working on: macaroni snowflakes

I love doing little kid crafts, and this is one of my favorites. I made my first macaroni snowflake when I was seven - it was silver and had red glitter. It twinkled merrily from my parents' tree for the next twenty Christmases until an unfortunate encounter with a wagging tail sent it flying to the floor. It was smashed, and my mother was disconsolate. To cheer her up, I offered to make her a new, better macaroni snowflake ornament ... and I did. I actually made 80. I gave most of them away as hostess gifts, tied to bottle of wine, etc. This year, I decided it was time for another batch.

It's pretty fun. I came up with nine different shapes using just three types of macaroni - fiori, small shells, and wagon wheels. The best part is that you can have the unused materials for lunch.

After four or five coats of spray paint and a healthy dose of glitter, people hardly believe they were once humble ronies. They are lovely as ornaments, but I'm thinking they would be nice in a garland, or even a mobile ...