Today I wandered up to the local elementary school to check out a Christmas Craft Fair.  There was a couple of my friends selling their handmade creations.  It was also a fundraiser for the school-as is usually the case-so I didn’t mind spending some time and money there.

Needless to say, there are some talented people out there.  I picked up a few different crafts by some amazing artists while I was there.  I know I don’t have the skill sets to create some of this work but I can fully appreciate the time and effort it takes to make things.  I am also big on supporting my friends and their amazing talents.  I do this every chance I get.

Then there is also crap.  Garbage thrown together by someone with little to no talent and priced really low in order to hopefully make a quick buck.  I hate to be so negative about it but a blind monkey with a glue stick and glitter could do a better job sometimes.  Don’t think you haven’t seen that junk either.  It’s worse when it’s junk and they think that charging outlandish prices will make it more valuable somehow.

Just because someone labels it “folk art” doesn’t mean it deserves top dollar either.  I’m not saying that taking the time to refurbish or upcycle something from trash isn’t a noble cause.  But charging someone $40 for a piece of scrap wood with “HO ME” painted on it is a bit overboard.  It’s also not my style.  For some, the idea of handmade means more than actually hand making something.

I’m all for handmade Christmas gifts.  We have craft supplies galore in our home.  Everything from beads to foamboard, scrapbooks to cardstock, candle making to fabrics.  We even encourage our children to make something every year.  They have painted ornaments, made cards and created their own art to give away.  

This also forces our children to really focus on their extended family.  I often discover more about what my children perceive of my inlaws or my family.  Some of it is very, very odd indeed.