Ah, so here it is once again time to begin my work on those Christmas gifts. This year I have planned to make driftwood platters. I am anticipating that these will be received with great appreciation, as they do not have any of the issues that some of the gifts I have given in the past came with. To ensure happy recipients I considered small items, but not so small as to be considered trinkets or trivial in nature.

I hesitate to admit it, but I have come across enough of these for sale to believe they are quite in style. If I were creating for my own pleasure, I would never make anything simply because it was considered stylish by the general public, or those allegedly in the know as it were. But, as I want to see smiles when these presents are unwrapped, I am staying on the straight and narrow.

I have also been drafting the cards to go with them, and have come up with the following. This piece was first shaped naturally by the elements, and secondly carved by my hands. In that sense, please accept this gift from both Mother Nature and myself.

I’m off to get started, as I have ten in total to have done in time to ship. The rest I can procrastinate a bit on, as they will be hand delivered. I do not like to feel like a mass producing machine, so I look forward to breaking the work up.