there’s no minute like the last minute

every year i have big plans to send out holiday cards, bake lots of cookies, and make all of my holiday gifts. i have amnesia about the fact that november and december are the busiest months for my work, what with craft fairs and filling orders that check off other people’s lists. so typically, most of my handmade holiday fantasies fall apart.

but as soon as i saw my pal Courtney’s class on painting your own watercolor holiday cards** on Creativebug, i knew i had to try it. i happened to have a new set of watercolors (more on those in a second) i’ve been dying to dip into, and oh yeah i probably haven’t painted with watercolors since i was in high school. as i suspected, Courtney makes it look very approachable and i whipped out 12 cards in about an hour and a half of Sunday evening fun.

i was partial to the wreaths because i liked the organic simplicity of painting the leaf shapes with the brush, and i added a single snowflake to each envelope.* they are certainly not masterpieces, but they did get me out of my comfort zone in a really fun way. mostly i’m just super happy that i actually made these, and will send them out as Happy New Year cards.

SO! it’s worth noting that if you are anywhere near as last-minute as me, or just find that additional gift or project needs still pop up before the end of the year, Creativebug can be a great solution. their biggest sale of the year is going on through the 31st of December: Give a Gift, Get a Gift subscription in 3, 6 or 12 month increments. the 12-month plan for only $50 is a 58% savings off the regular price!

there are lots of cool last-minute gift projects (like this Fringed Scarf workshop with Anna Maria Horner, and i’m sure we all have something in our fabric stash we could turn into a scarf!) and also baking lessons with the Wilton crew (i still plan on baking some cookies this week…).

oh yeah, about those watercolors! my darling friend Beverly gifted me this sweet set of the most awesome handmade watercolors in a tiny Altoids tin from Greenleaf & Blueberry and i think it’s the best thing ever. Bev is a fan and i admired her set when we were in Maine, and now i’m totally crushing out on them too. they make their paints with natural geological pigments, gum arabic, and honey!