A few odds and ends...

Well, the month of December and 2013 are coming to a close, but not without some things to share with you.  We had a wonderful time with our "kids" earlier in the month for our Christmas celebration, and also spent some time with other extra-special folks as well.  I even had enough time to make a few Christmas cards, which is what I'm going to share with you today.
Most years, I buy a new stamp and make all of our cards using that stamp - I may vary how I embellish them, or change the orientation of the cards, but this year, I outdid myself by making 5 different styles of card!  (I actually purchased 2 new stamps for my cards, but didn't even use them in the end!)  I found the inspiration for most of my cards on Pinterest - what a helpful resource it can be!  It can also be a great place to get lost in thought, only to find out later that you've spent 3 hours drooling over recipes, and craft projects that you'll never have enough time to try, and endless other interesting journeys that have NOTHING to do with what you're searching for.....
Thankfully, I already owned all of the different aspects that I needed for these cards - and having received an order from Verve stamps just days before I started working on the cards really helped too!  So, here's a shot of the 5 assorted card groups that I made:

Most of the cards with the red "wreath" on them went to family and friends in our church, because I didn't realize that the "jewels" that I used for embellishment wouldn't go through the mail very well - unless I added padding to the front of the card, and paid double for the postage - so, they ended up being hand-delivered.  

Now, if only I remember next year that I already have 2 almost-very-new stamps for my 2014 Christmas cards!