#2: star of wonder, star of dough

this came from an art activity in nursery school, i believe. it's made with some sort of dough and the old tempra paint is cracked and flaky. it's also prone to taking on moisture, even now, so many years later. a few christmases back, it began to crumble - see the cracks and the hole? rather than put it away in the special box in the attic, i left it downstairs and on display for the entire year, just to keep an eye on it and make sure it hardened up again. and, much to my relief, it did. i certainly didn't want this ornament to go the way of its counterpart, a shapeless blob painted christmas green and tied with identical red yarn. when i asked three year-old you to "tell me about it," you studied it for a moment, then replied that it was a turtle on an island. for years it hung proudly on the christmas tree before it succumbed to moisture. i'd give anything to have that turtle-on-an-island now. no way i want to lose this precious star, too.