started on Dec. 10, 2012, revised on sun23dec2012
http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/grandmother-hangs-christmas-decorations-1-764-them-120209885--abc-news-travel.html
I couldn't decide what to edit in this Yahoo article, so I left it complete!
One grandmother in Swansea, a city in southern Wales, might be giving Santa's workshop a run for its money in the Christmas decorating department.
Sylvia Pope, 69, has a collection of 1,764 Christmas baubles, which she
individually hangs from her living room ceiling, starting in September
and building up to Christmas day. She includes a few Christmas lights in
the corners of the room and on the hearth, but not too many because the
ornaments on the ceiling are the main attraction.
"I pin them up. I start in September because if I go out and I see
something, I buy it," Pope told ABCNews.com. "I put them up until
Christmas. And then I don't take them down until March. It takes so long
to put them up, so it's quite silly only to leave them up for a day or
two."
Pope has been decorating her ceiling for 12 years now. She said she
originally got the idea after attending a holiday party with her son in
1999, at which the host had ornaments on the ceiling. As soon as she saw
them, she decided to start collecting enough baubles to have an
impressive display the following year.
pic from Mail Online UK, more pics there too!
"I thought, 'Oh my gosh.' That's what started me. From then on, I bought
as many baubles as I could. I get different ones now. Not just the
round baubles, all the different shapes and sizes," Pope said.
When asked where she finds her favorite Christmas baubles, Pope reminisced about her one-time trip to Macy's.
"Every time we go somewhere on a holiday or anything like that, I always
pick up some baubles," Pope said. "My best holiday was New York. When I
went into Macy's, I walked in and I thought I'd gone to heaven. There
was so much there I had to buy another bag in New York just to transport
the baubles back home.
"Oh my goodness, I had a big bag full. I spent maybe $300 on Christmas
ornaments. I've got the New York Yankees, I've got their stadium, I've
got the Empire State Building. I've got the Statue of Liberty, all of
the shapes."When the ornaments aren't on full display in her living room, they are carefully tucked away in boxes waiting to once again be brought out for Pope's grandchildren's enjoyment.
"I usually have 30 or so boxes in my attic. They're so delicate. Some are quite special, so I wrap them in tissue paper and put them in the boxes and then put them away," Pope said.
"My grandchildren love it. They think it's fantastic. They play, 'Let's look who can find a certain bauble.' I've got a lot of Disney characters, Red Riding Hood and the wolf. They all look to see which ones they can find. They look to find their names. It's an eye spy game."
Pope started getting media attention for her unusual decorating technique last year, but said she doesn't do it for the fame. Rather, just for the kicks.
"I just do it because I enjoy it," Pope said. "A lot of people might think it's a novel idea. But I like it. I do it for my pleasure and my children's pleasure. We've all got different ideas of pleasure but it's the one thing I enjoy doing and they always knows as soon as they walk through the door, 'Gran's got her baubles.' People come here and you can't take your eyes off it. I don't think it's too gaudy, I think it looks nice."
pic from Mail Online UK, more pics there too!
Below is my favorite heartfelt comment out of the ones I read:
My mom did that every year until she died. She always told me when I was little that Santa's Elves did it while I was sleeping; nothing was hanging on the ceiling when I went to bed, and it was covered when I woke up. Happy birthday and Merry Christmas, mom.
Hoarder Inspiration or Desperation: I love stuff like this! Art in repetition! As an artist, it's amaZing! It's a 7 month labor of love! but as a hoarder, it kinda gives me a stomach ache because if I did this- it would most likely stay up year after year until the ceiling collapsed from over abundance!
I read through most of the comments, some do this with candy canes and then give them away. Others cut out paper snowflakes and hang them up from the canopy of their child's bed.
It's given me ideas on LIMITS! Like an area the size of a canopy bed, instead of an entire ceiling. Maybe even something more portable, like the inside of an umbrella!
Speaking of limits-I totally forgot about buying 102 vintage Christmas cards until they arrived in the mail! and get this! I was thinking I could use them as "thank you" inserts for this year's etsy packages. I need to work on my sense of time too!
Thank you Yahoo for an inspirational news! Thank you for joining me in my roller coaster ride though my HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!
What do you think? How did the article provide inspiration and/or desperation for you?
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