I'm not quite sure how it happened. I have gone from being a woman who made each and every Christmas card (and we are talking hundreds) by hand to some down and out non card sending loser. Not to toot my own horn but I even had one of my Christmas cards on the cover of a magazine back in the good old days. Last year I swore it was a one time thing. We were overwhelmed by the holiday, I was working a lot, volunteering was overwhelming me....yada, yada, yada. Well guess what? It happened again this year. No cards went out, not a one. Meanwhile, the cards I have been getting in the mail have been spectacular! Photo cards have been stepped up to letterpress quality. The typography, the paper weight and the quality of what showed up in my mailbox this year was incredible. I doubt if I will ever be inclined to mass produce handmade cards again given what is out there to personalize and purchase. In the first year of my fourth daughter's life (the only other time I was negligent with Christmas cards) I crafted hundreds of Valentine's Day cards to make up for that year's lack of holiday cheer along with homemade birth announcements.It seems unreal to me that now I could just head to minted.com and choosen from over 500 birth announcements. The appeal is across the board, from cute and cuddly to faux chalkboard and letterpress. I have moved in my life from a time of birth announcements to graduation and wedding announcements. While I am so proud of my oldest daughters handmade wedding announcements and am glad she is following in the family crafting footsteps, when it comes time to think about the graduation announcements we will be sending out in a few months I know I will be turning to my new favorite source for nearly handmade cards Minted.com I think my life just got a little easier!