What Came in Yesterday's Mail...

It was so much fun to go to the mailbox yesterday!

Loved this Halloween card from grandson Ethan. It says, "Hope you like my Smash Monster!"

He's just 2 years old...so you know this is a great toddler craft! Looks to me like his clever mama, daughter-in-law Hillary, took a piece of orange card stock (approx. 6" x 6") and folded it in half. Then it was most likely a mother-son project to dribble some green paint (looks like it's acrylic) in the fold. Then smash (fold) it in half (Rorschach ink-blot style) to get the smash monster's shape. Sprinkle a little glitter in the paint while it's still wet...

After the paint is dry, glue a single googly-eye in the middle of the smash monster's face. Then use a sharpie pen to draw a unibrow over the eye, and a mouth below the eye. Add a greeting and send to a favorite grandma and grandpa!

(Update! Just got an email from Hillary...she confirmed that I figured out the gist of the instructions. Clever grandma that I am. She found the original idea on a Martha Stewart post, here.)

(Here's a photo of Ethan playing with cousin Olivia last April...the last time Grandma and Grandpa got to see him...)

The next treasure in the mailbox was a bulky little package...look what I won! Sarah at mimi and the boy sponsored a giveaway last week to celebrate her 300th (wow!) blog post. Lucky me...I won this darling autumn pillow, handmade by Sarah. Doesn't it look great against the new gold upholstery on my heirloom chair? (More about the upholstery job on an upcoming post. No, I didn't do it myself.)

Here's a closeup of Sarah's talent. I love the way she used scrap fabric cut into simple shapes to make a vibrant accent...for my home! Wish I could think up designs like this.

Check out the nice little finishing touch - a sweet tag to remind me of this pillow's special creator.

Gee, I wish every day were that much fun at the mailbox! Today was just bills and junk mail...

Have you had any special mailbox surprises lately?