Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas (one day late)! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that no one else was dealing with a vomiting toddler like I was. Unfortunately, Keila developed a stomach bug around 5:30 yesterday morning. We were hoping it was a fluke thing when she threw up at 5:30, but soon found out it wasn't. The will of a toddler is strong - she would throw up, then go back to open more presents; but you could tell that she wasn't as excited about everything as she would have been if she hadn't been sick. It was hard for me to deal with because this was her first Christmas she really understood the concept of Santa Claus - so it was a bummer not to have my non-sick little girl Christmas morning and not see all the excitement I knew she could have.

Anyway, I thought it was appropriate to put up our Christmas/Holiday card for this year as my Christmas post. I wanted to incorporate a photo of our kids this year, but still wanted to make our cards rather than going the photo card route. In past years we've included photos in our family letter - but I am always "iffy" about those letters. Don't get me wrong, they are great to hear what is going on in the lives of family and friends, but sometimes (not always) they can tend to the side of bragging. So, I looked for a different way to incorporate the kids' photo. I had originally thought I would use the Hostess set Window Dressing and have the kids looking out through the window, but I couldn't get that to turn out in any way I was happy with. So, then I turned to one of the layouts I'd been using for a couple of cards recently. I'm really happy with how the card turned out and using the Curly Label Punch for the photo of the kids.

A few reminders before I end with the supply list for the card: 1) Don't forget to check the retired stamp list to make sure you get your favorites before they are gone. The retiring accessories list comes out January 5th, so be on the look out for that. (Matey's Map Jumbo Wheel is a great candidate for that list!) 2) You still have one more week to order the Country Living Holiday set! This pack is awesome! I just make a TON of tags for my gifts with the die cut items in this kit and still have a bunch left over. 3) Check out the new Valentine's Day promotion that is going on now, until January 31st! There is a great bundle being offered that includes a brand new Valentine's Day stamp set called Love You Much, a pack of beautiful Candy Lane Designer Series Paper, and an adorable new trio heart punch! All of these are also sneak peeks from the new catalog that is being released January 19th. One note: the Candy Lane DSP is currently back-ordered. Due to this back-order, you are currently not able to order this bundle on-line. If you would like to order this bundle pack, please e-mail me (memoriesbyvanda@gmail.com) and I can order it for you. I will let you know as soon as the DSP is back in stock and you can order the bundle on-line.

Card Supplies:
Scandinavian Season stamp set (Holiday Mini)
Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, and Perfect Plum & Mellow Moss regular & textured card stock (in order to limit the supplies I had to buy to make 100 cards I made half of the cards with textured PP and regular MM and the other half had regular PP and textured MM.)
Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, and Baja Breeze Classic Stampin' Pads
Ski Slope Designer Series Paper (Holiday Mini)
Alpine Ribbon (Holiday Mini)
Curly Label Punch
Cutter Kit (distressor tool)
SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip