A sunday afternoon

I just got back from helping my fellow CWILL members decorate for Fall Harvest at the Vancouver Public Library.  After I finished attaching colorful cut out leaves to orange ribbon and hanging the streamers over the walkway to flutter in the breeze, I browsed the various tables that were all decked out in Fallish finery.  I was especially taken with Kathryn Shoemaker’s illustrations in the graphic novel she did with Irene Watts, Good-bye Marianne.  Such heart and feeling in the drawings.

Then on the way home, I swung by Michaels and picked up some things for this tiara I said I would decorate.  And honestly, at this point, I am questioning my sanity in agreeing to do this.  See the thing is, these tiaras are going to be auctioned off and the proceeds are going to go towards the teen programs at the New York Public Library.  So of course, I got caught up in enthusiasm and said, “Yes, I’d love to.“

But the thing I forgot, was the fact that I seriously don’t have a crafty bone in my body.  Ask me to bake you a slew of cookies?  No problem.  Cake?  Doughnuts?  Pie?  Simple.

Decorate a tiara, and I am a fit of nerves.

My husband said I should decorate it with candy.  But I was worried that maybe the sugar would attract rodents or cockroaches into the library and then when the time came to auction the tiaras off, there my sad-sack tiara would be sitting, tired and exhausted on the shelf, all gross and half-eaten and crawling with bugs.

No, I want to make a beautiful tiara, that someone would actually want to wear.  But I seriously don’t know if this is an achievable goal.

And then, here’s the kicker.  So, I wandered around Michaels trying to pretend that I fit in and did this kind of thing all the time, and I plopped this and that into my grey plastic basket that I had slung over my forearm and ambled up and down the aisles.  Finally, when I thought I had enough to decorate one small mesh tiara I went to the front and unloaded it on the counter for the check-out girl to ring up…

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS AND THIRTY CENTS!  Gasp.  I had no idea that it was going to be even close to that.  I must have gone into a zone where I didn’t notice the prices of things. 

Honestly, I doubt even the greatest good Samaritan is going to shell out $150.30 to buy my tiara.  And I still haven’t spent the afternoon sweating over the thing!

What a fool am I. 

Anyway, the good news is, when I was wandering down the wedding aslie, I snagged a bag of Jordon Almonds and some of those wedding pastel colored pillow mints, so at least I’ll have something nutritious to help get the creative juices flowing.  And believe me, I’m gonna need all the help I can get!!!

(And yes, for those of you who are curious… the first thing I did when the tiara came in the mail was run to the mirror and try it on.)

Posted by Meg Tilly on Sunday, October 05, 2008 in Chewing the Fat