crafts on glass jars

nothing of last night (oh okay, maybe except for the gossip) would have happened without the spark from my lovely friend and awesome canadian poet :) elena johnson! four years ago, on her birthday (happy birthday, elena!) she invited a group of friends to her place for a craft-y celebration. we ate and drank and made merry, but more importantly, we made lanterns out of glass jars and paper and glue. i've been wanting to recreate that moment ever since!!

from my 2008 blog:
"then we went out (i hope there’ll be pictures soon) and walked in the dark (of 8 p.m. : as of today, it gets dark at 5.30) and into crescent park, with all 8 lanterns lit and julia o. was singing german lantern songs:). then we set them all in a circle and danced and jumped and sounded harmonies (well, sorta) around them, which was probably the craziest thing i was part of since i came here. also, it felt amazing – it did feel as if now something’s going to happen, and it’s going to turn right – and if it was only this moment, it’s still worth a lot. though we were obviously looking into the future, carrying out lamps through the november rain. yes."

that happened on the eve of the '08 elections - one more reason to want to replicate it!!

so, finally. this sunday i asked the girls over to my place (dana, you were missed!) for foods and jar painting (this being a new 'thing' for me, and i actually have paints. and am much better with paints than with a scissor.) here is what ensued:

my first attempt - not bad, but i kinda want to do it over with a new layer

the plentiful snacks...ok, part of the snacks. the picturesque part.

giulia's owl. this jar turned into a YA storybook by the end of the night

sonia's sheep - the anim'est logo (copied off my t-shirt!!!)

sonia's first bottle/design

my terribly asymetric but cute (ish) mushrooms

...4 hours later...giulia still has a leg to add to her centipede...or something...

so you see there's a lot of animals in this story: a very alert snail, an irritated spider, and a ladybird (that looks like a turtle, but it's not a turtle, it's a ladybird, shut up, can't you see it's red? well sure those dots on her are blue, but she's a special ladybird, that's why!)

the ladybird met the centipede, and there was much rejoicing ( carmen : "are they kissing?" - giulia: "nooo! they're just greeting!" - sonia: tells dirty joke about centipedes which my modesty stops me from sharing here)

so, this looks nice on my shelf next to my moscow postcard and my stolen milk bowl, doesn't it? (yo,  matt!!* i stole a bowl from euphoria! i feel conflicted about it, sort of.)

and my masterpiece of the night: obama logo. five freaking years of fangirling, and i still can't get the slanting right on those red lines - whaaaat

alright, this is the overall production of the night, mostly so that dana can see what she missed.

<3 c. 

*i am seriously hoping you vote(d), california-shmalifornia! just vote!