Making Christmas cards

*2006 post*

Once a year I let myself "splurge" at the stamp store. I go in for the sole purpose of purchasing a stamp (or two) to make Christmas cards with. Then I head to the paper store and get the paper and envelopes I need.

I really like making our Christmas cards, and it's a tradition I plan to keep. Making cards is something I used to do it a lot, but it's rare that I ever have the time anymore. I look forward to this time a year when I get to be creative and make cards.

When I get to our stamp store, I first walk around and look. There are many cards made and hanging up above the stamp displays, so I look for elements I like in those cards. I glean ideas, and try to get my own "vision" for what kind of card to make. Once I have a rough idea, I search for a stamp to use within the framework of that idea.

This year I decided that I wanted our children to help me make our Christmas cards. When I headed to the store, I was looking for something that would:

a) be appealing to them, and
b) be something they will be able to help me with

This is what I came home with:


I usually experiment a bit with the stamp(s), papers and colors in an effort to determine what I like best (or, what is easiest to mass-produce!) I generally make up a few cards and then ask my husband to choose the one he likes best.

Well, this year I thought I might open up the voting... to YOU! Tomorrow I'm going to post pictures of the five options I've come up with and let you vote on which one you like best. (Does this sound fun to anyone but me?) The card that gets the most votes is the one I'll make in bulk and send out for our Christmas cards this year.