My boy's a crafter!

We stopped in at the local Vintage Stock the other day to do a little browsing, and happened to be there when they were having a snowman decorating contest. They had some styrofoam balls stuck together and a few markers and a bunch of long pipe cleaners. They were going to decide on a winner at 4pm, and offer a gift certificate to the lucky designer.

No self-respecting crafter can let that kind of opportunity pass them up! I asked Griffin if he wanted to decorate a snowman, and he agreed to help me. :)

Griffin drew on a lovely Tim Burton-esque face, then added shoulders, arms, and cheeks. (Kids are so physically aware - who knew snowmen need shoulders?!) I put on some curly-cue thingies, but he made the "wings" all by himself. We added a scarf, and he put on a red belt thing. I submitted our creation and we stuck around for another 20 minutes or so until they made their decision - and Griffin won!!

He was SO excited! We picked out three Hotwheels cars and he handed over his $10 gift card to pay for them. He's excited about getting to go back another day to get a couple more cars.

Next up - learning to use the sewing machine... or maybe a dremel tool...

Holiday Goodies

Not only is it Santa time, but it's also SECRET Santa time! I sent out a package to my good friend and fellow Aretsy member, Denise (way later than I should have) and she let me know it arrived today. Edith the Snowfolk is quite an independent woman - wearing vintage whenever she can, haunting the thrift stores for treasures that have been discarded by others. I think she and Denise will get along famously.

I already reported on my adorable journal from my Aretsy Secret Santa, The Beehive, but I also got a Secret Santa gift from a co-worker. She paints adorable canvases and Christmas ornaments and picture frames for custom orders and also sells at some shows locally. My gift was two of her painted canvases that I LOVE!! They have glittery paint on the snowflakes in the background, which you can't see here. And there are little rhinestones on the berries and a sweet ribbon on the ornament. I have a perfect spot for them in my living room!

I have almost everything I'm making for Christmas made. Only a couple of little things to go; some coasters for hubby's grandma (who will send your gift to her back home with you if she deems it not useful enough!!!), finishing work on my Philly brother's gift, finishing the item for hubby's niece and making things for my dad and stepmom. Okay, maybe I have quite a bit to go... what am I doing on my laptop???!!!

Secret Santa and Blog-o-riffic

I got a goodie in the mail today! My Secret Santa giftie from my fellow Aretsy artist showed up, and I'm so excited to share the pics with you. The talented Sunny of The Beehive created an adorable little mini-journal for me... it's kind of like a gorgeous custom cake that you don't want to eat because it's too gorgeous. I'm not sure I want to mess up the adorable-ness by putting something in it!

The sun was down before I opened it, so these pics were taken with flash. I was thrilled with the colors - salmon and orange with turquoise and blue are my favorite combos! Thanks so much Sunny!!!!


I have to thank Denise Felton as well, one of my favorite Aretsy artists. She is one of the newest (and most prolific) contributors to the Craft Gossip website, and recently featured my humble little Snowfolk in my shop. Today - I'm sure because of her marketing genius - I sold Ally McTeal to a nice buyer in Baltimore, MD. Ally is pretty hip - I think she's definitely got the makings of an east coast girl.