Blog MIA: Part 2

In November, I got lucky enough to attend a crafty workshop led by the fabulous Sally Jean.  Even tho she's a Portlander, she chose San Diego (weee!) for some workshop, how-to fun.  I managed to move from the wait list (her workshops filled up so quickly) into the class making tree toppers.

I'm proud to say that I made this little guy completely from scratch.  I cut all the art from magazines and paper books, arranged them and then glued them to glass, soldered the glass pieces together, soldered the shape together, soldered the cone base, curled the wires, and then soldered the curly wires.  Whew.  I was scurrying and hurrying to get the project finished in the 6 hours we were there, but it really was sooo much fun.  We listened to Christmas music, laughed at silly things, ate yummy treats, and basically acted like girly girls for an entire day.  I would attend another workshop again in a heartbeat.  Anyone want to join me??

Here's one side of my topper.  (Definitely click to zoom so that you can see eveything better!)  I didn't realize that the background paper I chose would look so pink when it was all finished, but I still love how it turned out.

And the other side.  I wanted to somehow incorporate what was important to me at Christmas, so I chose artwork to represent that. 

Both the ball up top (that spells "J O Y") and the center circle can spin.  Fannnnncy!

And in its rightful place - on top of my tree!  I forgot to snap a photo of my tree in the dark, darnit.  They always look prettier when the lights sparkle and glow.  But this is Christmas morning, right after we woke up.  Gone are the days of getting up before dawn for Christmas.  Of course, everyone back home still does this, but I'm perpetually so exhausted, that my present to myself is a lonnng stretch of uninterrupted sleep Christmas morning.  Ahhhh...

This has nothing to do with craft projects, but I felt like I needed to show you these ornaments.  Leesha got them for me a few years ago, and I still squeal with delight everytime I unearth them from my box of ornaments.  I mean, seriously - CAKE ornaments?  Love Love Love Love Love!