Christmas Card 2010

I'm one of "those" people. You know, one that just HAS to be the first Christmas card that arrives to their recipients? Yep, that's me. I take pictures of my girls either the 1st or 2nd week of November and order the photos right away. Then we put our tree up the Sunday before Thanksgiving, take our family photo that night, then I have the photos printed at my local Walgreens 1-hour photo. I have 2 days to finish the cards, and then I mail them the day before Thanksgiving. This happens EVERY YEAR. Most of my recipients are local, so they in theory receive my card the day AFTER Thanksgiving. That day, in my opinion, officially starts the Christmas Season, so my card needs to arrive to bestow wishes on their whole season. It's crazy I know, but I do enjoy the feeling of having them done. But even if I wanted to stop this madness, I have people on my list that now EXPECT to receive my card on that Friday. How can I let them down??? :)

It nearly killed me to not use an element made by the Cricut (how do I justify ALL of those cartridges I have??), but I wanted to do the Little Drummer Boy-Musical theme, so the photos took center stage. My girls just started these instruments this year.

I know this year's colors are not traditional, but the girls' dresses always dictate the color palette. My older daughter is in an awkward spot with clothes. She has grown into adult clothing sizes, but the styles don't match her age. So her dress was one of very few options out there. It works, though! I have been told by a few people now that they like these non-traditional colors for Christmas.

I used Stampin' Up Melon Mambo, Basic Black and Shimmer White cardstock. The ribbon was from JoAnn (why no satin Mambo Melon, Stampin' Up?). The font is CK Holiday Spirit. So light and pretty!

Taking the family photo is ALWAYS an adventure with our dogs. Our big 7 year-old golden retriever, Sonny, thinks it's a blast to have everyone on the floor with him! Because of this, he has a hard time settling down for a picture. Just when he settles down, our 13-year old black lab, Daisy, decides to get impatient and moves about. So, the photo usually is a good one of Sonny, but Daisy is looking away. As for Snuggles the Bunny? Well, all would not be calm and bright if he were amongst the dogs during the photo shoot. It just wouldn't happen. So in the interest of anti-animal cruelty, Snuggles is photo-shopped into the family photo.

So here it is! My first Christmas post! Now I need to get busy with all of the wonderful ideas that my fellow bloggers have given me and start making some Christmas crafts! We're expecting a snowy weekend, so it should be a good time to stay in and create!