We've been runnin our own little creative sweat shop here in the Armstrong household. Everyone has been hard at work on their projects and my cousin Karis has come to my rescue once again. She's been my magic printing fairy, helping me keep up with all the Christmas orders. I can't tell you how amazing it's been over the past two days to walk into the room and see a growing stack of prints that I didn't have to stay up all night to print. I could DEFINITELY get used to having such great help around!
So I've been able to focus on some creative projects...yay!! I drew this little owl on a new, large, lined moleskine journal and thought it'd be fun to give it away! So here's how it'll go down---leave a comment on this post telling me one of the best Christmas presents you have GIVEN to someone else. And I'll randomly pick one on Friday at 3:00pm Kentucky time (EST) and post the winner here on the blog. So don't forget to check back!
Have a good evening! We're gonna put up our Christmas tree! Since food poisoning foiled our live Christmas tree chopping plans this past weekend, I'm caving in and borrowing a pre-lit artificial one....better fake than never : )Arian : )
24 comments:
Well, I haven't given it yet, but I'm really excited about this one. My husbands cousin asked me to make a scarf for his wife. Later I was thinking about and decided, as a little extra, to make a matching scarf for their daughter as a surprise. In fact, I'm working on the scarves right now! :)
Also, the owl sketch is awsome! Love your work, I do.
So I'll admit, I visit this blog daily. I'm in love with your creations and am so glad that you do not hide your gifts under a bushel. You've got light. Thanks for shining it.
Best Christmas gift given to my grandma. I gave her an old photo of me in this big red chair frame and I wrote a poem about her. "Come sit with me in my big red chair and all the fond memories of my grandma I'll share...."
I'm a writer, and I probably share the most enjoyable presents through the written word. One Christmas I wrote a "night before Christmas" parody about my family. Another Christmas I wrote poems for each of my grandparents and recorded myself reading them as well since my grandmother doesn't see well.
Glad your family is feeling better. And exciting that you've got so many customers for your great work!
Well, I like to make presents by my self.I think this is the nicest way to give. This year will be the cotton shopping bags.
Best regards from Slovenia, Tanja
Ooooh so cute. I'm sitting here trying to remember...and honestly, I must have the worst mama brain ever because I can't remember anything I've given people over the years. How sad is that!? This year will be wonderful though...we are giving the gift of our time. Relational giving...
Thanks for the giveaway Arian!
One of my favorite things I have given was the blanket I made for Dwight the year Leah was born. It was the first thing I made after she came along, and he was completely surprised.
It may be fresh on my mind because he used it all day yesterday while he was sick...thankfully he is feeling better now though.
I really love your work. You're such an inspiration!
I decided to learn how to knit this year because a lot of the blogs I visit are of women who craft things with their hands. The thought of being able to create things that people can use and enjoy gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling. So this year I'm giving my mom and mother-in-law big, fuzzy, yummy-soft, thick blankets that I knit!
But if I win your journal then I'll add it to my list of great gifts I've given away because I would love to give it to my sister!
Thank you for the opportunity!
My favorite gift to give will probably be one I'm working on right now--an old-fashioned chair I thrifted and am making over for a good friend. She's going to love it!
Love your blog! One of the best Christmas gifts that I feel like I have ever given is a gift that I actually made for this Christmas, but it is something that I actually gave in and have given already. It was a sock cap that I knit for my husband! It was so hard knitting it without him knowing and then I could not even wait until Christmas! Oh well, maybe next year!
Giving it this year. Matt and I are really tight on money this year and have decided that we cannot buy anyone Christmas gifts. We usually give all of my many nieces and nephews a book ,that we think suits them for the year, at Christmastime. This year I am writing a story for each kid/family so with illustrations. Such adventures as "The Fabulous 5" Family of Superheros, "The adventures of Tyler Train and Luke Locomotive", "Lucky", and "Who needs a hero?" So excited to GIVE these gifts. -Mariah Kroger
Hi Arian, glad to see that you are still being so creative. I love your work it is so whimsical.
I think that the best gift that Hannah and I will be giving to my mom this year is a book that Hannah wrote about my dad. She had to write a short story for a school project that was bound into a hard cover book. The teacher agreed to let her write a story about my dad instead and include one of his short stories that he had written to her on one of his many travels. She wrote it about a week or so after he passed away and she is very excited to be able to give my mom a copy.
It's been years since I've given handmade gifts - that's what I'm doing this year. I'm both excited & nervous! I can't wait to see their reactions. Ohhh I hope they enjoy.
I'm new to your blog and I just love seeing what you create! Thanks for sharing your gift of creativity and art.
The Best Christmas gift that I ever gave was to my parents a few years back. Growing up my family watched the "Five Mile Creek" series on video. We would cuddle up in mom and dad's bed, eat popcorn and watch them - it was one of my favorite memories. Well, I found the series a few years back and was excited to give them to my parents for Christmas from my sister and me. We put them all in a basket with old-fashioned bottles of coca-cola and popcorn. We all cried when they got it - my parents didn't know the movies even existed anymore. I still remember having tears in my eyes at their surprise when they discovered what it was.
What a lovely blog...I have made all my friends children little personalised felt animals i can't wait to give them :)
The best give I have ever given was probably a joint gift from me and my brother for my Dad. I was able to find a picture of the Aircraft Carrier that my grandfather had served on during the Korean War, we found it from one of the national galleries. We got it for him, it was probably 16x20, high gloss photo, and we had it framed. It was kind of neat seeing his reaction, knowing exactly what it was, and how much it meant to him because of our Grandfather (Papa). I'll never forget that, it's hanging in his office at work, and its nice to know that he will think about Pop's everyday!
The sweetest one that comes to mind was a journal my son and I picked out for his dad. He had been meaning to get back to writing for a while and my son and I wrote a bunch of encouraging things on the inside cover for him and he cried when we gave it to him. He filled it that year and has been writing ever since.
Thanks for the reminder! I think I'll do something like that again this year.
P.S. Love your blog and your art!
Currently, my brother is 26 and I am 22...Last year I turned old pictures of my him and I black and white and put them in a antique frame. First gift I ever gave him that made him tear up. It was definitely a success!I loved giving him something that he will have hung up for years and years to come!
I gave my Mum some jewelry i made in cute little drawstring bags in a homemade box. She loved them loads and I think that the little effort I put in to packing and wrapping was worth it.
Loving your blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Arian, I'm so happy that you have so many orders to fill. Just love that your talent is being appreciated and wanted by so many. Makes me think about doing something on etsy myself. You certainly inspire me!
I'd have to say my favorite gift that I have given was one I made myself for my dad last year. My dad has so many silly words in his vocabulary and our family has learned to use them and love them...they are what make Dad/Grandpa truly unique. Well, last year I designed a little book called The Book of George, filled with his funny words, their definitions and usage examples. He opened the gift, read the first one and started laughing so hard he cried and couldn't continue. This is the first I had seen him laugh this hard. We all were howling...and not a penny spent on it. What makes it extra special was that it was the last Christmas my Grandma sat there with us. We'll forever miss her.
I just found your blog and so happy I did, that journal is too cute!
One year I gave my hubby a Dig Dug machine for x-mas :D
The best Christmas that I can remember is when I was able to help a co-worker. Her husband had walked out on her and the kids just before Christmas. She was a hard worker and dependable but her wage just wasn't much to support five young boys. She was so stressed on how she would provide for her boys at Christmas. I was able to enlist the help of other great co-workers to provide gifts for all the kids and her. Then when I knew that the kids would be at their grandma's, I delivered all the gifts to where they lived way out in the country. Put all the gifts under the tree and stayed and visited with the mom. I think she appreciated me being there and listerning to her vent out her frustrations. Then the kids came home, and to see the look on their face made me cry. They wanted to know why I was crying, "Santa's been here"
oooh. lovely! :)
well, the favorite present i gave to someone were tickets for the musical "the lion king" i bought for my parents. i used the first money i ever earned by myself to pay for them. it was so cute to see tears in their eyes when they opened the present. and they had so much fun.... i don't know, it was just something they were not expecting. and that made me happy.
One year I got my dad a print from a painting called, "The Divine Counselor." It's a painting of Jesus and a man sitting and talking. Since my dad is in fact, a counselor, I thought this would look great in his office, as well as serve as a reminder of who is the true author of healing. I love seeing it hanging in his office each time I visit.
Congrats on the new family member!
Gosh I love your little owl! Probably the best gift I can think of was the year I gave an ipod to my husband...he was super surprised and loved it! It was fabulous because I agonized trying to decide if I should get it for him.
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