brilliant idea: Easter hats.
The Easter hat is the ugly Christmas sweater of spring. Go for bows, bunny ears, grass/moss, flowers, flowers and MORE FLOWERS. You cannot lose.

from roaylwedding.hellomagazine.com

My original sketch was for a very dramatic bonnet inspired by Kate Middleton and the royal family's elaborate fascinators, but considering I got the flowers for $2 and the hat for free, I couldn't justify spending $4 on the tulle or lace for the veil I envisioned. Yes, I am poor. And YES, I am cheap. (Since being unemployed, I've even taken to cutting my own hair. And it doesn't even look bad!)

from lifeloveandlouis.blogspot.com

So if you want to surprise (or full-on stun) your relatives this re-birthday (death-day?) of Mr. (?) Christ, follow this step-by-step guide to a DIY Easter bonnet.
1. Assemble cheap materials. Get a free sunhat, strawhat, bowler hat or whatever you can scrounge up for free. I got extra lucky in that my free hat is light green, perfect for my springtime theme. You'll also need fake flowers (see Value Village), bunny ears, yellow chicks, plaster eggs and whatever other dollar store crap you want to throw on there. Also, hot glue. Loads and loads of hot glue.

 2. If necessary, cut back the flowers so that they are a workable size. Whatever you do, don't get cocky with the scissors and slice your left index as I did. I almost not blood on my hat!
3. Play around with the design; place things randomly until they look good. I tried my hat on once or twice during the process to see where I needed to add stuff.

4. Mostly, just cover up unsightly stems and go for fullness and depth. A lot of the leaves came in convenient branches of three, but I cut some of these into individual pieces to get a more unique, garden-like look.

5. Use every bit. I had some smaller buds leftover which I glue to bobby pins. Now when I'm feeling spring-ish I can wear those!

6. Go hog wild. Like Ugly Christmas Sweaters, I imagine Easter hats should be vivacious and loud, not subdued or stylish. I was going for a girly, garden theme, but I encourage you to make, salvage or up-cycle bunny ears, faux-chocolate rabbits, birds' nests, robins' eggs, straw, butterflies, book pages, bows, ribbons, burlap... the sky's the limit. I feel like my hat could use something more, but for now, this is my finished product:

All in all, it took about 20 minutes and half a pint of blood (haha). Definitely will add some fun to our holiday weekend. And now, I'm back to my mug of mint tea and Brian Jacques' Redwall. 

Gotta book it!

xoxo

JEM

Tug my heartstrings, don't sucker punch my ovaries: Kate Morton still enchants

If you want a sure bet for most any (female) reader on your Christmas shopping list this year, go with Kate Morton.  Though not new on the publishing scene, if the receiver on your list hasn't yet read her works, she's bound to be enthralled after just a few pages.      

 Morton's sumptuous novels are elegantly strewn together to make captivating, touching mysteries.  It is chick-lit at its best: novels that focus on intellectual, emotional women and the hardships of their lives, from infertility and adoption to broken marriages and doomed love affairs.  Unfortunately, I think most male readers will stick to Green Lantern.  But I could be wrong.

 The House At Riverton (2007), Morton’s breakout novel, which is published in Australia as The Shifting Fog, chronicles the lives of an upper-class family in the late 19^th century.  It is narrated from the memories of one of their old housemaids, who now lies dying in a senior’s facility, out of place in the modern age.  Morton is especially talented at writing the narratives of elderly ladies, and both of her Sunday Times best-sellers have senior citizens as their protagonists.  This is a breath of fresh air, when you consider quite a lot of chick-lit is a la Devil Wears Prada and stars young, fashion savvy 20-somethings in the Big City.

From bookdepository.co.uk

The Forgotten Garden (2008), Morton’s second novel, is about a grand-daughter who takes up the cross-continental search for her grandmother’s birth parents.  The novel jumps smoothly from different characters, locations and time periods, and the reader’s attention is held by the fast-pace of the changing plot.  But, one may find, as I did, that Morton’s characters tend to be a little static.

My biggest criticism of her work is that after reading both the books, the characters are indiscernible from one another, and her style, though easy on the eyes, was so changeless that these two separate works felt to me like one, continuous world.  That being said, though I wouldn't read 20 Kate Morton books back-to-back, I thoroughly enjoy picking up her up at least once a year, and I always pick up her newest releases when they hit the shelves at Costco.  Then I cozy up with my tissues, cocoa, nail polish and nature soundtrack for some quality girl time.

From railbirds.com

Both novels contain unforeseen twists and the secrets, which lure the reader in, are more complicated than I’d originally anticipated.  The books are extensively researched and even though they’re not incredibly insightful, the prose is loftier than the Shopaholic series.  Morton has a formula that she sticks to, but that’s not to say that her stories aren’t fluid and addictive.  I literally found a hiding place at my summer job so that I could curl up and enjoy the final chapters uninterrupted (it was under my boss' desk...he was never in his upstairs office). 

Her newest books, The Distant Hours (2011) and The Secret Keeper (2013) are on my Christmas wishlist.  They're bound to be the emotional, misty-eye-inducing plots that everyone loves a dose of, minus the Nicholas Sparks hyperbole.  I don't know about you, but I like the little subtlety in my chick lit; more of a tugging on my heartstrings rather than a sucker punch to my ovaries.

Don't quote me on it, but I'm pretty sure Costco and Indigo have four packs of all Morton's works.  Or if you don't want to chance it, go with just Riverton-- so far, it's my favourite.  You can't lose with the roaring '20s, a troubled poet and a tragic mystery.  If you're feeling extra generous, pair with a vintage tea cup, some herbal teas, or a scented candle for the ultimate girly-girl reading experience.

You can check out KM talking about Distant Hours here. 

Gotta book it!

xox

JEM