milk milk lemonade.

Every year, my friends at LOUD& OBNOXIOUS and Glad Rags Ink host a very legitimate beer pong tournament in March called the Natty Classic. And every year (with the exception of the 1st year when they used blocks of wood), they commission me to make the trophy. This was the official championship trophy for the 4th Annual Natty Classic, which took place this past Saturday in Pomona.

The inspiration, if not yet obvious, was the Stanley Cup.


My boyfriend had the idea of using cake pans to create the tiers, which helped me illustrate the blueprint in my head. After quite a bit of hunting, I found the top cup/bowl piece at a Goodwill store in Fullerton, THANK GOODNESS. That was the toughest part. The rest came together organically. Boyfriend helped me chrome the metal pieces with Ironlak Reload chrome spray paint. I stained the wood pieces with Minwax Wood Finish (dark walnut 2716) and coated them with Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish. Many harmful vapors were consumed. When all the pieces were ready to go, we meticulously drilled & screwed & contact cement’d everything together. There were also load-bearing wooden pieces secured inside each metal piece!

In a way, this project took a lot of time/effort, but it also didn’t. Once we figured out each following step, it all went very smoothly. For instance, it was REALLY tricky figuring out the best way to secure the cup to the top, as it was the heaviest piece. The manly man eventually came up with the best idea using machine screws, and it worked out perfectly. Although I’d like to take credit for the finished product, I’m indebted to my boyfriend for all of the help he gave me. I definitely would not have had the vinyl cutouts without him.

The trophy received a great response from my friends. For that, I was VERY relieved and very much excited. I still say that nothing feels more satisfying and spiritually fulfilling than creating something that has never existed before. Thanks for reading :) Now go make something!