Gocco Part II: How-to - Family Reunion Napkins

Provided you’ve managed to acquire a Gocco printer and get your hands on the basic supplies -- Gocco flashbulbs (either 2 or 4 per screen, depending on your Gocco printer), blank Gocco screen, Gocco ink (either ink for paper or ink for fabric will work for the napkins), and of course a big stack of blank napkins -- you’re ready for the Gocco magic to begin. The images here are from some commemorative Family Reunion napkins Carrie and I made a couple years ago.

First off, Making the Image
To make your screen you will need a black and white printed image at least slightly smaller than the size of your screen (a good rule of thumb is to leave about ½” margin at all sides to assure proper printing). Consider whether you want your design printed square to the edges of the napkin or at a 45-degree angle. Also keep the crimped napkin edges in mind. It’s a personal preference, I guess, but I prefer to keep my image entirely off the crimped edge.

Black and white means black and white. When making your image, it’s important to remember there are really no shades of gray with Gocco. A graded dot pattern will give you a fading effect, but you should basically think of your screen like a stencil: either ink comes through, full color, or not at all.

Equally important is to realize that you cannot print two different colors directly adjacent to each other (again, like a stencil). Different colors will either need to be separated by at least 1/2" of space (more is better) or printed with two separate screens. (This is possible, but it’s very tricky to get the screens to register exactly the same. For a “simple” project like paper napkins, I don’t think it’s worth the trouble.) So, for instance, for the Family Reunion, we started with this cute color image:

You'll notice these cute little chickens have several colors (yellow, orange, red, black) touching each other – a big NO for doing a single-screen Gocco print. I brought the image into Photoshop and made some adjustments to get it Gocco-ready. First the hen: I deleted the color from her head and feet, leaving a heavy outline at the edges. This means the head will be left the background color of the napkin, allowing the beak, comb, wattle, and eye to all stand out. Because the rooster has the same color for the head and body, I removed the color from his eye, beak, comb, and wattle (leaving an outline around the edges), as well as his feet. The little chicks mainly needed their eye-color deleted, similar to the rooster. I also gave them a little more definition by “cutting out” a partial outline under their little wings. Finally, I scooted the entire rooster further to the right, so it would be easier to use a different color ink for him than for the chicks. Here’s the resulting image, ready for the next step:

Now, because the Gocco process relies on carbon-based inks to burn the image into (or out of) the screen, take your printed image to the nearest black & white Xerox machine and run off a copy or two (one should be enough, but I’m a big believer in back-ups). Please note that it is very important that you use a black & white copier, NOT a color copier, or else you won’t get the carbon ink necessary to cut the screen. It may also be a good idea to make a copy a little bit larger than full-size and one a little bit smaller, so you can be sure you end up with the right size for your napkin.

Making the Screen

Before you make your screen, decide exactly how you want your image positioned on the napkin. I do this by cutting away the excess paper from the edges and laying the image on the actual napkin. (Here's where you can try out the various sizes you printed.) Now take the napkin and place it on the Gocco printing pad, with the image in its desired location on top. Mark the location of where to place the image. (I use a couple of strips of masking tape for this.) Insert a blank screen and four fresh flashbulbs into the printer lamp. You’re ready to cut your screen – almost.

This next step is more or less important depending on how “old” your photocopy is. If you’ve run it off within the past 30 minutes, you can probably go right ahead and burn your screen. If it’s been sitting around for awhile, though, take out a hair dryer and blow-dry your print (yes, seriously) for about two minutes. Somehow heating up the carbon ink helps in the screen burning process.

Now reposition your image on the ink pad, put the lamp on top of the printer, and press down until you hear (and see) a flash.

Close your eyes (they probably should have been closed anyway in anticipation of the flash) and pray. Remove the lamp from the top of the Gocco, and lift the lid. If all went well, your paper image should now cling to the underside of the screen, and the image should be "burned" out of the screen. To see if you got a successful burn, carefully peel back a bit of the paper. (Don’t peel it off all the way. You want to leave it “stuck” so that you can use the paper as a guide for where to put the ink.)

Inking the Screen

On to the fun part. If you plan to print in multiple colors, you’ll need some of Gocco’s handy foam ink-blocking stuff. This is like a large foam sticker that you can cut into strips and place between different-colored parts of your image to stop ink from running from one area into another. Make sure you ink the right side of your screen! The cellophane side should be face-up. Pull back the cellophane to expose the screen. Cut foam strips about ¼” wide and stick them in place as necessary, making sure you have a continuous wall between the different areas.

Keep in mind that once you start the inking process there’s really no stopping until every last napkin is printed. This is because the ink will dry out if left in the screen for too long. Also it’s very useful to have a helper for the inking process. It can be done alone (trust me), but it’s faster, and easier to avoid screw-ups, with a second set of hands. If you’re sure you’re ready, take your ink tubes and squeeze a generous amount of ink over the cut out portions of the screen (the black areas of your image). The ink will eventually spread, but if possible try to keep it as far from your foam separator tape as possible.

Printing

When everything has been inked, fold the cellophane back over the screen, insert the screen back into the printer, and carefully peel off the paper. Before you waste ink on your precious (if inexpensive) napkins, it’s always good to do a few “starter” prints on some scrap paper. It usually takes a few goes to get the ink fully flowing to all areas of the image. When you feel like your tests prints are looking satisfactory, bring out the napkins. Now, bleed-through isn’t as much an issue with napkins as with t-shirts, but it remains a possibility. For this reason, I like to keep scraps of thin cardboard (cut-up manila folders are handy) to slip inside the napkin, just under the top layer. Slipping the cardboard in is one of the many little jobs you can have your helper do.

The printing process itself is very quick and easy: insert napkin/press/remove napkin. The trickiest thing, in a way, is finding somewhere to put all the napkins until they’re dry. (Don’t want to stack them while the ink is wet.) A very useful tool, then, is a laundry drying rack. These will hold several napkins, and they make your house (apartment, whatever) look very crafty and productive in the meantime. Invariably, though, I end up using every horizontal surface available to me as well. From time to time you’ll notice an area of the image that’s not getting its full color. Simply remove the screen, lift up the cellophane, and reapply ink to the fading areas, then get back to business.

And there you have it! Unique, personalized napkins for any and every occasion!If you think you might want to print your image again in the future (more napkins, t-shirts, whatever), make sure to clean the screen well. Using a rubber scraper or a scrap of cardboard, scrape off as much as the ink as possible. (The thrifty among us will store this in an airtight container for another day. The rest of us will toss it.) Then use simple soap, water, and LOTS of paper towels to remove as much of the rest as possible. (Don’t expect to completely remove all color from the screen – just make sure no ink is left in the cut-out portions.) You don’t want your screen to warp, so be careful not to get the cardboard edges wet. I typically lay the screen on some reliably sturdy scrap paper, and rub gently with a damp, soapy paper towel. You will have to frequently change the paper underneath. Cleaning the screen is the messiest part of the whole process.

If you want a more thorough tutorial, with pictures, on how to Gocco, check out this website.

As mentioned in the previous post, these little gadgets are becoming increasingly scarce. I know there’s a new home-crafter screen printer out there called the Yudu, but I haven’t heard a lot about it. From what I can tell, though, the Yudu screen-cutting process is much more complicated and time-consuming than the flash-bulb burning of the Gocco. The scarcity of Gocco products (screens and bulbs especially) may have all of us looking for another way soon enough, but we can always hope another manufacturer resurrects this fun, if only marginally useful, technology.

Gocco, Part I: Party Napkins - A Last Gasp for a Dying Technology?

Time for a little divergence into near-obsolete technology!

Gocco (rhymes with “cocoa”) printers, made in Japan, are essentially a very easy way of making and printing from your own screens. They use flash bulbs to burn any black (carbon-based ink) & white image into a screen which can then be inked and printed onto virtually anything. Pretty cool, maybe, back in 1980. Now that everyone in the world has access to photo-quality inkjet printers, not to mention laser printers, it’s a little hard to know what use to make of Goccos. Yes, an inked print is longer-lasting and possibly more satisfyingly tactile than a standard inkjet print, but is the difference really worth the expense and trouble? To put it another way, what can you do with a Gocco that is truly unique and otherwise impossible?

Let’s examine the facts.

Gocco Negatives

Increasingly harder to find supplies (production appears to have ceased several years ago, and supplies are only available from online sellers (etsy, ebay, etc.))

Screens can only be made from carbon-based prints – meaning you have to seek out old-school black&white copiers

Screen-burning process is incredibly finicky – make sure to have back-up bulbs and screens at the ready

Screen-burning process is fairly expensive: 4 bulbs and 1 screen (minimum, see above item) = upwards of $15

Multi-color prints only possible when colors are separated by at least ½” or so

Gocco Positives

Incredibly cool and gratifying, when it works

Multiple, multiple prints from a single screen

Very fast printing: you’ll be done in no time

Unique projects (see below) to impress your friends and intimidate your foes

I bought my Gocco in a triumphant ebay bid several years ago. The printers come in two sizes: the smaller can print an image up to 4”x6” and the larger up to 7”x10”. I knew I wanted the larger model, as my first line of Gocco endeavor was t-shirt printing. For a couple of years my roommate and I went crazy making t-shirts – snagging designs out of books, making our own out of thin air, or abstracting photos into posterized black & white images. The results were quite neat and unique, and we got the technique down pretty well (masking-tape markings for shirt positioning, cardboard inserts to stop the ink bleeding through, testing and re-testing on paper before printing on the precious t-shirt, etc.).

Inevitably, though, there were a lot of throw-away shirts in the process – probably the biggest downside to t-shirt printing with Gocco. Either not enough ink would come through, or too much ink, or despite your best efforts the design was crooked. Attempting to print a design both on the front and back doubled the risk of disaster. I began to associate a queasy sensation in my stomach with the whole Gocco process and the terror of opening my eyes to see failure. (At least, thanks to H&M, we had a good source of relatively inexpensive shirts.) The t-shirts, at least in the quantities we were making them, also failed to take advantage of one of Gocco's greatest features - the ability to make so many prints from one inking.

A sampling of old used Gocco screens from projects past:

A couple of years into Gocco-ing, I diverged into what has become my favorite type of Gocco project. What else, besides clothing, is fun to personalize but impossible to run through an inkjet printer? Party napkins! Now, in my mind, these are the perfect project for the otherwise obsolete Gocco printing method. The issue of cost and waste is negligible; IKEA’s fabulous FANTASTIK napkins are four cents or less apiece, so no sweat over the odd screw-up. But aside from cost, I think the napkins are more unique and useful: how many weird little t-shirts do you really need? There are only 52 weekends in a year, and in Boston half of those are in sweater season! Besides, the napkins make for great conversation-starters, depending on your design, and it’s more acceptable to personalize. (I don’t know about you, but I haven’t gone around with my name on a t-shirt since about age ten.) And of course the Gocco will let you print as many napkins as you need - tens, hundreds, thousands!!! (Yes, probably thousands, if your arms, and your ink, hold out.)

Sadly, and stupidly, I don't seem to have hung onto samples of all my napkin projects (although, since I still have the screens, I suppose I could always print more). Here, though, are a couple of favorites.

This first one I did for one of my best friends' wedding - not the wedding itself, but a cocktail party the night before. (That meant it didn't have to be too formal.) I was stumped initially as to the

design, but she sent me an image of one of the fabrics they were using for the wedding (except they used blue, not red):Then I looked through their online registry for ideas, and hit on their champagne flutes (still available from Crate & Barrel, if you're interested):

I brought these two images into Illustrator, played around with them for a bit, and came up with this design:

Cute, yes? But not how the napkins turned out. Why, you ask? Because light-colored inks just don't show up well enough on dark colored napkins - the ink sinks into the fibers of the napkin and well, the resulting image wasn't as peppy and fun as intended. This is one of my many learned lessons of Gocco-ing. Napkins are cheap, though, so after a wasted afternoon of printing lackluster, faded dark-blue napkins, I woke up the next day and printed the following:

Front side:

Back side:And of course the entire thing unfolded:

MUCH better contrast, much better result. AND my first-ever two-ink, two-sided design! I was happy, Julie was happy, a good time was had by all, etc., etc..

This next napkin, for a birthday party, is simpler, but to me is just a perfect confluence of all the right ingredients: inspiration, color, design. For this one I found a favorite photo:

(Sunglasses pics are always a plus for this kind of thing as it gets around the problem of weird, ghostly eyes. They also tend to be flattering, so you're not likely to get a "Why did you use THAT picture?!!!" from the honoree.)

Anyway, I brought the image into Photoshop, made it grayscale (you might want to play with the Brightness & Contrast a bit first), and posterized it with the minimum number of levels (2). I cropped out the part I wanted, then added in some text, courtesy of VH1):

And here's the result:(Yeah, it's awesome. You know it. I know it. Definitely my favorite so far.)

Stay tuned for some more specifics on how the actual printing is done, in Gocco, Part II.

We Are Climbin'....

...Jacob's Ladders!!!

A Jacob's Ladder is an old folk craft/toy that I've seen in the odd craft fair over the years but never paid much attention to -- until recently, that is. Typically a Jacob's Ladder is made up of several panels - traditionally wood - connected by strings or ribbons in such a way that each panel can flip backwards or forwards. It's actually kind of hard to explain how it works in words - in fact, it's hard to understand even if you're holding one in hand and watching it move. Here is a somewhat pedantic video that nevertheless does a pretty good job of showing you what the basic toy does. (I especially appreciate the decorative wrinkled bedsheet in the background.) The more interesting Ladders, however, have pictures on both sides of the panels, so that the image switches from one picture to another as it flips back and forth.

"Very interesting. So what?" you say?

Well, they only became interesting to me last fall when I needed to make a book for my Typography class. The emphasis of the assignment was on the content of the book rather than the binding process, but we were encouraged to find a creative way to bind it, nonetheless. Because there were two different topics for the book - typography journal on the one hand, process documentation on the other - I initially thought of making an accordion-folded book, with process on one side and the journal on the other. Then I came across a mention of Jacob's Ladders in a book-binding book I have at home. Immediately I was intrigued. Fortunately in this digital age not only can you find videos of odd Australian men demonstrating how to play with Jacob's Ladders, you can also find videos of scrapbook-obsessed women demonstrating how to make Jacob's Ladders.

Whereas the panels in wooden Jacob's Ladders, as in the first video above, are typically single blocks of wood with ribbon attached at the ends, each panel of the scrapbook-style Ladders is made up of two boards (typically mattboard or somesuch) sandwiched around the ribbons. (This makes more sense if you watch the video.) Unfortunately, the online tutorials I found only show how to assemble a Jacob's Ladder with blank panels -- onto which you apply photos after the fact. This might work OK for a scrapbook-y look, but I knew that for the look I wanted (perfect) I would have to mount my "pages" first, so that I could get them precisely even with the edges of my chipboard panels. A little trial and error was therefore necessary to figure out how to orient each board as I glued up my Ladder. (I loosely taped some trial pieces together until I got the hang of it.)

The other major problem I had with the typical Jacob's Ladder was the obtrusive ribbon right in the center of the panel. True, I could design my pages around it, but there had to be a better way. That's when I noticed that the ladder in the second video linked above has not three, but four ribbons holding it together. In effect, the center ribbon has been split down the middle and pushed to either side, next to the outer ribbons. The physical phenomenon is the same, but the center of the Ladder is left unencumbered. Brilliant!

The ribbon on that ladder was also much narrower than the others. How narrow a ribbon could I use, I wondered, and still have a functional ladder? Did it have to be ribbon at all? I went to the hardware store and looked at various options - fishing line, hemp, etc. - and finally settled on a decent-weight string, about 1/8" diameter: sufficiently flexible, yet strong, and not too stretchy. To accommodate the increased depth of the string (as opposed to a flatter ribbon), I used an Olfa knife to cut shallow little grooves in the back of each panel. This time-consuming step not only allowed the panels to adhere better to each other, but also provided additional surface area to allow for better adherence of the string.

Then it was just a matter of gluing/flipping the string/gluing/etc.. I allowed plenty of drying time in between gluing each panel, using heavy books to weight it down while it dried. It came out ... not perfect, but, you know, acceptable. I was happy with the overall graphic style of the book, and there was a sufficient number of pages that it was very long (tall?) and made a nice clacky sound as it moved along. The extreme length also makes it more fun to play with - you can get it going both directions at once.

Here are some videos of the result. (No, that isn't me in the videos.) Sorry there are no process photos - it was difficult enough to get this finished by the due date without stopping to take pictures. If you have a quick eye you can also get a look at some of the projects I made for Typography class. Enjoy!

Fun Birdhouses!

Mom and I have been hitting all the local flea markets and junk stores for general JUNK. We got this idea for me to hang little bird houses on my screened in porch wall for color and funky fun!

Of course, you could buy a finished bird house at any craft store for $15 or more...you could also get an unfinished bird house for $5 or so.

OR, you could be a junk store junkie and find some old and dirty bird houses at the flea market and junk stores for 50 cents - $1.50 and paint them yourself!

That's what I did!

I don't have any before pictures because I completely forgot like a silly goose. At least I remembered to take AFTER pictures!

Thus far, I have finished 3 of them and am working on a 4th! I'll post pictures after I'm done!

It's a hoot! - Felt Camera Case

I needed to figure out a way to protect my brand new camera! The reason for the new camera was because the old camera, after 5 years of pure torture, finally bit the dust after it made contact with a concrete floor. Therefore, it became obvious that the need to keep the camera well padded and safe were high on my list of camera priorities!

I decided to make a prototype camera case because I couldn’t decide what to make but I wanted to do something with my hands. I chose some leftover wool felt from Colleen’s purse. I cut out one single piece of felt and simply folded it over. I rounded off the two sides of the flap that would cover the opening, where the closure snap would go to give it a softer look.

Then, I made a HORRIBLE decision to add the embellishments after I stitched the bag closed. Like I said: prototype.

I used a blanket stitch to close the sides of the bag. If you are like me and have never done a blanket stitch, I would suggest practicing a couple times. It’s easy but a little confusing at first. Go here for instructions on how to do a blanket stitch. I used all 6 threads of the embroidery skein for the stitch. In a contrasting color to make it pretty.

After completing the blanket stitch, I added the snaps to the bag. This is where I discovered that I had cut the bag a little too small. Once again: prototype.

I made a little owl that Jono named Oliver to put on the front. Overall, he was put together with felt and fabric glue with only 2 threads of embroidery thread in a running stitch on his cute, tiny wings.

I also made a couple of felt flowers held together with fabric glue and a contrasting button as the center of the flower.

I added the flowers and the owl with fabric glue. Then, this is where my stupidity kicked in, I decided to add some flower lines using a contrasting back stitch.

Anyway, here’s some pics of the finished project. I will be redoing it in a few weeks to make it a little bigger and to add my flower and owl embellishments BEFORE I stitch the sides together.

Carrie & Martha - Streusel Cupcakes

These cupcakes are exactly what Martha says to introduce them: "all the features of a traditional coffee cake - tender cake base, crumbly streusel top, and simple milk-and-sugar glaze."

They came out pretty yummy. I believe I over baked them just a tiny bit due to the fact that it is a bit difficult to tell by their tops if they are done. Be sure to use a cake tester to see if they are done in the middle.

They are incredibly crumbly, which means messy. Very messy. Keep your dustbuster handy while eating them!

My big suggestion on these cupcakes is for the streusel topping. Although it was my first attempt at making these cupcakes and I haven't perfected them yet, I would suggest adding a little bit of extra butter to the streusel topping, possibly 1 or 2 Tbs. I felt that even after some crazy usage of my pastry blender (first time use!) and some finger squishing of the topping, I blended it properly with a correct amount of crumbliness. However, even after coming out of the oven, the topping simply looked like brown sugar clumps hanging out on top of the cupcakes. The butter seemed to have very little baking effect and didn't brown the brown sugar to my liking. I believe that it would help to make the streusel less crumbly and more baked to add a little more butter.

Streusel Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanille extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
• Milk Glaze (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder,and salt.
   
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scarping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in vanilla by hand. Add flour mixture and sour cream; stir until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups. Sprinkle half the topping over cupcakes, gently pressing it into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with remaining topping. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.
4. To finish, place cupcakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; drizzle evenly with milk glaze. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Streusel Topping
(makes enough for 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in the utter using a pastry blender, your fingertips, or two table knives until combined but still crumbly. Regrigerate30 minutes before using.

Milk Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 3 Tbs. milk

Whisk together ingredients until smooth. Use immediately.

Carrie & Martha - Blueberries-and-Cream Cupcakes

Dear Martha Stewart,

I love your new Cupcake Cookbook. I have to admit though that I noticed that only half of the recipes were actual cupcake recipes. The other half were muffins. That’s okay. I forgive you for leading one astray with the misleading name.

In an effort to bake more, I have decided to attempt a Julie & Julia move and begin to bake each of your recipes from both the Cupcake Cookbook and the Cookie Cookbook. I began by making the Blueberry & Cream Muffins.

I followed the recipe to a "t" minus the part where I was on the phone with my mother and I completely forgot to add the 2 tsp. of vanilla to the recipe. Not so good. Also, after I realized that the homemade cream would only last about 3 hours, I chose to just buy some canned whipped cream. I know that’s blasphemy, but I wouldn’t be serving the muffins within three hours.

So, even with the vanilla missing, the muffins turned out quite good. I would think that with the addition of the vanilla, they would even be fabulous. My fresh blueberries were incredibly delicious and fresh, even for being the dead of winter.

Overall, I would give this recipe a big fat A and will definitely make it again, this time with the homemade whipped cream. Mostly because I would be making it as a breakfast muffin and serve it immediately after baking it. The blueberries were so amazing all warm and yummy right out of the oven.

Thanks for being so great, Martha.

Sincerely,

Carrie Ann

Blueberries-and-Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
• 1 Tbs. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
• 2 cups fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish
• Whipped Cream (recipe add end of post)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each in incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each. Fold in blueberries by hand.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until pale golden, about 25 minutes for standard and 15 for mini. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.
5. To finish, dollop cupcakes with whipped cream, and garnish with berries. Serve immediately.

Sorry, I completely forgot to take pictures of these!

Holiday Greenery

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mom and I made use of our country setting and ran around the farm and dirt roads acquiring various bits of greenery for our holiday decorating. We gathered pine cones, pine cones on pine branches with pine needles, dried red sumac, strange hot pink berries, thorny berries (those hurt when I cut them) and cedar branches.

Mom wanted to decorate her front porch with her old sled and bench. We used the greenery we found along with an oversized ornament (two for $1.99 on sale at Shay's in West Plains) and a couple little ones. We also used some of her existing outdoor decor (birds on the branch and wall vase) for some extra umph.

So with a little imagination, some gloves and time, we were able to transform her porch into a winter wonderland. Oh. And some canned snow.

More pics to come!