a thing for Buttons

What does 'joy' mean to you? At Christmas time you see that word eveywhere; cards, banners, sweaters, etc. Different things bring joy to different people. In our house, 'joy' is a simple rule for the best way to live life. It's a way to put things in perspective. It is:
Jesus first
Others second
Yourself last
These letters hang on the wall in our living room to remind us of this philosophy. They're not Christmas-y because they're in our regular living room colors. So, I wanted to dress 'em up a little for a sparkly piece over the mantel. I used our letters (JOY), a corkboard, gold wrapping paper, tinsel and bows.

I cut a piece of paper bigger than the board and for some reason I really wanted the edges to be crinkly so I crinkled 'em.

I stapled tinsle all around the edge.

To attach my letters, I used tacky-tack. Y'know, the yellow stretchy stuff that feels like old gum. It's supposed to be the subject of the pic below on the left but the ding-dang camera kept focusing on the background!!  I also used straight pins for a little more support. No matter that the pins stuck out a bit as they won't be seen from a distance.

Then I embellished with bows I bought at the dollar store.

I hung it over the mantel and it looks great!

JOY; if you practice it, you'll have it!