Wednesday's Worktable

On my worktable this week: more Queen of Hearts projects!

Seriously, I had so many different ideas last year that I'm still catching up on them. Although, for this particular project, it's fun seeing how it morphed over time in my head. What I made this week is a bit different than what I had originally planned.

You see, originally, I was just going to use a collection of beads and a skeleton key. Pretty, but rather simple and straightforward. But then, this past weekend, my mother-in-law gave me some of my father-in-law's leftover wire (he's an electrical engineer who is fascinated by magnets, so he has all sorts of bits and bobs around the house).

...And, well, one thing led to another, and this happened when I sat down at my beading table:

Now it's a steampunk Queen of Hearts key! The key itself is from a Tim Holtz collection, which I then wrapped with my new wire and some Swarovski crystals (both some bicones and a heart).

My original plan for the necklace chain is also changing. The wire from my father-in-law is much too thin to wire-wrap the links with, but I might use it for more detail work... We'll see!

What can I say? I have quite a bit of wire to work with:

Oh! And I have something else to share. 

My husband's birthday is tomorrow, and I was actually able to pull off a surprise party for him this week! Yay! 

To give you some background: I am the most un-sneaky person I know. Really. I tell my husband pretty much everything--it's natural and comfortable, plus I'm a horrible liar so I don't bother trying. For this party, then, I had lots of help in planning and organizing... In fact, my main job was to make sure that I didn't tell him about it. 

Trust me, that was a hard job for me. But I did it! He was surprised, and it went wonderfully.

Sadly, the only thing that I took pictures of was the cake. My best friend, who works in a bakery, was the one responsible for getting it... While they didn't make it themselves, they coordinated with the cake decorator to make sure it was awesome. 

And awesome, it was! And so I'm going to share pictures of it, to commemorate its awesomeness--and the fact that I successfully pulled off a surprise party! Yay!

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I'm up to this week! As you can probably guess, my plate is quite full... but at least there's cake on it! Woo!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and rest of your week, everyone! :)