Christmas Fish Ornaments!

Every Christmas my family back east has a big ornament party, in which each family member creates a unique ornament for exchange.  Every year growing up, I watched my mom make ornaments- and sometimes she would gather ideas for them in the summer time, then wait and begin to make them the last week of November.  After the party, we would receive a big box full of hand-made ornaments from all my aunts and cousins.  It would be such a delight to hang each individualized ornament on our christmas tree.  This year, I decided to take the plunge and make an ornament to be sent to my aunt's house in Massachusetts.  I stayed up until the wee hours of the night creating these little guys...

Foam that I carved- they look like potatoes!

After applying the paper mache, I left them sit in an oven on low heat

I sprayed feathers and the potato-shaped bodies a metallic silver

I created little mouths out of clay and baked them

I applied bolt-nut eyes

and the mouths...

all lined up and ready for their trip back east!

a silver fish...hmmmm