Recycling/Reusing DIY Trophies!
Over the past two days, little by little, I have endeavoured to make my best friend a trophy. Why? Because she deserves it. She has served her country for twenty years and I am fortunate to have been her partner (officially and unofficially, on and off) for almost the last four of them. I could go on and on about how awesome she is, but that's not the purpose of this blog. The trophy I made - that's why I'm writing today.
So yeah, she's served her country for twenty years as an officer and there will be no pin, no plaque, no handshake, nothing. In fact she had to plan her own celebratory lunch. While I'm up for that, I wanted her to have something other than a full belly. My immediate thought was a gag gift - a used softball trophy from Value Village, likely a 1997 Pee Wee 'AA' Championship. It wasn't that I was looking for a softball trophy, I just figure that's the sorta trophy that gets thrown out. Having it used also keeps in step with my year long mission. So I found these two gems below and thought "jackpot!"
I wasn't stoked on either model, but I'm limited to what people throw away. Luckily I had the idea of Frankensteining them into one singular trophy. I'll just make one I like. They're used, but with some elbow grease, they could be something awesome. To the workbench!
It was at this stage of my project that my wife pointed out how I was putting forth a genuine effort. This strayed from my original plan of taking a shitty, discarded trophy and simply pasting a piece of paper that read "20 Years" on it. I was cleaning up thrown away trophies, disassembling them, and priming the pieces I wanted. It's not that it was hard, but it took time and effort. I could have left them rusty, but again, she deserves more and I thought of that as the little project gained momentum. Next comes painting ... by hand.
Kid's don't make this part of the project (painting) easy. They want to paint too, but not on their own paper or sculpture. No, they want to paint on what dad is painting on. Not this time kids. Dad's on a mission and you're not f*cking up my trophy! After some really careful painting and having to fix some mistakes, I had a finished piece in which to commemorate my friend's 20 years of service.
Well, here is something I've put time and effort into. I could have just bought a trophy, but instead I invested myself. I put into this what I can never get back - time. Think about that. What could be more valuable? I only hope it doesn't get discarded like the trophies I made it out of. How devastating would that be? Children who make crafts for their parents rarely remember what they made, allowing the parent to chuck it at the first sign of the child's waning interest. It's completely different as an adult. I'll remember I made it. Christ, I have this blog to remind me. I invested a finite resource into it - time. In retrospect, that's powerful. That's what makes gift giving like this meaningful. It isn't the monetary value of the gift. It's the time, the effort, the thought. Whoa! Didn't think of it like that as I was doing it.
Note to self: if I ever want to give someone something that says 'special,' I likely won't find it at a jewellery store. I probably won't find it at a designer clothing store either. It's going to be something heartfelt (and possibly handmade). It may seem adolescent, but give it a try. Case in point - a mix tape. Remember giving that special someone a mix tape in high school? Even if that person didn't realize how awesome you were back then for making them something that required time and effort, they'll likely reflect now on how awesome you were. If not, they weren't worth the mix tape. Believe that.
Wow, the things we think of when we get a tiny project underway. Deep. 😕
Coco out.
So yeah, she's served her country for twenty years as an officer and there will be no pin, no plaque, no handshake, nothing. In fact she had to plan her own celebratory lunch. While I'm up for that, I wanted her to have something other than a full belly. My immediate thought was a gag gift - a used softball trophy from Value Village, likely a 1997 Pee Wee 'AA' Championship. It wasn't that I was looking for a softball trophy, I just figure that's the sorta trophy that gets thrown out. Having it used also keeps in step with my year long mission. So I found these two gems below and thought "jackpot!"
Baseball or Hockey Goalie? She's a slugger, but she also saves the day on the regular.
I wasn't stoked on either model, but I'm limited to what people throw away. Luckily I had the idea of Frankensteining them into one singular trophy. I'll just make one I like. They're used, but with some elbow grease, they could be something awesome. To the workbench!
Strip 'em, sand 'em, prime 'em!
It was at this stage of my project that my wife pointed out how I was putting forth a genuine effort. This strayed from my original plan of taking a shitty, discarded trophy and simply pasting a piece of paper that read "20 Years" on it. I was cleaning up thrown away trophies, disassembling them, and priming the pieces I wanted. It's not that it was hard, but it took time and effort. I could have left them rusty, but again, she deserves more and I thought of that as the little project gained momentum. Next comes painting ... by hand.
I'm a bit of a nerd and used to paint miniature figurines. 🤓
Kid's don't make this part of the project (painting) easy. They want to paint too, but not on their own paper or sculpture. No, they want to paint on what dad is painting on. Not this time kids. Dad's on a mission and you're not f*cking up my trophy! After some really careful painting and having to fix some mistakes, I had a finished piece in which to commemorate my friend's 20 years of service.
It doesn't say "20 Years" on the front or sides, but there are some nice words on the bottom.
Well, here is something I've put time and effort into. I could have just bought a trophy, but instead I invested myself. I put into this what I can never get back - time. Think about that. What could be more valuable? I only hope it doesn't get discarded like the trophies I made it out of. How devastating would that be? Children who make crafts for their parents rarely remember what they made, allowing the parent to chuck it at the first sign of the child's waning interest. It's completely different as an adult. I'll remember I made it. Christ, I have this blog to remind me. I invested a finite resource into it - time. In retrospect, that's powerful. That's what makes gift giving like this meaningful. It isn't the monetary value of the gift. It's the time, the effort, the thought. Whoa! Didn't think of it like that as I was doing it.
Note to self: if I ever want to give someone something that says 'special,' I likely won't find it at a jewellery store. I probably won't find it at a designer clothing store either. It's going to be something heartfelt (and possibly handmade). It may seem adolescent, but give it a try. Case in point - a mix tape. Remember giving that special someone a mix tape in high school? Even if that person didn't realize how awesome you were back then for making them something that required time and effort, they'll likely reflect now on how awesome you were. If not, they weren't worth the mix tape. Believe that.
Wow, the things we think of when we get a tiny project underway. Deep. 😕
Coco out.
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