"Gathering"
mixed media shadow box with soft sculpture bird
8" x 8"
This shadow box will be for my show at Lark & Key opening in May. I haven't worked on a shadow box for a long while and it was really pretty fun to do. And the orange and blue and gray – I'm still enjoying the interplay of these colors. Three pieces done, I think three or four more to come. A little lark and then some flying birds.
Roxanne is turning 5 on Sunday and I am in the midst of lots of birthday party prep. She has requested an ice cream cake because she doesn't like regular cake or icing. I've never made an ice cream cake before, but I watched an online tutorial and gave it a try. Orange sherbet with an Oreo cookie crust and crumb layer, whipped cream icing (I'm doing that part today), and nonpareils to decorate. She is really really in to nonpareils.
There will be 8 kids here. For the first time this year Roxanne really has friends. Kid friends. And she picked six to invite to her party. In past years she only wanted to invite grown-up friends – our friends, her teachers – but now she has the capacity to develop peer friends and we are so pleased.
We will be doing a little craft activity (I drew an empty fish bowl and I'm putting out markers and lots of cool fish stickers) and a yoga teacher will come and do yoga with the kids for 35 minutes. Then lunch. She wanted all the kids to have lamb chops (her favorite food), flower-shaped noodles and broccoli. With orange juice to drink. So there you go.
And for the grown ups I'm preparing oven-baked "fried" chicken drumsticks (from a Country Living recipe), homemade black olive tapenade (Joy of Cooking) with crusty baguette and some good cheeses, this awesome butternut squash tahini salad, marinated feta and green olive skewers (from Ellie Krieger), spiced almonds and these amazing pumpkin cookies.
I got blank puzzles for the goodie bags, along with skull pencils and some chewy fruit snacks. And I made these tissue paper lollipop flowers to tie the tops with. Fun stuff. I love planning children's birthday parties.
Oh, and I got her a brand new CourtneyCourtney dress with a big #5 on the front. Awesome.
What a good mama. I wish you were planning _my_ birthday party!
(And I love the shadowbox with all it’s little nooks of bits and pieces.)
Just as I was thinking the shadow box was breathtakingly good, I then went on to read that you are a miracle worker in other ways as well! Super impressive all around. I must use you as inspiration on what can be achieved in a week!
My eldest just turned the big 5 too, I wihs I had thought of a yoga instructor. Instead we turned Chubby Checker up to 11 and had a dance-athon!
Love love love the shadow box 🙂
What a wonderful birthday! The shadow box is a treasure.
i love the shadowbox, and how it all ties together so well. it tells such a story.
happy birthday to roxanne. sounds like she had a great birthday celebration, the first of many joyous ones to come. and boy does she have sophisticated taste! lamb chops! love that, and hope the other kids did too.