Unprocrastination

People love my Christmas cards. I think the reason is I always overthink them, and by the time I actually get them out, it's usually Valentine's Day. By then, the winter boredom has set in and they have nothing better to do than read a long photocopied letter of me blathering and bragging about my brilliant child and all the hilarious things she did this year. (Hey, you're reading my blog. You don't even need the long, boring letter!)

But this year is going to be different. It's November, and I'VE ALREADY ORDERED THE PICTURE PART.

And the best thing? I got them for free. 100 of them. You can, too. Go here, read it, and do it. One of the codes expires on Saturday the 21st (tomorrow) but the other one doesn't, so you could at least get 50 free. No shipping, even.

I really liked their interface. The backgrounds were fine, I found one I liked, but the best part was that I could add as many photos as I wanted, wherever I wanted, in my choice of sizes, and could add captions and clip art and the whole works, so you can take something plain and really tweak it to your own liking. On the card I made, each photo is labeled with the month, some with the place, some with who the heck she was supposed to be (Halloween). The software was easy to use, and after giving it the OK, I was able to browse all my own photos on my computer very easily, which frankly kind of shocked me (no waiting for long individual uploads.)

So now, all I have to do is return the paper ones I bought, write a letter, copy it on the cute candy cane paper I got, stuff them, address them, put the return address on them, stamp them and mail them.

Yeah, OK, so I'm still thinking February.

Handmade Love

I've been planning my Christmas cards for a long time. I keep making new versions on various websites, fiddling with photos and colors, design and text. And, yeah. It's the end of January and I haven't even ordered them yet. I consider this fulfilling my New Year's Resolution, early even! (My resolution was to stop being so hard on myself.) Will they get done? No promises.

But, we haven't forgotten those we love. Rowan and I have started making valentines for her grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles. She loves doing it, and it usually ends with a tantrum from her because she never ever wants to stop playing with the stickers. (Stickers are BIG with the 19 and 1/2 month old set.)

Here's one of her first few cards. She's doing a great job making them.

Now let's just see if I get them sent before Halloween.



Making Valentines from Ronica on Vimeo.