Alright, so a few of you were curious about that little project I put together for Thanksgiving. It wasn’t some grand, planned-out thing, let me tell you. More like a spur-of-the-moment idea that kinda snowballed.
Getting the Idea Rolling
You know how holidays can be. Sometimes you just want to add a little something extra, a bit of fun that’s not just about the food. I was thinking, we always have a good laugh, but what if there was, like, a physical thing to remember it by? Not something serious, mind you. Just a silly memento.
So, the thought of making some kind of award popped into my head. For what, I wasn’t even sure at first! Maybe for the best story told, or the most creative excuse for not doing dishes. The possibilities were endless, really.
Pulling Things Together
First thing I did was scrounge around the house. I knew I didn’t want to go out and buy a bunch of stuff. This was meant to be a low-key, fun endeavor. My garage is a treasure trove of forgotten items, if you know what I mean. And the craft box, oh boy, that thing hasn’t been properly sorted in years.
- I found an old plastic wine goblet from a party years ago. Perfect base.
- A small, slightly chipped figurine that had lost its original purpose.
- Some gold spray paint I bought for another project and barely used.
- And of course, glitter. You can’t go wrong with glitter, or so I thought.
The initial plan was pretty vague. Stick things together, make it look vaguely trophy-like, and call it a day. Simple, right?
The Messy Middle Part
Well, “simple” is a funny word. The spray painting part was my first little adventure. I set up some newspaper outside – good thinking, Pat – but that gold paint? It was thinner than I remembered. It dripped. It pooled. The goblet ended up looking less “golden glory” and more “sad, streaky mustard.” I had to do a couple of coats, letting it dry in between, which tested my patience, let me tell you.
Then came the assembly. Hot glue became my best friend and, occasionally, my skin’s worst enemy. Attaching the figurine to the goblet stem wasn’t too bad, but then I decided it needed more pizzazz. This is where the glitter came in. I seriously underestimated the migratory properties of glitter. It was everywhere. On the table, on the floor, on me. For a moment, I looked more festive than the actual trophy.
It reminded me of the time I tried to bake a fancy layered cake for my wife’s birthday. Watched a bunch of videos, thought I had it all figured out. The kitchen looked like a flour bomb had gone off, and the cake itself was leaning more than the Tower of Pisa. We still ate it, laughed a lot, and ordered a pizza. Sometimes the process is more memorable than a perfect outcome, you know?
Bringing It Home
Anyway, back to this Thanksgiving thing. I let the glue dry properly, then tried to strategically add more glitter to cover up some of the less-than-perfect paint spots. A bit of ribbon I found in a drawer, tied around the stem, and voila! It was… unique. Definitely unique.
It wasn’t a store-bought, polished award by any stretch. It was a bit lopsided, the gold was a bit uneven, and the glitter, well, the glitter had a mind of its own. But it had character. It was clearly homemade, with a story behind its creation.
When I finally brought it out on Thanksgiving, after the meal, everyone got a kick out of it. We ended up awarding it for the “Most Enthusiastic Turkey Carver,” which went to my brother-in-law who really went at that bird with gusto. The trophy itself sat proudly on the mantelpiece for the rest of the evening, sparkling (aggressively) under the lights.
So yeah, that was my little adventure in trophy-making. It wasn’t about perfection; it was about adding a bit of handcrafted silliness to the day. And honestly, I think I’ll be finding stray glitter around the house until Christmas, but it was worth it for the laughs.
