November and December are busy months.  We have eight family members that have birthdays between November 1st and Christmas.  I always say I am going to get ready for Christmas early, but by the time I get done with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all our birthdays, it is the middle of December.  And when it comes to sending out Holiday cards… well, I always have great intentions, but usually get about five sent out.

But I LOVE getting holiday cards!  I look forward to hearing from friends and family so I want to send out cards and keep in touch.  I am just like my grandmother, I count all the cards I receive every year and I hang them up and display them as soon as they come in the mail.

Well, this year I have a plan.  I decided to take a break from creating my regular body of work and create a painting just for me.  I have always loved Caribou (I fondly think of them as gentle reindeer) and I really miss the snow from my childhood now that I live in Southern California.  So I painted “Gentle Reindeer” to hang in our home during the holidays.  It reminds me of the wonderful snow filled days I spent as a child.  I grew up in a small  town of about 80 families.  The sledding hill was right next to our house and my mom made the best hot chocolate for all of the kids in the neighborhood.  My sister and I would stay out all day sledding and playing in the snow.

Once I finished the painting I realized I could photograph it, add some text, and make it into our Christmas card.  (And I could even share it here with all my blogger friends.)

Yippee!  I have the painting and the layout for the card finished and now, all I have to do is get the cards printed.  Which I am doing today, right now, this very moment…

I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a spectacular new year.  Thank you again for taking the time to stop by my blog during this busy time of year.  I so appreciate it.  Have a wonderful, creative day  — Janell