Nathan Sawaya

While actors, writers, directors and other filmmaking folk were anxiously hoping to take home a shiny golden Oscar trophy at Sunday's Academy Awards, many ended up with something arguably even cooler -- an Oscar trophy made of Lego bricks.

New York-based Lego artist Nathan Sawaya created 20 statuettes made from Lego bricks for the ceremony.

"The team behind 'The Lego Movie' approached me. They wanted to do something extra special for the Academy Award performance of best song nominee 'Everything is Awesome,'" Sawaya told Crave. "They had seen my earlier version of a Lego Oscar statue, and I was happy to take on the challenge."

Sawaya had already built a Lego Oscar statuette for , who tweeted about it last month when the movie was passed over by the Academy Awards. "It made for the perfect tweet when the movie was snubbed," Sawaya told Crave.

Each Lego Oscar statuette takes 500 bricks. "Each one is glued together so that the Lego bricks won't come apart," Sawaya said.

Everyone from Oprah to Emma Stone was presented with their very own Lego Oscars during the Academy Awards, but Sawaya has a favorite moment.

"I think watching Channing Tatum caress his Lego Oscar statue will be something I won't forget," Sawaya said. "Even if I try."

While celebrities were the happy recipients of Lego Oscar statuettes, Sawaya thinks we all deserve one.

Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

"So many people have asked me about getting their own Lego Oscar that I submitted it to Lego Ideas so that everyone has the ability to get one," Sawaya said. "Hopefully it will be approved in the next few days and we can all start supporting it."

Sawaya has made everything from a life-sized T-rex dinosaur to a 7-foot-long (2.1-meter) replica of the Brooklyn Bridge all out of Lego bricks. He recently re-created classic art pieces such as the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa in Lego. His artwork can be seen at Discovery Times Square in New York City, among other galleries around the world. Fans of Sawaya can see his latest Lego artwork on his website BrickArtist.com, as well as his Facebook page.