jenni makes stuff: episode 1

guest starring the bubby and my mr. jonathanly!

this is coming rather later than i intended it to, seeing as it's christmas related, but it's still fun, so....yeah.

paper chain winter wonderland!

first, of course, you need paper.  we considered coloring ours first (which would look very festive, i think), but in the end we went with snowy white.

you'll also need scissors and tape.

after some trial and error, i felt that cutting one sheet of paper into 8 strips widthwise resulted in the nicest looking loops.  i had the easiest time getting uniform sizes if i folded the paper into 8ths first and then cut along the folds.  this can leave a bent edge on your loops, so if you've got a good eye, you might prefer to freehand it like jonathan did.

after cutting strips, it's a simple matter of making a loop with one strip and then another loop through that loop and so forth.
noah was really good (and really liked) making the loops!

we also made a few snowflakes to add to our wonderland, but somehow i don't seem to have pictures of that...

don't make the chains too long, or you'll have a terrible time handling them.  don't forget to decorate yourself a little during the process.

after you have all the chains you want, (we ran out of time for all we wanted, but still really enjoyed what we had you'll need someone skilled in the stepladderly arts who also has a good eye for draping and looping.  in our house that is unequivicaly jonathan.  (i'm fine on a stepladder, but not so much with the making pretty stuff).

once it's all hung, sit down, drink some cocoa, and admire the loveliness!