No one has ever claimed I was fancy.  And I doubt that anyone ever will.

I'm one of those “weird” people who would much rather have something homemade than store-bought.  I love the imperfect edges, scribbled out mistakes, and authentic flair that comes along with it.

Not that there's anything wrong with store-bought.  But again, being one of those “weird” people that enjoys crafts, cooking, and DIY, I've come to appreciate the fun involved in both making and receiving these homemade delights.

Yesterday, I focused on our Christmas cards.  No, they are no where near complete.  Currently, they are sitting in a pretty stack on my table, awaiting my words and well-wishes.  But in all of ten minutes, I was able to take some store-bought blank cards, and add our own little Elliott flair.

These cards were on sale at the craft store, $2 for 10.

These fun little felted stickers were on sale at the craft store, $3 for 24.

Add a little swirl with a black scrapbooking marker, a few little dots for fun, and voila.  Homemade Christmas cards.

Now, who said crafts have to be complicated.

I wish I had some gold glitter to dab on the front of these for a little sparkle, but even still, I love the texture and feel of the felted stickers.

So in total, I spent about $10 on our Christmas cards.  Not bad!

I'd still love to get a family picture printed to tuck in, but I'm not sure if we'll get one taken in time…

…And what if this is the best we can come up with!  I shutter to think.

This past weekend, I was able to spend some time talking with a wonderful friend about being a wife and mother.  We discussed how, unfortunately, women tend to impart this self-inflicted perfection standard on themselves and their family.  These Christmas cards reminded me of that conversation.

For example, maybe you don't like to make homemade crafts and you want to buy those cute little Christmas cards from Shutterfly.  More power to ya, girl!  Or maybe you love doing crafts and are anxiously awaiting coming up with something fun to send for Christmas.  More power to you, too, girl!  My point being this: what works for one doesn't work for everyone.  What one loves, another one may not.  One person's strengths may be another person's weakness.  One person's passion may be another person's hatred!  These is no “one size fits all” to this beautiful thing we call life…and it's the combination of all our faults and passions that make it so wonderful and unique.

So make some homemade Christmas goodness.  Or don't.  Just do what works for you and your family – your love for your family will shine either way!

My only requirement is this: if you get one of my Christmas cards, no judging the imperfections.  That's just how I roll.

And Amen.

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