Totoros Galore!

My husband John is one of the best surprise-gift givers I have ever encountered. He's not one to celebrate on predetermined days (we're not big on Valentine's Day around here, for example), but he'll often surprise me on a non-holiday with something really cool. Today is one of those days! The mail carrier rolled up around 10:30 AM with a big box from Japan. Whenever I get a box from Japan via John, I immediately suspect that a Totoro gift is inside. After opening the lovely packaging, my suspicions were confirmed. Not only did John get me a large, extremely warm Totoro blanket, he also bought the cutest Totoro apron and bag (see below). And there were two origami Totoros included in the box. I just found online instructions for how to make your own origami Totoro; check it out here.

The items came gift-wrapped (of course I saved the paper for re-use):



And, on top of the lovely gift wrapping, one of the items had an origami Totoro decoration:



The incredibly warm and lucky Clover Totoro blanket now gracing our couch:



My new bag, perfect for carrying books to school and/or groceries:



My new apron, which I absolutely love and can't wait to put to use:

Gen Con Crafts

My husband left for Gen Con today, one of the largest gaming conventions in the world. I don't just accept the dorky overtones that such an event carries, I think they're awesome. So, in honor of Gen Con Indy 2007, here are some gamer crafts:

1. Courtesy of Z Studios, some StarCraft origami.
2. A large Pac Man necklace, courtesy of Wonderland.
3. Tetris fridge magnets from Kotaku.
4. Look at all the crafting-related events at Gen Con for gamer "widows" and "widowers;" maybe I should go next year!