Somehow my "selfish crafting" turned into... I volunteered myself to "adopt a table" at the junior high winter formal in early Jan.
So, my kids go to lower income schools.
The junior high formal is entirely put on by parents and teachers.
We donate the food. (I'm already signed up for gluten free cookies and a savory snack)
We decorate the hall.
By "adopting a table", it means that we provide:
10 place settings (plate, glass, fork, knife, spoon, cloth napkin)
Round tablecloth
Centerpiece
Table # placard
Place cards with student names
Because the kids have been taking ballroom dancing, and there's a dress code, they don't want disposable products. Also, there's no kitchen.
So that means I'll have to arrive early to set up my specific table with the tableware. Because there's no kitchen, we bring the dirty items home to wash. I've been assured that it's okay if everything doesn't "match" (good, because in 22 years of marriage, nothing matches). I have a choice - Corelle or wedding china. It's going to be Corelle. We have a new set that is green and blue. Not particularly wintery, but also not paper. We have some really cool dark green glasses with bubbles - the table will get half those and half plain glass drinking glasses.
I think they want us to bring white Christmas lights to decorate the hall too. We have one strand.
So here's what I've been doing:
Right now I'm painstakingly making 10-11 cloth napkins. Half in a light blue/ silver/ black leaf pattern with snowflakes. Wintery. Half dark green with silver sparkles.
I'm also working on the centerpiece. It's going to be a mason jar with some sort of bead or rock to weigh it down (I wonder where our old fish bowl rocks went?) with a silver branch. I've made 5-6 crocheted snowflakes to hang on the branches and 4-5 hanging beaded decorations (with the idea that I don't care if the centerpiece doesn't come home). Do I make something for underneath the mason jar? TBD. (I mean, I'm a DIY engineer...I'm crafty, but not fancy or arty.)
These napkins are a killer. Just so many at once.
I *DID* make myself an elf hat this weekend. That's my selfish crafting.