Crafting Fix #11 – Pimp Cup it Up

As Maid of Honor for my sister’s wedding, part of my responsibilities besides fielding frustrating phone calls about the perils of planning a wedding alongside my mother is the Bachelorette party.

Me and Sissy Christmas 2006? at my Aunt's house

However due to my distant proximity to Ohio, I was not able to actually plan yet alone attend the festival of singledome and penis’.  So in an effort to extend my well wishes for an evening of strippers and shots of alcohol from plastic containers…oh wait I think we’re talking about my future bachelorette party here, let me rephrase that…an evening of wine tasting and fine dining with friends, I had to give a gift worthy of such a classy affair.

That means a pimp cup for the ages, obviously.  Lil Jon would totally approve.

I got the original idea came to me whilst wining it with a bottle of syrah one evening, having dug out a 21st birthday gift – a large wine goblet with an elaborate puffy paint design on it.  It was a great gift idea even though I rarely get any use out of it.  But a mere wine glass and puffy paint were not going to suffice my grandiose vision for a pimp cup.  No, this needed to be a alcohol chalice of epic proportions, literally.

Pimp Cup or a blank canvas...or both?

I hit the craft store and scored this gem in the floral section…not sure why it was there but it was totally worth the 12 dollars.  And speaking of gems, I also found a bag of rejected Mancala beads for a few bucks which won out over the more expensive rhinestones and beads.

Upon getting home I busted out my puffy paint menagerie and my trusty glue gun, fully loaded and got to work.

Tools of the trade

I started by lining the stem with the gems

puffy paint action on the bottom

more gems!

and more puffy paint!

This pimp cup was certainly worthy of its Pimpstress.  You can’t spell “pimp” without glue gun, true story.

Crafting Fix #5- Mommy Day Madness

Everyone who has had the opportunity to meet the Mary knows that she is pretty much the best mom on the planet.  She has regaled us over the years with kitschy care packages and stories of her glory days because we all know how life was all so exciting “back in the seventies”.  So what way to honor the most amazing woman on the planet than with a crafted gift from the heart.

Me and Mary in Malibu

Mary is a simple lady, she doesn’t like much flare, but she does love random home goods.  How many times have we been in TJMaxx for 2 hours while she scales the home decor aisles like a treasure hunter on a beach with a metal detector.  So in honor of spring and my parent’s relatively new gazebo, I decided to make a wind chime.  I hit the craft store for supplies:

Foundation Supplies:
- wire hanger (white)…cue Mommy Dearest reference
- jewelry wire (blue)

Decorative Supplies:
- seashells
- mirrored mosaic tile
- strand of beads
- glitter doilies

Noise-making supplies:
- wind chime from Big Lots

After gathering all of my supplies I started to make the base – what everything is going to hang from.  It is important that the support is there – the wire must be strong enough to hold some weight because the chimes are not light.  I was going use only the jewelry wire but decided to go with the wire hanger for the main circle because it was a lot thicker.  I used the jewelry wire to form the hanging mechanism.

Base Camp – complete.  Make sure to glue supports down when you’re satisfied

Next comes the fun part – decorating!!

In order to start bedazling the kitsch out of this wind chime, I hung the base from my fire sprinkler (proceed with caution!).  My comforter fell victim to some hot glue, but other than that it was the best way to go about this.

I wanted it to look like I pulled this out of the Pacific Ocean…

What time is it? Glue Gun time!!!

Minnie looks on in horror as I go at my new project…

Dangerous work, crafting is

She sells, sea shells, by the sea shore

Ariel would be proud

I recycled the metal pieces from the store bought wind chime and added them to my own creation.
Frankensteining is always encouraged!

Mirrored pieces add flare while twine helps to keep everything together and properly supported

Sorry this is the best pic I have of the finished product
Remember, social networking while crafting is for advanced students only

Everything was a great success except for the fact that I shipped it out the day before Mothers Day….whoops.  Hopefully I can post more pictures once Mary hangs it outside

Happy Mother’s Day!  Keep it Crafty!