It's likely you've already met my Grandpa Don in a previous post. Maybe you've read Grandpa Don's Box, The Time Traveler, or The First Installment. If you have, you know that he is the most creative, innovative, determined, and incredible person I know. If you HAVEN'T go do it now!

My Grandpa Don can build almost anything. Seriously, the man built a HOUSE. A little more than sixty years ago, he and my Grandma Jeanenne saved $4000--bought a lot for $3000--had $1000 leftover--borrowed $13,000 from the bank--enlisted the help of some friends and family and set out to do what he had been told he could not...build a house! In a year's time, he had built his own house while working a full-time job. He had to ask for 2 extensions on his loan and moved in April 1959 without carpet in the living room. Today he still lives in the same house, working daily in his star factory in the basement.

I call my Grandpa several things---The Time Traveler, The Little Man Walking, and The TIN MAN. He is a visionary, always inventing and always creating. My Grandpa Don has a shop in his basement where he creates what seems like almost anything OUT of almost anything. At one time he thought of starting a metal craft shop and calling it the TIN BIN. One of the things he's focused on over the last several years is handcrafted spinners that are made from tin and recycled aluminum cans.

These little gems hang outside and when they catch the sun, they sparkle and when the wind blows hard, they sing. In my Grandpa Don's words, "Watching something spinning is therapeutic. So many things spin, a top, a spinning wheel, a tire on an automobile."

I would agree.

In addition to the spinners, my Grandpa Don also spent the last several years creating stars, not from tin but from galvanized sheet metal. He got the idea from my Aunt Mindy. They decided that if they put holiday paper and bows on them, people might buy them.

If you have seen one of my Grandpa's stars, you know how beautiful they are. What you might not know is the time and love for the craft that goes into each one. Not only are they hand cut and hand bent, but almost all of the tools used to make them were also made by my Grandpa. The potential he sees in a bucket of scrap metal and old junk is beyond my comprehension. Once again, his innovative spirit just shines.

A few years ago, on a visit to Utah, my Grandpa sent me home with some small blank stars. I brought them home and papered them for my own Christmas tree. Almost every visit since, I've brought back more stars in all sizes. I'd paper some more, gave them as gifts but didn't really know what I was doing and they didn't turn out great. I'd share my progress and struggles with my Grandpa via text and in return, received tutorials, photos, advice and even some tools and star-making supplies in the mail. It wasn't until my last visit in October that I began taking this star-making serious. I spent a few days with my Grandpa in his shop, creating, learning, and most importantly, sharing the joy, passion, and satisfaction that comes from making something that people love.

I took MORE stars home, as many as I could pack in my suitcase, bought more paper, set up my station and got to work. My Grandpa helped with my initial patterns and designs for each star by sending examples of his own work. I'd take pictures of mine and send them to him for feedback and sometimes he'd borrow my design concepts. I was learning techniques he'd developed to make them better and more quickly. Each star got better and better but there was still one thing missing--a beautiful bow as the finishing touch. For that, I would enlist the help of my equally talented Aunt Mindy. A little video chat, some screenshots, and a visit to the craft store, I was set up for success.

A few weeks ago, my Grandpa suggested he send some more stars because I'd been selling them and there was quite a local demand. Then he mentioned something that might just be the start of something big--he said he'd need to teach me, my Aunt Mindy and her daughter to make them. Well, I'm all over that and I have a trip scheduled next month to spend some time learning how to make the actual stars.

It's been a busy season so far and I've made many starts, some custom and some not, but all made with the same passion and love that the Tin Man has.  I'm excited to see what I can learn and how I can keep his star legend alive.