Our Christmas Cards 2015

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Minted. All opinions are my own.

I'm so excited to share this year's Christmas cards with you. This year I made our cards with Minted and I'm so happy with how they turned out. Aren't they gorgeous?

When it comes to making Christmas cards, there are so many companies out there to choose from that it can be a little overwhelming. I found myself looking at so many different webpages and different styles of cards, but I kept coming back to Minted. Their designs just clicked with me. Modern yet classic. Festive but not fussy. Hand drawn designs, bold colors, letterpress and foil details, original designs by independent artists... All of these details spoke to me and I knew that Minted was the one.

My favourite Christmas Ornaments

Christmas is sneaking up on us yet again. Can you believe it's only a month away?

We've had so much going on lately that I really haven't had a chance to to start organising anything for Christmas: no presents purchased, no photos taken for our cards, advent calendar not organised... The one thing that I do have ready for this Christmas though is a set of gorgeous ornaments ready to adorn our tree - you know, for when I get around to organising that too!

One of my good friends here in Berkeley makes the most wonderful Christmas ornaments I have ever laid my eyes on and I'm so excited to share then with you all here. Karina handcrafts whimsical elves, wreaths, snow globes, and ornaments all of which you can find on her Etsy store Kaniko; http://www.etsy.com/shop/kaniko.

My favorites have to be the elves. Their long pointy hats are reminiscent of Scandinavian folklore and their bodies made from the tiniest of pinecones are just perfect. There's a little magic in each one of these whimsical little characters. The elves come in a range of sizes (from 2" to 8") and can be hung as ornaments or used as a tree topper. The larger elves have bases for if you wish to stand them on a mantle or table.  The tiniest elves are also available as a brooch. So cute.

Set of 3 elves

Bead Art

Friday was one of those cool, grey Bay Area Summer days when it's nicer to spend time indoors. Ava and I made the most of the cooler weather by working on a few crafty projects.

Our main project for the day was creating designs with Perler Beads - you know those little melty tube beads that come in a huge jar in a bazillion colours. Ok, so ours were actually Ikea Pyssla beads, but they're pretty much the same thing.

Bead heart

Christmas Cards 2009

Our Christmas card photo from 2009 is one of my most favourite shots ever.

I think it speaks for itself so there's no need for me to say much about it except that I love it.

Angel Ava

This was taken in our backyard and as you can see from the beautiful sky it was a clear, sunny day, perfect for angelic photos. I love how Ava is looking down like she's flying overhead. The sun shining through the (slightly over exposed) feather wings provides a beautiful glow.

A tree full of angels

Every year I make one special photo ornament for our tree.

These ornaments feature the photo of Ava and Lola that we used for our Christmas cards that year.

The plan is to make a photo ornament each year until the girls are grown up so that I have a tree full of little angels. Of course, at some point the girls are probably going to get embarrassed having their photo taken for cards and ornaments, but I don't care. I'm their mum, it's my job to embarrass them!

Here are our first five years of ornaments...

Christmas 2011