It's the Thought That Counts

My friend Dixie's birthday is coming up, and some weeks ago when I saw this project on Shannon's blog, Bless Our Nest, I knew this would be the perfect gift. The necessary elements are a clear glass plate, a clear glass candlestick, and the dome from an old cheese server. I scouted these down at thrift stores, and glued them together with this glue:

If you look closely, you can see that it says 'Dishwasher Safe'. Today I was meeting Dixie for lunch, and so on my way out the door this morning I wiped down the whole contraption (did not submerge it), and the plate promptly fell off of the candlestick. With no time to do anything else, I glued it back together and made a mental note to tell her not to get it wet.

On my way I stopped at a card and party store, hoping to find a box big enough. I had brought wrapping paper and tape with me, and I thought they might have a cake box. Nope. Okay, now I have no way to wrap it, so I run next door into Joann's and get a little ceramic pumpkin to put under the dome to at least make it look pretty. As it turns out, however, it's not so little and does not fit under the dome.

This is how I met Dixie in the restaurant parking lot. "Happy Birthday! I have something for you, but be careful because it might fall apart. Don't get it wet. And here's a pumpkin that didn't fit under the dome. Hope you like it! It's a piece of junk!"

A true friend, Dixie squealed with delight. She loves it! Loves, loves, loves it! She asked if I took a picture of it for my blog, which I had not. I happened to have my camera with me, so I set it in the mulch of the parking lot median and took a photo. There was a guy getting into his vehicle in the spot next to me who witnessed this with a quizzical look on his face.

It's pretty cute after all. Thanks to Shannon, and the ladies who inspired her, for this charming and inexpensive project. BTW, I think the problem with the glue is that there just wasn't enough surface area on the edge of the candlestick to get a really good bond with the bottom of the plate. Dixie mentioned some kind of epoxy that she had used to make snowglobes with her daughter, which might work a little better (E-6000? something like that).

I had also purchased a cheese dome to make one of these for myself, but didn't have the other parts yet when I found this sweet little footed plate at a consignment store. It's a match made in thrifty heaven!

Another note about Dixie. She is as yet blogless, but checks on mine regularly. She was jealous of my garage sale urns . Then yesterday, she won Restyled Home's Matthew Mead giveaway. The book and the Homegoods gift card. Lucky duck. Now I'm jealous!