Cataloging Christmas Cards

I LOVE getting photo cards during the Christmas season.  I prop them around and they put a huge smile on my face.  What I don't love is having to deal with a ton of differently-sized loose photos after the season is over. 

I am not one for keeping cards.  I like them and all but I guess I am just not that sentimental.  For instance, if you send Mark or I birthday cards, they are displayed for the month of the birthday and then they are tossed.  Sorry.

Christmas cards are the exception.  More thought is behind them and it's great seeing families evolve over the years, especially the ones with kids.  It's a great way to share a little bit of your family with the ones you may not get to see all that often.

With that being said, my goal was to come up with a way that pleased by OCD side (i.e. I can't handle clutter and must throw everything away) while appeasing my ever-so-slight sentimental side (i.e. how fun would it be to look back and see how everyone has changed?) 

My solution?  I make a photo album.

If you like the idea, there are several ways you can go about doing it.  The old school (and just as nice) way is to buy a blank album, get colorful paper and creative scissors and glue the photos to the page.  Those albums are great but, personally, I don't have the attention span.  I also don't have all the materials so it would be a hassle for me to go out a purchase them.

What I do have is a computer and scanner.  I use Shutterfly and iPhoto but there are a ton of different programs out there.  Basically I take everyone's card, scan them into the computer and assemble a photo book online.  Each year, for about $15 and a little bit of my time, I can make a keepsake of everyone's card and have them neatly in one place.  I also like the photobook idea because they keep longer and they become seasonal coffeetable books.  They are a good time had by all.


Please note that, in my experience, I have had to use Photoshop in a few instances due to how certain cards scan.  This may vary on your scanner and cards but because the photos need to be very high quality, you need to double check each one before assembling your book to ensure they aren't grainy.


Do you keep your photo cards?  Do you have a way of storing them?  Do you make photo books for other occasions, like documenting vacations?

Beyonce ... the Cat?

During the first year that we lived in our house, Mark and I had a very bad experience with a door-to-door vacuum salesman.  It was a horrible situation that basically consisted of him insulting me to my face and refusing to leave.  An HOUR AND A HALF later we got him out (after threats of calling the police) and now the short of it is this:  I refuse to answer the front door.

If I know you are coming, or if we are having a party or something, then of course I will open the door. But if I don't? No way.  What typically happens is this: if Mark is home then I go find him and whisper "someone is at the front door" (as if they can hear me from across the house and through the wall) and he gets up and answers it.  If he is not home then I become the ultimate ninja and sneak around to spy on the intruder while Merlin looks at me like I have lost my mind (and wondering why I won't let the stranger inside to pet him). 

Psycho? Yes. Am I going to change? Nope.

OK so I need you to picture this:  A few weeks before Christmas, on a random weeknight, I am sitting in our office at the computer.  I am in pajamas, no makeup, and generally looking like a hot mess.  Mark is in the living room watching some sort of boy TV while Merlin, as always, does everything possible to insure he is being continuously doted upon.

All of a sudden the doorbell rings.

The TV is muted.

Mark walks to the front door (which is in direct line-sight of the office) and looks at me.  I shrug because we aren't expecting anyone.  He shrugs back and proceeds to answer the ring.

He unlocks the deadbolt.

He unlocks the door.

I watch him as he slowly opens the front door and peers out.  He is completely silent and stands there for about three seconds and then slowly closes the door again.  He pauses for a moment and then reaches up and deadbolts the door.  He turns and gives me the strangest look and then proceeds to TIPTOE (!?) into the guest room to look out the window because it has the best view of the front of the house.

I proceed to flip.the.heck.out ... silently.

My internal dialogue went something like this:  "WHAT THE ****!?  If Mark is acting suspicious this is NOT COOL.  Oh crap the blinds in the office are open! :: leans closer to the wall to hide behind the giant computer screen ::  Where is Mark!? Why isn't he back yet!?  I do not want to get up or yell his name to find out what's going on because I don't want whoever is out there to hear me! What if they-"

About this time Mark emerges (still sneaking) from the guest room and motions for me to get up from the desk.  I shake my head.  Um, no, kthanks. 

He's back at the front door and in a full volume voice he says "Jessie, I think there is something you need to see.  There is a, um, cat at the front door."

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I am going to need to pause for a moment and have you go to the following blog post by The Bloggess entitled 'And That's Why You Should Learn to Pick Your Battles' (it should open in a new window). It is in my top 5 of the funniest things on the web.  I'll wait until you get back.

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No .. seriously .. go to the link .. you have to read it for the rest of this to even begin to make sense.

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So I slowly get up from the desk with images of mass murders dressed as Dr. Seuss in my head.  Mark has the strangest expression on his face and I am still being as quiet as possible.  When I get to the front door I stand on my tiptoes and peer out the peephole.  And this is what I see:

After a millisecond heart attack and a couple hard blinks, it registers.  I swing open the front door and proclaim "Beyonce!".  The offenders my best friend and her boyfriend immediately run around from the side of the house and Rebecca and I burst into laughter. 

Earlier in the evening, while perusing Pier 1 Imports, Rebecca and Jeff happened upon a giant hand carved wooden cat.  Seeing as we share the same humor, Rebecca's mind immediately went to Beyonce the giant metal chicken and that made it impossible not to buy said giant hand carved wooden cat. duh! ;)

So the purchase was made and the scheme was planned and NOW there is a giant cat at my door.  To get the full perspective of what I am talking about when I say giant wooden cat .. here are the mug shots:

note the height of the peep hole vs. the cat.

go to your front door if you need clarification of height.

This thing is so tall!  After the laughing died down and we got the deadweight inside, the issue became "where in the world am I going to put it!?"  It needed to go somewhere out of the way and, although our style could be considered slightly eclectic, it is definitely more Pottery Barn/West Elm vs. African Art/World Traveler/Tapestries.  I knew it wasn't a permanent resident but the location mattered.

At first I tried hiding it:

behind a curtain, perhaps?

And then I thought it would be funny if we stuck it somewhere that might make people jump:




Around the corner in the stairwell ..

 But neither of those locations really seemed "it".  Since it was Christmas, and the cat was gifted as part joke, part holiday fun, I decided on the perfect spot:




It's like "Where's Waldo" but with a giant cat instead.

And so there Beyonce remains; peeking out from behind the tree to observe and judge.  I'll admit it is an ugly, creepy statue but it is kind of growing on me.  When Rebecca and I initially joked about "totally needing a Beyonce", a small paperweight metal chicken is what I had in mind.  I should have known better.

So there you go.  From my wonderfully twisted sense of humor to yours.  Merry Christmas :)

Merry Christmas!

Today was a wonderful day full of coffee, gifts and family.  I hope your day was as wonderful as mine!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Cards Galore

I didn't grow up in a family that did annual newsletters or picture cards.  It just wasn't our thing.  I'm sure, at some point, my mom did this but not that I can remember.  I always loved getting them though so I knew when I was out on my own I would make a point to start the tradition.

The first year, 2008, ended up being a rush job.  I wasn't sure how to go about doing them and where the best places to get them.  I can't remember where we ended up buying them from but I learned a hard lesson that year:  photo quality matters!  The pictures ended up blurry but the point was made.  Lesson learned.

In 2009 we tried our hand at making them from scratch.  No template, no anything.  It actually turned out pretty well.  We didn't learn any hard lessons except when you design them yourself and then get them printed .. envelopes aren't included. Oops :)

The 2010 season brought us back to pre-made template designs.  No complaints from this girl.  I still like those cards.  We designed them online, submitted them and picked them up at the local store within 30 minutes.  It was efficient and great.

This year, once again, we tried something new.  We went with Shutterfly.  The price ended up double what we paid in years past so that gave me some pause.  (I'm sure there are more affordable options and I will be sure to check them out next year.)  I love this year's card.  The paper quality is fantastic and I love the printing on both sides.  One side (the side pictured) is matte finish and the other side is glossy. Love. It.

Who knows what next year's card will look like (and where it will originate from, for that matter) but, in the mean time,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from our family to yours!

2011

.. from years past ..
(side note:  these cards have been stuffed in folders so I apologize for the poor quality.  They were scanned in .. wear and tear and all.)

2010

2009

2008

The Art of Wrapping a Gift

This officially marks the second new "series" of posts that I have started this month.  The first new addition was my midweek confessions series; a weekly confessional where I divulge my imperfectness.  This second series I will call my The Art Of series; a photo tutorial on things that can make your life easier and more organized.  Sometimes it's simply in the minutiae.

Anyways .. back to the tutorial...

Since it is the holiday season, I thought a gift wrapping theme would be appropriate.  By no means am I insinuating that you don't know how to wrap a gift .. I just thought it would be fun to show you how I do it.

Step One:  Go ahead and gather all the materials you will need so you have them at arms reach.  The items I used are: Gift, wrapping paper, tape, scissors, ribbon, paper and markers.

paper and markers not pictured. oops.

Step Two:  Unroll your wrapping paper and, using your gift as a guide, cut out a generous piece of paper that easily wraps around all sides of the gift.

I like to pick the smallest sides as the "ends" which will be where you fold everything.

Step Three:  Fold one side up and place it in the middle of the top.  I like to place a tiny piece of tape here just to keep everything snug.

Step Four:  Bring the other side of the paper up to meet in the middle.  Fold the paper edge over so the seam looks clean and neat.

Step Five:  Find the two opposite sides that don't contain the main seam.  Push one side down and neatly crease all the edges.  Do the same for the other side.  *Note:  I went ahead and did one side so I could show pictures on the table top.  Placing the gift between your knees will allow you better handling when doing the first side.

Step Six:  Take the flap that contains the seam and fold it up towards the middle.  Take the top flap, and after folding down the tip to make it neat, fold it over the lower flap.  Place a piece of tape on top to secure it in position.

Step Seven:  Depending on your choice of "finishing touches" the following steps will vary.  I did a simple ribbon in order to demonstrate a square knot.  *Note:  After starting I realized I didn't have enough spare ribbon.  Normally I would have done a bow but I just didn't have enough to allow for that.  Sorry.

The basics of a square knot are this:  whatever side you overlap first, overlap the other end next.  (i.e. left over right then right over left).  This allows the knot to pull on itself and it won't untie.  It will also never get too tight where you can't untie it.

left over right

a more complete "left over right"

right over left

Step Eight:  I like to use real ribbon.  It makes the whole gift presentation look a little nicer.  You can find nice ribbon on sale almost anywhere.  Just try not to use busy paper and busy ribbon.  If you use real ribbon then this would be the time to tie a bow.  You can use any bow you like.  If you use gift curling ribbon then this would be the time to take your scissors and curl it.  You get the point.  Since I ran out of ribbon then I won't worry about showing you a picture of the bare knot. :)

Step Nine: Identifying who the gift belongs to.  This is another outlet for you to be creative.  If you have kids then this would be a great project for them to do.  You can buy a ton of different tags in the store but if you want to make it look more personal then you can certainly make your own.  I spent only a couple minutes throwing this one together (and it looks like it ..haha) but you get the idea.  I simply cut out a shape similar to those on the package and colored it accordingly.  Use your imagination and have fun!

Merry Gift Wrapping!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Behold our Christmas Tree this year. :)

And yes .. it's in our kitchen. haha.

We rearranged our living room this past year and didn't realize we eliminated a space for our tree.  We pulled everything out and then realized there was no where to put it!  Well I decided we should just put it in the kitchen nook.   

Confession:  We don't use our kitchen table.  During dinner we sit at our coffee table and talk about the day and listen to music.  Go figure.

We took out our big table and replaced it with the tree.  I have to say, I really like it.  It's a nice glow and I am thinking this will be it's new place.  Once we have kids and have to have a proper dinner time then I am sure all this will change again.  Mark says we will have to get a smaller tree and stick it in the living room but I am not willing to accept that yet.  Maybe we will just get a bigger living room ;)  Until then .. here ya go ..

I'm sorry about the picture quality.  These were taken at night and my camera is about 8 years old. Hopefully it will be replaced with a DSLR this Christmas ...

I couldn't manage a picture without the chandelier.

I went with a gold, silver and white theme.

I grew up with an angel on top of the tree and Mark grew up with a star.  The star won.

The glitter snowflakes are my favorite.

A) Please ignore the packing box in the chair.  The UPS man has been at my house EVERY SINGLE DAY this week (seriously) and the evidence is everywhere.  It still beats Christmas shopping in the stores!  B)  See that bistro table and chairs?  That is my "aluminum gift".  It's pretty awesome and I will post about it soon.  It will end up on our patio but since we took out the big dining table it fits perfectly in the space with the tree. <3

Do you think we are crazy for putting a tree in our kitchen?  Where is your tree?  Does your tree have a theme?  Let me know what you think.