Handcrafted Holiday Heirlooms

Nothing says "I care" more at Christmas than a thought-filled handcrafted gift, right?

My friend, Ken, and his siblings wholeheartedly agree. In fact a mere recent evening ago, they sat down and crafted a number of lovely items for their out-of-town sister, who regrettably was unable to join them this year for their Christmas celebration. Their mediums? Macaroni, pasta, spray paint, a lil' glue and a whole lot of alcohol-fueled ingenuity.

I will let Ken's own words (and photos) speak for themselves -- making a historic mark on the one-year anniversary of this humble blog -- a guest photgrapher AND contributor. To differentiate from my monologue, Ken's commentary is in italics.

"It's a pasta miracle! Yes, that's the Blessed Mother lurking in the center of this pink pasta travesty. Oh, and the mints? They're actually painted disks of wood."

"The severed angel box, front view... for the exterior we crushed elbow macaroni and painted it white for the "faux coral" effect."

"This started out as a cigar box simply covered with pasta in glorious OCD fashion. Then we had a few drinks, and decided... "Hey, everything looks better in chrome.' ....did I mention that there is a chew toy mouse "ornament" hiding inside?"

"This is a collection of action figures glued to a cardboard wreath with pasta embellishments. The figures are mostly health care professionals and smiling injury victims (for some unknown reason) but we included a sturdy little pirate just for effect. We used a glue gun to string a lovely ribbon from hand to hand."

Ken today provided me with an update of his sister's reaction to her family's heartfelt gifts:
"She was impressed by the level of the prank, and that these macaroni miracles were now treasured holiday heirlooms in her family. Her son & daughter (who both live in NYC) got dibs on the wreaths, and are taking them back to their apartments to proudly and permanently display them as proof that their family is retarded."