Golden Times,Christmas Card baskets,and room hopping. Where am I?

If your answer is the 2010 Golden Glow convention, you are correct!

I arrived Tuesday afternoon to Milwaukee. I met one of my favorite artists on the bus to the hotel-Ralph Giguiere. He is also an illustrator and teaches at the Philadelphia college of art. I love the detail and quality of his belsnickle candy containers. It is great to meet the heart and soul behind the pieces.

The hotel is all decked out in red,white, and blue celebrating a patriotic Christmas and 30 years of the golden glow.

After settling in, I took a class in making Christmas card baskets. Using antique Christmas and templates, I button-stitched a few cards together to make an adorable container that I can use at the holidays.

I later did some room hopping and was able to purchase an antique belsnickle from Robert Merck who authored a book called Deck the Halls. It is one of the best books on the market about antique Christmas.

The best part of the convention is seeing your friends, you might not see them in awhile but when you get together it feels like no time has passed.

Until the next sketch!