Owl Always Love You

On a trip to Z Gallerie a few month ago, I spied THIS:

They had created a wonderful little microcosm or ice, snow, pristinely frosty perfection. and....

owls.

I wanted it.

You know that covetous feeling that overtakes you?

Something is destined to live with you in your world.

You need it.

I circled it, studying, trying to see what it was I was so attracted to.

I realized it was the ambiance, the glimpse of coziness in the cold.

Good thing too, because when I costed out the elements...

 100 bucks for the vase...

 $23 for a box of the gems..times how many?

 Forty Five clams for the frosty branches.

And a pair of owls?

15 pictures of George.

 Let's just assume this peaceful snowy scene is happening in the neighborhood

of two hundred dollars.

I wonder what the association fees are like in that neighborhood?

I started looking around and plotting in my usual manner.

$20 is my usual ceiling for any fluff item.

Any owls I stumbled upon in the following months ate the lion's share of that budget.

 And then, in West Elm this weekend, I found...

The Grumpy Owls!

Crank little spotted wise guys with a $6 price tag...

 ...and a 70% discount!

YES!!!

$1.80 avians!

I already had one very tall cylinder vase, about 18",

and a smaller one from the Dollar Tree. 

 I found bags of ice crystals for a palatable $3 at Blood Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond.

I can do that.

 You know how to do this.

Little vase in the big one.

 Carefully add the "ice" to the space between the vases.

Then add some branches.

 These faux birch beauties covered in ice droplets are from Z Gallerie.

$15.95 was the original tag, but Christmas was 70% off, so we walked out 

hand in branch for just $4.80.

 Worth it.

 

Fill the center vase with river rock for contrast and stability.

 Bend the branches and perch your little owls, using a scrap of wire to elevate

them above cat toy status.

 So...what's our bottom line?

I had the vases and the river rock.

The ice crystals ran me $9.

Remember, use as much of what you have as possible.

 The branches were another $9.60 since I bought two.

And the owls?

$1.80 for each morsel of feathered grumpulence.

I of course needed 5, one for each family member

so yes, I shelled out nine smackers.

And I'm not even sorry.

$27.60 for my centerpiece.

 Sure it's a little over my usual budget, but the way Savannah

squeals out, "They're so GRUMPY!!!"

makes it worth every penny.

Not to mention it's about 14% of the original inspiration.

THAT makes my wallet feel all better.