This project is most definitely a fine representation of my “crappy to happy” crapsmanship. It all started when Dan the Man and I took a cruise to Alaska. (We had a wonderful trip seeing awe-inspiring scenery.) One of our excursions led us to an old mining town, complete with an opportunity to pan for gold. I couldn’t quite get the technique down without help, but Dan the Man was a natural!

We saved our small specks of gold dust for me to craft a Christmas ornament for our travel-themed tree. I decided to use a glass ornament I had on hand and decorate it with gold specks, inserting the gold dust into the ornament.

CRAP ALERT: My first attempt was a bust. I used a metallic pen to make the dots, putting on a bunch at the top and decreasing the amount as I went down the ornament. Unfortunately, the pen marks weren’t vibrant — the ornament looked like it had a fading case of the measles! To change the crapsmanship into craftsmanship, I used gold metallic paint and a toothpick to reapply the dots. Much better! To finish it off, I painted the top gold and inserted the gold dust. (See the small collection of gold flecks at the bottom?)

Another successful failure for this crapswoman!