I’ve been talking about hosting a crafting party for about five years. So I decided to have a few friends over to create dioramas! I LOVE dioramas and I am lucky to know some very smart and creative gals so I combined my insane stash of ephemera with some wine and snacks and friends and this was the result:

One of the most challenging aspects of DioramaRama was gathering supplies. I have scads of ephemera tucked away all over our house. And as I set about gathering up supplies, I told Dale, “I feel like I’ve been preparing for this party my whole life!” And he basically said: “You totally have.” 

So it was a flurry of a week’s worth of gathering up the glitter and the glue and the old magazines and the mason jars, and the tiny clothespins and the bitty rocks and old jewelry and Birchboxes and cigar boxes and sooo much more…(My friend Jeannine took the above pic and posted it on Facebook–I stole it–thanks Jeannine!)

I put out my finest pink plastic tablecloth and set everything up!

You can’t craft without wine and snacks, obviously.
And I finally used the Paris-themed cupcake set I have been hanging on to for two years. I KNEW I would use it someday! (I also swiped this pic from Jeannine–please don’t sue.)

Crafters very busy at work (while I’m busy drinking–typical). 

I was amazed at how enthusiastically everyone took to the crafting and how most people came with a plan. They didn’t even use a fraction of the supplies I put out (damn them!). Half of the table is up eating or using the hot glue gun station (in the kitchen). I love hot glue, for real.

Painting! Gluing! Texting! Posting to social media with the hashtag #dioramarama! It was madness. Remember how cute my table started above? Ha!

Maureen, working out the fine details of her project. She came with a serious plan and executed it beautifully!

It was pretty much a madhouse of glitter and glue, which means it was glorious.

Lara made an adorable Easter-themed decorative box! I LOVE the little chicks floating on the roof! But I LOVE those little fluffy chicks anyway. The little sheep and bunny were little items I got in my Easter basket as a kid. Have I mentioned I hoard weird objects? 

Carlen made a tiny tribute to Ravinia with little bottles and wine corks and roses. She lined her box with lovely paper! It’s so adorable! And, happily, she used all my supplies so it meant I had less to pack away. Ha!

Jeannine made a little galaxy diorama. And, happily, she used some of my supplies! Ha! I love the black glitter framing around the image and the floating clouds. 

Anne came with a plan! I supplied the cigar box and she went to town! How lovely is this!? 

The inside is whimsical and feline–much like Anne herself! 

She photoshopped her cat Gimlet’s head onto a Victorian photo and printed it out. I love it. It cracked me up!

Hether made a collage tribute to her trip to Japan! So she used some elements of her trip with some of my greeting cards and a box I had that used to house a Bible. She put a collage right over a weird Jesus painting! Ha!

She even had a page that lifted up to reveal a second page! Neat!

I wanted to use an antique pop-up Valentine I picked up a million years ago. So I covered a box in fabric, included a copy of a real love letter from a book of famous love letters I had, and I embellished with glitter and little keys. 

I put this lovely lady on the back and embellished her with glitter. She was from a book of greeting cards from the 1940s that belonged to my grandmother! Neat!

Maureen made a tiny hat shop because she is a milliner! 

There were lots of lovely little details in the shop! She used a mix of her own stuff and threw in a few goodies of mine as well (including the little wooden thimble that belonged to Dale’s grandmother repurposed as a hat). 

Jennifer’s collage cigar box has a water feature! It’s SO cute. And anything with a tiny feather bird is basically the best. 

Rebecca had a VISION and she came prepared! This is a detail of her daughter during ballet–turned into a little fairy! How adorable is this?! A little lunchbox converted into a stage in the middle of a little French garden!