Crazy Crafty: One More Holiday Craft for a Special Birthday

I love handmade gifts - both given and received.  When contemplating gift options for the "person who has everything," a homemade present is really the only way to ensure that the gift will be unique.  I have been the recipient of some truly spectacular handmade gifts from beautiful paintings to printed t-shirts to one-of-a-kind ceramics.  These are gifts that I truly treasure both for their aesthetic and sentimental value.

Last night we attended the birthday party of our pal, Charles - here is a guy for whom it is impossible to shop (not because he isn't incredibly gracious).  I had a few ideas rolling around in the vast wasteland that is my brain but I was intimidated because my skills can be so easily outclassed.

One dare not bake anything for Charles because he is a gourmand and somehow
manages to elevate the art of mile-high cakes to even new heights!  Here he is with
his (I forgot to take notes on the name) peppermint, mint-chip, junior mint, 5-layer cake!

Obviously a bespoke jacket of woven, brightly-colored, South American fabric would
have been a wardrobe redundancy - so that was out. 

Cookies are clearly out of the question because he, of course, has a friend
who bakes/designs/decorates incredible portrait cookies. 

A pinata seemed ideally wacky tacky and fun, but we were beat to the punch on that one too.

I finally realized that this "King of Kodachrome" needed something related to vintage slides that didn't involve a projector, carousel, or advance button.

A Kodachrome Kabin

The love-child resulting from of the clandestine affair between a shimmering putz house (who could resist her glittering charms?) and a cozy gingerbread house - the kind we made in elementary school out of empty milk cartons and graham crackers - was the best I could do.

I'm not sure if it qualifies as a wacky tacky craft unless tinsel
or glitter is involved, preferably both - obviously. 

I'm sure people who have birthdays close to or, heaven forbid, on Christmas must eventually resign themselves to receiving the dreaded "combo gift" or, at the very least, holiday themed presents for their birthdays; I say that there are certainly worse things in life but I for one am glad I have a little distance between my big day and the big day!

I included a couple of electric tealights that illuminate the slide house from within.
The slides I used were of changing leaves and poinsettias - apropos but not too
precious.

Nevertheless, Charles seemed to like his little Kodachrome Kabin set in the winter woods.  I had a lot of fun making it and we had a blast at his birthday bash.  As socially awkward as I am prone to be, I met a lot of amazing, interesting, talented people and I don't think I embarrassed myself too much.

Mary & Charles
Find it in your heart to forgive her for the dress repeat.
There are so few opportunities to wear a Christmas-
themed squaw dress throughout the year, that I
 made her wear it again!

Well, tell me, are you ready for the big day?  Are you making any homemade gifts this year?  If you are on the "nice list" what would be your ideal present under the tree?  Ponder these things as you enjoy the true meaning of the holiday - COOKIES!  It is cookies, right?!  Merry Christmas!!!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Crazy Crafty: Gettin' Christmas Crafty

I am normally not a crafter.  I don't have the patience, the time, the skill, or the money (crafts are EXPENSIVE) to make something that is set on a shelf and/or put away in a cupboard never to be seen again.  Don't misunderstand, I appreciate the skills of you serious crafters out there.  To be perfectly honest, I think it is out of pure, unadulterated jealousy at the nimbleness of your fingers and your never-ending ingenuity, that leaves me at odds with crafts.  Having said that, when the crafting bug bites, I bite right back - generally biting off far more than I can chew.

We live near a little plot of land that is a bastion of unachievable perfection in the world of horticulture/landscaping, namely Roger's Gardens.  For decades it has been, as A Christmas Story so beautifully puts it, a "yearly bacchanalia of peace on Earth and good will to men" - at least for the Martha Stewart set.  We try to go at Christmas time every year because the gardens are transformed into as much of a winter wonderland as Southern California can offer; stately pines end up being more lights than needles, an abundance of Christmas decorations of all sorts are available, and Santa Claus is there. A couple of years ago, while sidling through the crowds and outcroppings of merchandise, I found some tabletop, tinsel trees with beaded garlands and miniature ornaments.  In my eyes they had the primitive quality of mid-century Christmas decorations and all the sparkle of wacky tacky.  I turned one over to check the price tag and nearly had my first heart attack when I saw that this puny, little, ten-inch bit of Chinese manufacture was fifty dollars!  Before my friends could be embarrassed by the volume at which I shouted, "Fifty Dollars?!!  I could make this," I was at the 99 Cents Only Store sourcing materials for my trees.

My trees - not perfect but they get the point across
It took me two years to get them made; I told you, I'm not a crafter.
The total cost per tree is less than three dollars!
I guess that last sentence could have gone without saying...

As fate would have it, we were out doing some thrifting the other day and what did I spy, but one of those selfsame, coronary-inducing trees from Roger's Gardens.  At 96 percent off of the original price, we strapped it to the roof of the wacky wagon and brought it home.

The inspiration for my 99 Cents Store specials.
It's kind of like a glittering version of the Charlie Brown tree.
I wish there were more; I still love them!

The evidence is there, I am just not much of a crafter.  At least my trees are kind of funny and are entirely commensurate with the style guidelines of wacky tacky, right?

Have you been doing any wacky tacky Christmas crafting this year?

Roger's Gardens

2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd

Corona del Mar, CA

(949)640-5800

www.rogersgardens.com

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny