o yes, as I said on
my previous post, I loved the whole magical feeling of the Christmas
season, but I got to admit, I also had a “profound appreciation”
for the gift-giving custom(or more likely the gift-receiving part of
it)!))
For me it mattered more the way a gift was presented, the circumstances under it was given, the element of surprise n such, but above all, it was all about what story the gift held behind it or what story it would create!
I still have an unreasonable admiration of the actual wrapping and appearance of a present. --This might explain how I gift-wrap all orders of Hide n Seek too!!--
Anyway, during all my childhood days, a gift that would include any kind of keys, lockets, boxes, old clocks or anything that secretly captured time, seemed as the most reasonable and successful choice to make in order to put a huge smile on my face for days and days to come!
I tried to figure out what was hidden underneath the layers of papers, colours, textures and patterns and the more intricate, challenging and difficult a present was to open, the more my curiosity reached the zenith!!.... Disappointingly, I rarely received one of those items as a gift so I usually failed miserably to guess even the most predictable of gifts to a great extend. I convinced myself that it was better this way since I didn't manage to spoil the surprise...heh
But anyway, growing up I’ve discovered the fulfilment and great joy of the other side, the actual gift-giving side and always tried to exercise this part more than the other. However this Christmas season, I decided to spoil a bit myself with all the amazing goodies Etsy sellers and artists can provide and buy some of my still favourite keys, clocks and boxes!!
So the last day of the year, Santa finally came to my doorstep to bring me the last gift of the year. He was a little suspiciously and very predictably dressed up as a British postman !! However he didn't manage to disguise those plum rosy cheeks and red nose, probably from secretly gulping lots of strong ale on the way, rather than from the unforgiving cold of the day! I pretended not to realise anything, but I had to offer him some cookies to have for his long journey back....
I opened impatiently
the packet to see that I had received the most adorable handmade
boxes from Etsy incredible artists, FavorMakers!!! FavorMakers are a
talented and lovely couple who create unique and believe me, super
well-made amazing boxes!!! ooooh if only I saw them or had them
younger!!!!!There were 2 perfect cozy teapots, 2 super cute n magical
apples and 2 of the loveliest penguin boxes ever made!! FavorMakers
send their boxes full of their own stories and full of care n love,
but as soon as I unsuspectingly placed them on my window until I
could find the perfect location in the house for them, they started
creating their own story!!!!!
At first they all looked so pretty together, but there was something unnatural about the cute penguins...Later I realised they were posing as boxes alone for the camera...
Moments later I caught the little penguin looking so sad:(( ...and after this, they were secretly looking back home through the window with the saddest of the faces..:(
They seemed so sad and miserable:(( but so cute at the same time:D
A while later, mummy penguin got used to the place but the little one kept looking back numerous
times throughout the day...Eventually, the little one went under it's mummy's wing and care for a while and they both started feeling alot better:))
I know they'll always miss the warm home of Favormakers, but at least they are happy now:)
Their days start and end full of games!!
Aren't they super adorable!!?
The perfect gift is the one full of beautiful stories:)
I just stumbled onto your etsy store and had to let you know I love your illustrative style. It's so soft and and you characters are so sweet! Do you make your prints yourself on a home printer or do you send them out for printing? Just curious.
Posted by: Mindy | January 20, 2008 at 06:12 PM
Thank you my dear Mindy for your kind words. :)))
I do print from home but on a professional printer. I use the best possible materials and the results are stunning archival quality professional prints.
You can get the specifics in my profile if you wish:
http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5423386
By the way, your cute little owl creatures are super adorable!!! Especially little Eloise ;)
Warm regards,
Eloise
Posted by: Eloise | January 21, 2008 at 08:19 PM