A Very Tragic Christmas Craft Project

Last week, I had a vision for a craft project called "The Christmas Tree Bouquet."  Let's pretend a Christmas tree fell in love with a bouquet of flowers and they had a child.  That child is The Christmas Tree Bouquet. 

In my imagination, the Christmas Tree Bouquet is a holiday decoration that is festive, whimsical, and rustic.  It looks great on your mantle!  It's an amazing centerpiece!  It's the IT decoration for winter weddings!  And, you only need some sticks, red yarn and a glass vase.

In actuality, the Christmas Tree Bouquet is an adomination:

I wrapped red yarn around some sticks and gathered the sticks into a bouquet.  When I started this project, I had delusions that involved Martha Stewart and the Barefoot Contessa.  (Don't ask.)  But by the time I was done, I felt sorry for the sticks.  And the yarn.

Before I accepted defeat, I decided to put the Christmas Tree Bouquet on my mantle.  I had to at least see how it looked, right?

In the photograph, it actually looks okay.  But in person, it's just a very tragic craft project. You remember the sad little tree that Charlie Brown bought for the Peanuts' pageant?  It was just a tired twig, but Charlie Brown saw its potential.  Well, if Charlie Brown saw my Christmas Tree Bouquet, he would set it on fire.  

But I will not stop crafting!  I love crafting, and I'm not going to let an abomination like the Christmas Tree Bouquet break my spirit.  (Okay, it did break my spirit, but only for about fifteen minutes.  Then I had a piece of fudge, and fudge makes everything better). 

I just hope that I will always be able to admit defeat when the craft project I imagine does not match the finished creation. Or, at a minimum, I hope that I will always have good friends who are willing to say, "Hey Courtney, you know that Christmas Tree Bouquet you made?  It's really freaking ugly.  Throw that %$&@ out."