Outtakes

If you have not received a Christmas card from us yet, odds are that you're not on the list. All but about three cards went out a couple of weeks ago. (Darin and Jenn, yours went out several weeks ago, but it remains to be seen whether it reaches you in time.) And if you're not on the list, then why not? - drop me a line and we'll change that for next year. :)

I have been hit & miss with cards in the past, not always sending them out, but with a baby picture to include this year - how could I not? In my head, I knew exactly what I wanted the card to look like. Translating that into a tangible thing was another story entirely. First there was the matter of finding the outfit for Liam to wear. The touque required a special trip to Windsor (thank goodness we have been getting everyday use out of it, thereby justifying the trip!) With the outfit in place, it came time to take the photo. I wanted Liam holding a snowflake and smiling at the camera. Of course, I was forgetting that out of about 9,000 photos I've taken of him since he was born, there are about 3 with a nice smile... the rest are looking at the ground. I dressed Liam up (kicking & screaming) and hauled out the backdrop on 3 separate occasions. Out of probably close to 200 shots, there was no perfect smile. OK... looking at the ground is the next best thing...

Before embarking on all this, I had done my research and was going to order flat panel cards from Winkflash, who just started shipping to Canada. So I designed the card to their specs and then went to their website to upload it, only to find that that service was erroneously listed on their Canadian site - they don't do flat panel cards in Canada after all. After much editing, and some settling on my part, I ordered the postcards from Snapfish. I ordered in two lots (which, mysteriously, was cheaper than one large order). When the cards arrived I was happy with one lot - the others had white text that actually came out pink. I was ticked alright, but by this time I had invested more time and energy into these cards than I had ever thought possible. It was time to move on. I guess I can live with pink as a new holiday colour...

I am already on to next year... next year will be different! Next year, I will abide by KISS (keep it simple, stupid), and either get my cards printed locally or maybe just stick a photo into a regular card. Much less fuss that way, and I am learning that with a baby in tow, much less fuss is key.