Paperamblings

Saying Good-Bye to Christ-mas '08 This was the first Christmas in about the last TEN that I didn't make our family Christmas card. The focal point is always a picture of my daughter & son, but I incorporate stamping/ papercrafting around it. What a feeling of pride & accomplishment I have when I put that huge stack of envelopes in the mailbox (complete with a Christmas postage stamp, of course!). And it's not long thereafter that those sweet compliments start coming in from family, friends, and even a few of my husband's work associates! I mean, making my own cards is "what I do"...it's ME.

But I realized long before this year's Christmas rush that I didn't have the necessary "creative juices" to design anything that I'd be sufficiently satisfied with...that I felt would "live up to" past years' creations (here comes that pressure again!). But guess what? It's all good! I learned that the world did not end because I didn't hand-craft my own cards! And we ended up with a great card anyway, thanks to the photographer who takes pictures at my daughter's horse shows. So I guess this is yet another lesson in my personal life course (and maybe yours, too) called "Don't Let Your Hobby Become Your Burden".

I DO miss those compliments though!

And since I wasn't overwhelmed with the task of making 60-some cards en masse, I had the time, freedom and incentive just to PLAY with some Christmas goodies, and this card is the result. I felt like a kid again on Christmas morning using all this color (Copics) and glitter (at least FIVE different Stickles colors, including Coffee Ice, Copper, Aqua, Cotton Candy, and Frosted Lace)! Other stuff: Lizzie Anne Designs "Holiday Lane" stamp set, Bazzill cardstock, My Mind's Eye "Laundry Line" dp, Spellbinders Megabilities dies (Curved Rectangles set), my new fave embellishment, Glitter Dots by Stamping Bella (on the corners of the cream panel - these are the "Green Tea" color), and Ranger Adirondack "Cranberry" Dimensional Pearls acrylic paint. Here's another view of the card from a different angle:

Happy New Year to all and I hope to be posting again soon!