Christmas in...April?

Why am I thinking about Christmas in April, you ask.  No, I am not planning for Christmas 2012.  Well, not directly anyway.  But I am FINALLY crossing something off my list from Christmas 2011.  I may not be prompt but better late than never I say.  (And I say that often because I can be sloooooow at getting something finished sometimes.)  

I ran across this idea on Living Solutions Interior Designs blog and tucked it away until a rainy? day.  Actually it was quite sunny today as I worked on this.

I love the photo Christmas greetings we receive every year from friends and family but after the holidays I am always wondering what to do with the special memories of such special people.  

I have tried papering the refrigerator with them.  It is fun to have all those smiling faces greet me each day but after a month or two those faces start to look a bit worn from the wear and tear of opening and closing the frig and eventually I end up picking them up off the floor again and again.   

The only wall space that would accommodate every photo is in the short hallway at our back door which can be dark and less noticeable.  Not such an honorable spot for my dear friends and family.   

Sadly, the pile of photos that represent all the time and effort each family put into choosing the right outfits for and selecting the perfect design for and addressing and stamping and sending usually ended up in a pile on the computer desk somewhere.  (I pause here to offer my deep apology to each and everyone of you who remembered us at Christmas with your lovely cards and sentiments.  You all deserve more than a dusty corner of my desk.  There, I feel better now.)  

To solve my dilemma I made a Christmas Card Photo Book.  

All you need is:

Photo Christmas cards

Book Rings (I bought 2" rings but I think 1" would work too)

Hole Punch (Either the one-at-a-time version or the larger 3-at-a-time version)

I stacked the cards so that all the smiling faces were facing the same direction, with two edges lined up (top and left edges, in the instance)

I began by punching holes in 3-4 cards at a time but then realized that some of the photos needed to be lined up a bit different to avoid punching a hole in someone's head.  (Again, I offer my apology to anyone whose head I mistakenly punched before making this adjustment!) So I switched to punching the holes in one photo card at a time.

Once the hole punching was completed, I fed (is that what it's called?) the cards onto the book rings and WHA-LA! 

A Christmas Card Photo Book!

This will not end up in a dusty corner but probably on the table in the family room. I am going to enjoy flipping through this throughout the year.  

And no more guilty conscience!