This may have been my favorite card ever. Designed to fold and create an envelope with label on one side and activity on the other, with our family photo collage card inside.

My kiddo learned how to draw paper mandalas in art class and we spent hours making them. It’s truly relaxing and strangely rejuvenating. And what do folks need more during the holidays than a chance to just be still, reflective, calm?

The instructions took a little doing to get them to both fit and be readable. Most likely no one actually created their own mandala – but the opportunity to make one now is here!

Included in the card were links to this mesmerizing Tibetan sand mandala construction and destruction as well as this mind blowing illustration of how the planets rotate the sun forming their own mandala. Scroll down about 3 images and you’ll see a ’13 Venus years, 8 Earth years’ illustration. You’ll know you’re there when your jaw is hanging open.

Minor efforts transformed our hamster into Santa and ‘lil dog into a reindeer -like beast for our address labels, little gift tags and cards my son gave to friends.

Sadly I was swayed by the Office Depot gal to print the cards 2-up (to save paper and money! Why didn’t I think of that?) instead of sticking to my original plan to print them 1-up (because they are too small to hold the 4×6″ photo prints, I DID think of that, duh!). But – ya know, perfection is for those who can’t laugh at themselves, and have bigger budgets than me I guess.