My Annual Tradition

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, and not because I haven't been flexing my creative muscles.  I've actually been working nonstop on a traditional gift I give to my family members every year for Christmas - the Crangle Family Calendar.  This must be my fifth or sixth year putting them together, and they seem to be well received.  And how could they not be?  Having every birthday marked down, alone, makes everyone's lives a little easier, especially with the plethora of nieces and nephews I've been collecting.  I also like to think that my loved ones save each calendar every year, because each one is a time capsule of our family throughout each year, a glimpse into our past and where we've been.  Each one is a collection of my favorite photos taken during the year of my family enjoying life.

On the other hand, I have never been really proud of my calendars - which is something my poor husband has had to hear me complain about relentlessly for the solid month leading up to Christmas and the occasional grumble throughout the year whenever I flip through the pages of my most recent creation.  Yeah, it's nice to have the important days pre-marked for you.  Yeah, the pictures of family members are a nice reminder of happiness.  But really, they've been kind of boring, monotonous, and incredibly cookie-cutter.  I have been waiting as patiently as I can for a year that I can be proud of - I knew it would come, because every year I could see my finished product be a little bit better than the previous one.  And because I'm a firm believer in the Ten Thousand Hours rule - that after enough time plugging away at something, you're bound to eventually be good at it.

...And FINALLY!  I am making something that I am incredibly proud of!  I wanted to share a few rough samples of months I have, just because this really is all I've been working on for the past month and a half, and probably all I'll be working on for the next month.  I'm happy to do it, because I know every hour I spend on this one is another hour closer to an even better calendar next year!