Letters from Father Christmas

A Christmas Gift for the Young Souls in Our Lives

One of my Favorite Things- notice that my heading states 'young souls' not necessarily young people. My husband and I were in our early thirties when we discovered (or rediscovered) this incredible lesser known work by J.R.R. Tolkein (Yes, The Lord of the Rings author) entitled Letters From Father Christmas. In fact, it was December 23rd, 2003 at approx. 2:50pm when we came across a copy of the book in Borders (I found the receipt nestled in between the pages).

Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkein So for today's post (three days away from Christmas) I thought it would be great to share this extraordinary work with you. Tolkein wrote a letter under the guise of Father Christmas every year for his children. It would arrive in the mail with postage implying it had traveled from the North Pole. And if you're thinking well isn't that quaint, think again - these letters were incredible, masterfully created, down to the handwriting and fantastical events/ illustrations and the not-so mundane details of a daily life in the North Pole. If the Polar bear had to write in lieu of Father Christmas the handwriting was practically illegible and he spoke of how difficult it was to hold a writing instrument in a paw, and if it was shaky well you know how cold it is in the North Pole. However, the North Pole was no romanticized heaven here on earth for Tolkein, there were goblins and wars there too and daily trials and tribulations to speak of, from roofs caving in and the adventures of Ilbereth the elf (secretary to Father Christmas).A publication with pull-out letters Griffin & Sabine StyleVarious Postage Art from the Letters

My husband and I have no children and we fell in love with this publication and the magic of it. What an amazing world we live in that we could share in such a brilliant stroke of genius as these letters.

It all happened like this: one very windy day least November my hood blew off and went and stuck on the top of the North Pole. I told him not to, but the North Polar bear climbed up to the thin top to get it down- and he did. The pole broke in the middle and fell on the roof of my house, and the North Polar Bear fell through the hole and made it into the dining room with my hood over his nose, and all the snow fell off the roof into the house and melted and put out all the fires and ran down into the cellars, where I was collecting this year's presents, and the North Polar Bear's leg got broken.

-excerpt from Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkein

Mai Sweet Shop Treats Debut!

The Mai Sweet Shop debut and craft fair was a great success!!!

Mai Sweet Shop Craft fair table

During the D-E craft fair I was able to compete with the 'real' food (which is generally where people tend to gravitate towards) because the sweet cakes look SO edible.

Mai Sweet Shop Cake Containers and Candles

At first, I was so dissappointed that I wasn't able to make my open-skirt Marie Antoinette Doll as a table center piece, or make more of this and more of that- due to lack of time- but in the end there couldn't have been more, since the table was jammed-pack-full! I worked on products up until two hours before the fair! When I saw the table all laid out with Mai Sweet Shop stuff I was so happy and satisfied!

My student Isabella Whitney & the Mai Cupcakes I had a student who I mentor assist me and she rocked the fair! She even sold some of her own wares, you can check out her stuff on Etsy too under IsabellaWhitney!! Go Izzy girl! So people are still hunting me down and finding what I have left so my supply is practically all gone! By tomorrow I should know exactly what hasn't been staked out and claimed. What ever is left will surely be available in my Esty shop.

MAI rings!MAI Barrettes!MAI Whipped Cream & Cherry Rings!MAI Bags!MAI Hot Cocoa and Mellows Ring

Felt Ipod Touch Case! Gift Tutorial!

Complexity Level = SUPER EASY!!My Handmade Ipod Touch Felt Case I received an Ipod touch for my B'day this year from my best friend, my hub. So since I enjoy making custom fur coats for ipods, I thought I would make a case for this device. But this time I decided to use some awesome felt that I bought when I was in Munich, Germany last Spring. And for all of you crafters, I decided to photograph the process and make you all a tutorial so you can make your own felt ipod case!First cut your pieces of felt.Cut the window out by folding the fabricThe windowEmbroider The edges with a decorative edgeFollow the needle to learnPull the needle through the stitchThats the stitch!One More TimePull the needle thru the stitch Last Edging Stitch!Now Edge your Window!Now its time to do the cover!Pick another color to cut out a head The Girl needs hair!Start to stitch the hair down.Embroider a face.Choose a button and sew it on.Now sew on a scarf that wraps around the whole case to close at the button!

Congratulations You're done!!!