Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Find a theme and stick with it

In making Christmas cards this year, I started getting a little bit carried away with the theme of "put a Santa hat on it!"  Then I went a little crazy during Silhouette's latest online sale and bought all sorts of Christmas images, but it turns out this one was the best deal of all, just for the Merry Christmas circle, which I then paired with my Santa hat obsession.

Exhibit A:  Angry Bird with a Santa hat

Exhibit B: Panda with a Santa hat
Exhibit C: Mickey with a Santa hat


We still have three more days to go, so who knows where Santa's hat will end up next!  (Also, as much as I'm loving this Amuse candy cane paper, it is impossible to take a photo of it without it looking all wonky, so I hope you didn't get any vertigo from today's photos.)

I'm also waaaaay behind on my books read list, aren't I?  Can I reach my goal of 52 for the year?

Book #45: Boomerang by Michael Lewis was the most recent book I've been reading to Ian in the car.  I love most all of Lewis's books and this one was no exception.  I just love his humor and I always feel smarter after I finish.  I'm not saying I'm an expert on the European financial crisis, but I can certainly follow the news better now.  Cheapie alert: after I bought this, I found out that it is a collection of articles Lewis wrote for Vanity Fair.  You can find the links here.
"Book" #45.5: Speaking of longform.org, I just found this site and am loving it.  It has links to some of the more interesting articles and essays on the web, with a super easy "read it later" button to send to your kindle or other electronic reading device.
Book #46: The Passage was recommended by quite a few people, so even though I was a bit put off by the page length (785?  Seriously?), I'm glad I read it and am looking forward to the next book in the series.  It's a vampire apocalypse book, but it's definitely more apocalypse than vampire.  I think he could have edited out about 200 pages in the middle where he introduced about 50 gabillion characters (I certainly hope he doesn't expect me to remember all 50 gabillion when I read the next one), but that's just my opinion.  It also reminded me a lot of the Coen brothers' movie True Grit, if that give you any indication of whether you would like it or not.
Book #47: The Gap Year was a novel told by a mother and daughter about the daughter's last year of high school.  It kept me turning the pages, and I like how Sarah Bird writes, but the end just seemed a little too wrapped up with a bow, if you know what I mean.  I certainly didn't think "oh I have to recommend this one," but I didn't think it should go in the burn bin, either.
Book #48: What Alice Forgot is a breezy novel about a woman who has a concussion and has forgotten the last ten years of her life.  She finds out she's one of those women who goes to the gym for hours a day and is the head of every committee at her children's school, and she's not sure if she likes being that woman.  If you're looking for a quick book to read on the plane, you'd probably enjoy this.
Book #49: The Worst Hard Time I've had this about the Dust Bowl on my "to read" list for about 3 years, so when it was offered a free book in the Amazon Kindle Lending Library, I thought I should probably get around to reading it.  I'm so glad I did--it was absolutely fascinating.  I knew the basics that everyone knows about the Dust Bowl, but I didn't realize just how many times they got knocked down and got back up again.  The writing was superb as well, it felt like your grandfather was telling you the story after dinner one night.

Well, I think I better get to working on some last minute Christmas gifts!  Is everything ready and wrapped at your household?  Or are you just going to give up and go read a good book?

10 comments:

Emily Keaton said...

Put a Santa hat on it? Now that's a great theme!! Loved seeing your cards. Thanks for the fun!

Angela said...

Well dear, I just read every blog post you've had all month so far -- to save time, is it ok to say that everything I saw was awesome? Cute, even?

Love the dogs and dorgs, the book and gift recommendations, that awesome art you made for your folks...and everything else. You're amazing with stamps and cutting blades, that is for sure!!

Off to read our other pals' blogs :)

Bunnyfreak said...

Love the angry bird card.

Smilie girl said...

I say go with it. Merry Christmas Meg - with a santa hat on it!

Jessi Fogan said...

If you like it then you better put a Santa hat on it. Perfect :) Love the angry bird, and the panda, and who doesn't love Mickey?
I'm intrigued by the books...and since I'm guessing you're off for a couple of weeks I bet you'll hit #52. I should do another book post for New Year's. I'm nowhere close to the number I've read in years past, but there have been a few gems.
And nothing is wrapped here. Nothing, nada, zilch. Should probably get on that...

Maria@Crafty Cre8tions said...

lol at the angry bird!!!!!! you are too creative with that machine! WOW!!!!

i feel the same way about striped paper too when taking pictures, although yours came out just fine :)
Maria

Crafty Math Chick said...

These are terrific! You make me want a Silhouette SOOOO badly! you ROCK that machine! I think the panda card is my favorite. Merry Christmas Meg!
~Meredith

Anonymous said...

these are so great Meg. Merry Christmas!!!

Lindsey said...

Eek! An overabundance of amazing-ness! I might even be able to guess the recipients of these three cards. :D And not only did you put a Santa hat on it, each one is different!
Glad you liked The Passage, and agree with your assessment.

Emily Leiphart said...

Eeek, I'm so glad that I'm reading this after I received my card! I love them all. What a collection we'd have if we all got together someday. :D Thank you, Meg!!