Christmas!

This is what I gave Dotty for Christmas:


I had a blast putting it all together. It's pretty much everything anyone would ever need for making their own note cards, mail art, collages -- whatever. I was so excited to get to share!




I also made my mom some potholders, which I forgot to take pictures of before I mailed them.

I made Norman a pair of flannel boxers, and I'd take a picture of them, but he's wearing them at the moment (too much information?).

I made a bunch of other people some croutons and dream bars, but pictures of those would be boring.

But what I can give you are pictures of what I gave Meghan (Earl) Barnes for her wedding shower:


A throw pillow and sham.


And two ribbon candle votives. These are approximately her house colors (in a non-Hogwarts kind of way.) Yay!

R.I.P.

Not crafty, but I just had to acknowledge the passing of the following men:


Peter Boyle
1935-2006



1939-2006

Best Thrift Find EVER

Now, I've found some great things at thrift stores and garage sales. Probably at the top of the list would be the $12 12"x 16" paper cutter. That is, until yesterday. Yesterday was the day I found the following at the First Presbyterian Thrift Shop in Norman, OK.



Yep. It's a Madeleine L'engle book. I saw it and thought, "Oh, that's the one about the dolphins. I didn't really like that one," and made to put it back. Then I thought, "Well, it looks older -- maybe it's a first edition, and I can sell it." So I looked inside, and I saw:



...and also...



...and I gasped. Out loud. A freaking Madeleine L'engle signed first edition. And then I looked at the sign with the book prices.

HARDBACKS -- 50 cents

Hmm... Maybe they priced it for more somewhere on the book. ::looking...looking:: Nope. It was fifty cents. So I gathered the rest of my purchases (two very nice wool dress skirts for a dollar each that were, until that moment, the highlights of my trip, some Christmas cards, and other miscellany), and checked out. I spent $5.15.

I got outside and felt like I had just robbed them. It was great.

So, if you know anyone who collects signed first editions, let me know. I'm looking to liquidate.

Light Box!

So I finally broke down and made a light box (after searching the cardboard recyclables dumpster by the ValuFoods). It looks like this:



...but it makes pictures look like this!:





(Although I still need to work on the light diffusion a little more...)

Woot! Now hopefully my products will look a little more professional.

I found the instructions here.