Craft Redemption

What do beads, crowds, and booth after booth have in common? Yep, you guessed it! I went to a craft show yesterday. Not just any run of the mill, church basement kind of craft show. Oh, no. This was the North Pole craft show in Ankeny, Iowa.

I hear that lovers of crafts come from other states just to experience the North Pole craft show. Usually, I do not get much out of craft shows. I enjoy the apparent effort that was put into each craft, but usually there is not much originality with the crafts. However, I was surprised. Even with the usual crafts, there were some diamonds in the rough. Take Santa (see photo), you can't really tell, but he is sort of paper mache, but much cuter. He didn't look like any other Santa at the craft show. His booth was hidden in a corner with not many visitors, but once I found him, I had to buy him. I know that I could have bought a Santa at Target that looked the same, but someone made him.

The jewelry that was available at the craft show was an additional surprise. It wasn't cheap or ugly. These craftspeople were real artists with their jewelry. Of course, you come across a few duds, but I was impressed with the quality.

Finally, my most treasured item found at the craft show was a bag of MAPLE BUTTER potpouri. Have you ever heard or smelled of such a scent? I had not. I usually endure the scents of vanilla or flowers, but this was like someone was making warm maple caramels in my kitchen. I could not resist.

I think I might have a new appreciation for craft shows. I will venture out to a craft show now searching for that hidden treasure buried among the dried flowers, disturbed looking yarn animals, and hand-painted ornaments.