Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Christmas Card Consciousness

[Note: this is my second post today. Be sure not to miss my wavy stamp cards!]

As you may have noticed, I do not mass-produce Christmas cards...I make lots of one-of-a-kind cards and then have to decide who, among the 90 or so recipients, gets which card. Here's a sample of my stream of consciousness as I signed and addressed Christmas cards this year:

Oh, I remember making this card last winter. Do I still like it? Hmm. Perhaps I'll send it to X. He doesn't care anyway; he throws them away. This one is perfect for Y...her favorite color is blue! Will Z appreciate the work that went into cutting out this stocking? Does it matter if Z appreciates it? Not really. I love Z. Will A think I'm being cheap because she's getting a one-layer card...even though I like it best of all I made? Should I give her something a bit more elaborate? With pearls, perhaps? Darn her, she's getting this and better like it! Oh, Mom would love this, but I already addressed hers. Can I send her two cards? Is that weird? Dang, here's another square card. Where oh where did I put those square envelopes? B makes cards. Is this one good enough for her? Don't want to look bad to another crafter. C is old, so maybe I should send a card with a large sentiment so he can read it easily. But this one looks more masculine, and I bet he'd like it better. Why didn't I stamp a sentiment inside this card? Will D show E her card and will E think D's card is better and I love her more? Did I use this same stamp set for F last year? Will she notice if I did? If she notices, will she care? If she cares, will I care that she cares? Of course I will. I'm overthinking this. Stupid. Oh, man! This one would be perfect for G, but it needs a bubble envelope. Shouldn't I give this to H down the street, or is that being cheap? Scrooge! Get the bubble envelope. G's gonna love this. H is so religious, do I have any madonna and child cards left? Darn, maybe I should make another one. Oh, here's the embossed scripture card. Yeah, that'll be perfect....

Next year, I'm buying cards, ten boxes of all the same. It's not worth this headache.*

*(And if you believe that, I've got some expensive swamp land to show you....*wink*)

28 comments:

  1. I'm so with you on your pain! I ahve spent weeks deciding who to give what card too. Thabks for the laugh! Judy x

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  2. eeekk sorry for all the typos...must be the brain mush after all the decision making !!
    J xx

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  3. Great post, as I sit here and address my cards. I seem to have the same thoughts on my cards. I mass produce 4 or 5 different cards so I can keep track of who gets what. Can't imagine trying to keep track of one-of-a-kind cards.

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  4. I actually thought one time of making an excel spreadsheet to detail which card I had sent to each recipient each year......pathetic. And it never happened. And yes, I go through the same thought process.

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  5. Too fun. Yes it is worth the headache. You are giving a part of you and that is more important of a gift than any THING. Keep on loving those people.

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  6. LOL Susan!!! I say that every year...I said it again this year while I was putting together my Clean and Simple Card (Well it might be Clean and Simple but as picky as I am it takes longer than it should)...So I know exactly how you feel....Something else funny I thought of while preparing my cards...I put them off way too long and then catch myself playing the challenge over at SCS! DOH!

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  7. Didn't believe you for a minute. No takers on the swamp land.

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  8. I totally do the same thing. My hardest decision is for my artist friends -- you know, the "real," "trained" variety?

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  9. I know just how you feel. That is why I usually mass produce the same two designs each year. One more special design for friends and family. And one more simple for hubby's co-workers.

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  10. That's hilarious!! I so get where you're coming from, though, because I do something like that every so often. And I always try and pick/make nicer cards for my crafty friends. :D

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  11. Hahahah! This line of thinking is exactly why I settle on one design and mass-produce them. Boring, yes, but SIMPLER! My Christmas card list has been stripped down to 16 cards, though. I can't think of 90 people I would send hand-stamped Christmas cards to.

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  12. That sounds like my brain talking.

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  13. WOW! You're thinking all the same things I do when deciding on who gets what masterpiece! Scary, isn't it??? I DO keep track of my cards, and I'll be posting the HOW tonight on my blog.

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  14. I do pretty much the same thing. I used to make 50+ unique cards but this year I mass produced some designs I really liked. I still spent time figuring out who would get which design. I keep track of what card I send to everyone on my list. I have lists going back to 2003 when I first starting sending handmade cards. Matching the card to the individual is part of the fun!

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  15. I thought I was the only one that went through the "agony" of deciding who should get what card. However, this only goes on throughout the year - birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, etc. For Christmas, everyone gets the same card design. I've toyed with the idea of making unique cards (I have enough different stamps!) - but then they'd be getting Christmas cards in July! LOL

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  16. Eh, so you're a little crazy. :) Who isn't?

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  17. I made approximately 30 Christmas cards for the organization my boss and I work for.Using outstanding photos of fireworks he took this 4th of July. All different. And I said to him the morning I brought them to the office for him to sign..."Remind me next year that I am only going to make one design for everyone! I will not go thru the agony again of trying to match card to recipient!" Must admit, my muttering to myself wasn't near as entertaining as yours! You crack me up!!!
    Lu C

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  18. OMG that is too funny!! I have had those thoughts too Haha.

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  19. LOL!! Too funny! I just went through the same process. Towards the end of my list, I was running low and so I whipped up some super quick CAS cards and I thought to myself, why didn't I do something like this for all of them? Very amusing post. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Thank you, your post brought a smile to my face - quite an achievemnet with three poorly children (four if you count hubby) and a mass or wrapping still to do!

    Yes it's hell, I'm sure we all go through it - but unique cards feel so much better, the satisfaction once you've sent them.

    Thanks, Heather

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  21. Ha ha ha ....LOVE IT! I've so been there. Glad to know that someone else out there goes through the same thinking pattern! ;-)

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  22. It's like you are in my head and reading my thoughts!

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  23. I feel your pain while LOL!!!! But please could you stop reading my mind it is very disconcerting to see my thoughts in print!!! ;)
    Looks like there are lots of us out there who agonise over which card to send to who especially our arty friends.
    TFS

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  24. I do the same thing! Same thoughts! But I love making one of a kind cards for my stamping friends. I make several simple ones for the rest of my friends!

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  25. hehehehehe!!!! don't we all make one-of-a-kind Christmas cards...it's how we validate buying 8 different Christmas stamp sets!! LOL

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  26. After I'd fretted and stewed for weeks over a huge carton of Christmas stamps and failed stabs at designing something clever, I remembered Ode to Mistletoe. BLESS you!!!!! Is there ANY recipient that card wouldn't fit? I hope not, because everyone on my list got one.

    Thanks, Susan.

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!