Recently, my lab group at work entered a "mini Mardi Gras float" contest with a beaded creation called the "Magical Bead Bayou". I bought a sack of 100 strands of plastic Mardi Gras beads, some mini Mardi Gras ducks, and the team's imagination did the rest. I don't know if it shows in the photo, but even the alligators and snakes had tiny bead necklaces. We won second place which consisted of a lunch at a local restaurant for the team. Of course we thought we should have won first prize, but everyone had a lot of fun working with beads!