'Twas the week before Christmas when my cousin Kathleen called to ask if I wanted to participate in a little holiday craft. We would need glass ornaments, glue, glitter, and ten tiny toes, she said. Cecile and Natalie, Kathleen's one-year-old daughter, would provide the toes; I was tasked with gathering the supplies. So after Cecile settled down for a short winter's (afternoon) nap, I flew (like a flash!) to the Micheal's near Seven Corners and Company Flowers on
Lee Highway, where I found the glue and glitter, and large glass balls, respectively.
Natalie had participated in a similar holiday craft last year, Kathleen told me, and I think that explained the quizzical look on her face.
One person held the child, while the other slathered a thick layer of
glue onto the foot before gently rolling the it over the
curve of the ornament. You want enough glue to evenly coat the foot
heel-to-toe, but not so much that glue globs off onto the ornament. And
you must make sure each toe leaves a clean mark--a tricky task as both
Natalie and Cecile liked to curl their toes and kick their feet. Because
of this, sometimes their heel left a longer glue impression than their actual
foot (the Martha Stewart craft glue we used was quite slick!). If this happens, swipe away a little
of the extra length away from the bottom of the footprint, as that's the easier
end to edit. We found it was best to stamp each ornament first, stop to clean the baby's toes with a warm washcloth, and then return to the ornament to glitter. Then we set each sticky, glittered ornament on a drinking glass to dry.
(Cecile and Natalie were entranced with each other. And I think Natalie was more than a little confused as to why another baby was sitting in her favorite chair).
I finished our ornaments off with a simple silk bow. So there you have it: A little glue, a little glitter--et voila!--we dashed away, dashed away with a holiday keepsake for all. Merry Christmas!
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