Greetings, Everybody?

I admit it, and put my hands up right now (actually, with so much gusto you might be convinced of my taking a somewhat sad personal pride in the whole situation). As a known "experienced" (who knows what that means in the first place?) scrapbooker I fall short of the whole crafting your own greetings card thing.

I don't. I send out those guilt-driven pre-bought cards which come in a cheap (£2.49 for 20 cards) plastic sealed box from the local Post Office or Tescoes Supermarket. I even avoid purchasing the more expensive kind -- the ones which come with foil and possibly some appearance of 3D embellishments, which come in a box of 5 (£10 for five cards - you've got to be joking!)

My recipients should count their blessings if they don't get the same Squrrel in Snow scene that they got last year. I do try to go for the packs with local versions of wildlife on them, thinking it might be unique for someone in the Antipodeans to get a photo of some unknown woodland creature in snow. Or, a cartoony scene of Father Christmas as backup.

I always get these cheapo cards back, mind. I've not once in my life received a handmade card other than from fellow scrapbookers, and only recently at that. My friends, family, workmates, and even my daughter's nursery school class all follow the same principles as I do - buy 'em cheap, send them en-masse and hope that it's the thought that counts, and not the amount of work.

None of this allays the total feeling of bone-deep guilt I feel every year, particularly around Christmas time, when I just know that I should have made my own Christmas Cards - presumably out of some left over stash and crafting supplies. So that would be 80 - 100 handmade Christmas Cards, by 1^st of December then?

I am full of sensible and reasonable reasons why I do this. Time, money, time, time...a family of fultime workers, with 2 year old, and no money. Oh, and time - did I mention that? And lack of supplies - ironically. Supplies for 80+ christmas cards? How many people do own 80 sets of Making Memories christmas tree plaque charms, then?

A few days ago I spent my ill-managed lunchbreak tackling the Post Office queues to post off around 20 of these cards. One of these was going to the editor of the Scrapbooking Magazine I work for. I knew it would be trouble, there was just that feeling of doom. A feeling which  intensified immensely that night when I arrived home to find a large box had been delivered from that exact person. Unwrapping it with trepidation, my worst nightmares were realised when out of the foam-chipped box came some lovely presents, and an envelope containing a Christmas Card - a handmade christmas card. Damn!

She must have got my scrawled-out Red Robin Chrissy Card in the post by now. It just doesn't seem to communicate what needs to be said, really. Instead of "Here is a crafty and terrific designer of all things paper" it is probably filed under the "No talent, no thought, bah-humbug to her" folder.

Ah well, good intentions and all that. My scrapbooker's resolutions for the new year contain the thought to craft my own cards for next Christmas. If I start this around, ohhh -  last week, I should just about be on-track for sending out that one hand-crafted card to someone special next Christmas. I know who it might be going to, then.