Summer Solstice Celebration

Every year, Santa Barbara has a huge summer solstice parade and party in two of the city parks. I've never seen anything like this parade, but from what I've heard, Mardi Gras is probably the closest comparison. The theme for the parade this year is Creatures.

 The sun was probably 20 feet tall. It's body parts were made from flowing fabric. This is my favorite photo of the day.

 This looks like some sort of creature that would live in the woods.

This alien wore old school curlers on her head, carried a baby alien in her arms, mopped the ground, and dusted the crowd.  Definitely a multi-tasker. 

And what is this thing coming up the street?

It's a giant octopus like bubble with a woman inside doing acrobats on a ring. What a great finale!

The party continued at the park, but my camera wasn't invited.

Decorated Boxes

A re-election campaign is underway for Helene Schneider, the current mayor of Santa Barbara. I don't live in Santa Barbara, so I'm really not involved in any of that, however, a good friend of mine hosted a party for the mayor and I helped her with some of the decorations.
Recycled boxes that had been decorated especially for the occasion and filled with an unknown prize inside were being offered to guests for a donation of $50.00. Arlene wanted the boxes to look unique and enticing. Here is what I came up with.

This box began as a brown and white box that said Happy Birthday all over . That just wasn't going to work. I broke out the spray paint and gave it several coats of pink and purple paint. It turned out very pretty with this giant pink bow on top.

This box featured hand made flowers. The multi-colored flowers were crocheted. The coral flower on the bottom right was made using origami techniques. The pink flowers on the bottom left are folded strips that are gathered and slashed. I have quite a few flowers ready in case I need something in a hurry. They came in handy.

I added some fabric, ribbon, made a sun out of clay and gave it a coat of gold paint. It was a fun little project. Quite different than what I usually work on.

Unfortunately, I couldn't attend the party because I was preparing for a baby shower at my house. Why do all the fun things happen on the same day?

Happy Summer Solstice to All!