More Christmas cards........

I am finally getting to grips with the Christmas cards - these all use exactly the same design, well, it was working for me, so why not. The die cut oval is by Nellie Snellen, all the stamps are by Lili of the Valley, papers and sentiments by Craftwork Cards

I coloured them very lightly

I changed the colours to pink on this one......

and this one hardly needed any colouring at all, I just coloured the shadows with ice grey 1

The annual hysteria is mounting - the papers and magazines are all full of advice on how to cook the perfect turkey. I don't understand this - it's only like a chicken but bigger, chuck it in the oven and cook it for a bit longer, works for me every time. Then there are the articles on how to dress the perfect house......these articles are illustrated with happy people in red sweaters, sitting around a roaring log fire, surrounded by priceless antiques, with a perfect tree in the corner, hung with baubles that have been chosen to perfectly match the colour of the curtains....... I won't even start on the articles about wrapping the perfect gift, lovingly tied with huge bows and handmade tags.

 My reality is that one day this week, we will climb up to the attic to unearth the Christmas tree, which was shoved rather haphazardly into it's box last January, when I was sick of the sight of the thing. (I gave up having a real tree when I found I was vacuuming pine needles from the carpet in July). Then we will have the annual trauma of untangling the fairy lights, which were treated with the same contempt as the tree back in January - an action I will bitterly regret when I have spent three fruitless hours trying to make them work. Wrapping the presents is a marathon, and usually ends with the last few being wrapped in some leftover birthday wrap, and hoping nobody notices.....then I will be ready to put on my red sweater and smile prettily for the camera