The Third Day of Catmas

'Twas The Third Day of Catmas, excitement was rampant

Except with poor Smidgeon, who's utterly vapid.

Upset with shenanigans, she openly scoffed,

Then turned fluffy tail and hid in a box.

We found a new victim as he searched for kibble.

Poor Hugs is too large and too slow to quibble.

He blocks out the sun with too much mass to flee,

So we nabbed him and dressed him as Cat Number Three!

Our Peacock Tree was nearly done, but the one thing amiss was a topper.
I wanted splashy and over the top, and nothing in the stores fit my vision.
Not a huge problem of course.

This jeweled spray of aviary goodness is from Pier 1 and ran me $6.95,
but I simply had to have it.
Besides, real feathers were ridiculously priced at 3 for $8!

The lovely saleswoman who helped us said she'd done her own peacock tree,
and had gotten feathers from Flamingo Gardens, a nearby nature park, for $1 apiece!

 The salesbird there was very helpful...

 ...and soon I was on my way back to The Rehab Mobile with these.

Um...never mind.

Arrange the feathers on a flat surface and lay the glitter spray over them.

Secure them in position with some craft wire, weaving between
the quills to make them splay.
Yes, it's a word.
Leave some long loose ends to secure the topper to the tree.

The sheer wire edged ribbon with the silver peacock design is from Lowes,
30 feet for $4.99.

Lay the feather bundle on a face down 3 foot length of ribbon.

Put two 2 foot face up length of ribbon on top.

Bring the bottom ribbon over and tie it in a single knot.

Now tie it in a bow.
Don't stress about how it looks just yet.

Tie the next ribbon in a bow over this.

Repeat with the last ribbon length.

NOW fluff the wire edges and adjust the loops, fanning them out.
Widen the center knot.

Take another long (4 feet) length of ribbon and tie it in a single knot

behind the bow so you have long, trailing tails.

Fluff and bend.

Drive the quill end into the tree with the bow in the front
and twist the wire in the branches to secure.

Fluff.

Get dizzy on the step stool.

Remind yourself NOT to take pain meds before you climb ladders.

Frothy, feathery goodness.

At about $15, this is the most expensive thing on the tree, but what the heck?

It's still less than a Battery Powered Fiber Optic Motion Activated Animated Musical Dancing
Christmas Star Tree Topper Air Freshener Bacon Storage Unit

from Walmart.
Batteries sold separately.

Want a little peek at our festive tree?

Even the hubs says it's my best tree yet.
That's a serious accolade.

Tomorrow, we're going to do some wrapping and presentation work, so get your scissors out!
We have some quick, fun, unusual ways to give your goodies away!