Coping with Cornucopias

Dear Friends,

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I had the bright (read: crazy) idea to create twelve paper mache cornucopias to give to my family members.

I thought, 'My cousin, Matt, taught me how to make pinatas this

way.

How hard could a 'horn of plenty' be?'

Plenty hard.

First, you purchase poster board in fall colors. Not the florescent green 'come to our car wash' variety. We're going for a tad more class and I have serious nightmares about going out in public in a bikini. We wouldn't want those to surface during our project. Now would we?

Shape the poster board into a cone shape.

Be sure to juggle the cone and the roll of clear tape while trying to tape the paper in place. This is great entertainment for your children. If you don't have children, it is still a good exercise. Life is a juggling act, after all.

Flatten the narrow end.

Curl the narrow end up to create the cornucopia's proper shape.

Fold the two corners back.

My kitchen houses a large collection of cooking magazines that I rarely open. I pored over them when they arrived in my mailbox but they are only gathering dust now. I have been trying to think of something to do with them besides toss them in the recycling.

When in doubt, tear things up.

Add a small bottle of glue to some warm water and mix well. Avoid eye contact with your husband because he is thinking you are crazy, right about now.

Dip the paper scraps in the water and cover the entire outside of the cornucopia with them.

Overlap and arrange however you decide. Bee helped with this part.

Personally, I enjoyed the little glimpses of things I like. Food, people, and lots and lots of words.

Take this guy, for instance. He is happy. He is getting married. I have no idea who he is, but I like him.

I really need that cup of coffee. Please? Somebody?

And here is half a piggie cupcake. Pigs always remind me of my sister, Dee.
Hold on a second, that's not an insult. Pigs are her favorite animal.

Always have been.

Always swill.

[hee-hee]

Hey! batter, batter, batter! This little kiddly-wink is doing it right. She's taking life by the beaters. One lick at a time. With both hands. Cookies! Who needs 'em?

A pecan frosted cake, a Strawberry torte and a covered bridge? [Sigh] If I'm dreaming don't wake me up. [munch, crackle, gag] Uggg, for the record, paper mache tastes nasty.

Let them dry completely. Say it with me,

"Horn of plenty needs time a-plenty."

Trim any scraps that are sticking over the edge. Now don't you go over the edge, we're almost done.

Using a bronze ink pad, lightly swipe ink over the surface of the cornucopia. It gives it kind of an aged look. And that's good when you are not a person.

Ahhhhhh! Nothing like fresh-aged raspberries. I do love a good oxymoron.

Next, cover the cornucopia with a very light and 'streak-y' coat of white craft paint.

Let that dry.

Sand some of the paint off.

This gives the cornucopia a nice distressed patina. Ha! Patina! I love pretending I know what I'm talking about. Really, I just fly by the seat of my pants, making it up as I go. Sometimes it works. And sometimes it don't.

Tear Autumn leaf-colored cardstock into strips.

Use a punch to create leaf shapes.

Makes me want to jump right in.

Dip one of the strips in the 'glue-y' water.

Attach the strip to the tail end and add a row of leaf shapes around top.

I also monogrammed it for extra 'Ummph'.

And, there it is, all done.

Yeah, I'll give thanks - give thanks when this project is over!

I hope my family likes them. They better.
 I'm not gonna 'mache' my fingers to the bone for nothin'.

Alright, alright.
Truth be told they weren't hard to make.

I had fun. Okay? There I said it.

Now let me go back to my wallowing and mucking about in self pity-- I mean, 'glue-y' water.

Love,

Rae