Christmas is my favorite time of year...

My little sister and I groaned when Mom insisted on listening to hokey Christmas songs while decorating the tree, but as soon as I unwrapped the old, red train, I knew it felt right. My mom was the Ornament Goddess when I was little. The red train, the first of many Christmas handmades, was so different from the rad lit up balls my friends had on their houses and trees, and at one time, I wanted a plug-in Christmas, too.

Besides the year Mom injected some serious razzle dazzle by going glitter-happy on the felt ornaments, we've had pretty much the same tree for the greater part of 15 years. But this Christmas, the first we had a tree in three years, I felt like I found something I had lost.

Some time between cracking up at my sister's hilarious Bing Crosby impression and rediscovering the heart Mom made to remember Auntie Carol, I realized these handmade ornaments were an important part of my life; still are. And as much as I love the convenience of computers, I know we need to create with our hands, that there's a place for storytelling and craftmaking. Handcrafted art has a place in this digital world.

I laugh whenever I look at the first ornaments my sister and I made. My Santa Dog looks like a rabbit. Making it was a lot of fun.


Bay Area Handmade is a celebration of handmade arts and crafts. I hope my story encourages people to pick up the marker, thread, brush, whatever, and create. I'll be blogging about my favorite supply stores and posting photos of my journey to bring crafts back in my life. I'll also feature interviews with local artists. Welcome to this blog. I hope you'll stay tuned.