Pointe-less

Probably the most disappointing thing I received in my 2020 Breyer Collectors Club Grab Bag was the Enchantmints "Ballet Shoes" music box.

I think it's rather low of Reeves to try to foist these things off on model horse collectors, particular those in the Collectors Club who clearly have a more than casual interest in all things equine.

Most of the music boxes in other Grab Bags (there were four to choose from this year) did, at least, have a horsey theme, but there's really no excuse for the appearance of "Ballet Shoes" in a quarter of the Collector Club bags.

Image courtesy of www.breyerhorses.com

Although ballet has its place, and is, apparently, good training for aspiring trick and vaulting horse riders, I have zero interest in ballerinas myself.  I've always admired the talent and artistry of the dancers and choreographers who do it, but despite the ballet figures that decorated my childhood bedroom (on the curtains, the bed sheets, and in, ironically, a music box), my parents never managed to turn me into a balletomane, or even a creature of beauty and grace, which I think is all they were hoping for.

So my first impulse, upon receiving the "Ballet Shoes" music box was to give it away.  I'd done this once before with a princess-themed music box I received in an earlier Breyer Holiday Grab Bag.  But this time not only did I not know of an appropriate child who might like the box, but I found myself in growing need of another small box to house my Mini Whinny collection, which has been expanding alarmingly in the past few years.

So badly did I need this box that I finally decided to see if I could repurpose it into something more acceptable.

If I had any kind of artistic talent I might have repainted the box with equine scenes, or covered it over in fabric with an equestrian theme.  I don't have that kind of talent, but one thing I did have was a bunch of horse and hobby-themed stickers -- enough, I thought, to cover up most of the ballet scenes on the box.  It wouldn't be a thing of beauty, but it would be something I could bear to put on my shelves.

Here's the "finished" project.  If I find more stickers I might decorate it further, but for now it will do the trick.

And that, after all, is the "pointe."