I'm beyond the stress of the season and into my absolute favorite time -- the day or two right before Christmas. It feels magical. I still have wrapping (and possibly) some gift buying left, and tons of cooking, but it all seems manageable. (It helps to have a husband/elf)!
That's not where I was even 24 hours ago. Too much too fast. In fact the month of December, both at work and at home, were just too much too fast. I felt like I was running from one thing to the next.
To give me just an inch more breathing space I wrote to Claire at Waltzingmouse Stamps and told her I was "resigning" whatever it was I was doing with Waltzingmouse! She's a dear and her company is going to fly off into wonderful places, so it was a hard but necessary choice.
Here's a bit of what I observed as Waltzingmouse Stamps got off the ground.
It isn't as easy as it looks! And I only had a peek of what Claire does. Even trying to decide on sentiments seems simple to me, but gee, there are maybe a million choices!
The biggest thing I learned however, was how honorable Claire is. Once in a while, I hear from readers who fill me in on ripped off designs, cut throat maneuvers, etc. Stamping is like any other business -- full of good honorable folk and a few that cut corners or are downright dishonest (luckily the latter seems rare). As a consumer, I just see the fun side -- the images, the fast service. We demand a LOT.
I watched Claire time and again have to decide what to do with a tricky situation -- a design of hers that ended up being too similar to something just released by another company (walked away); quality control issues where Claire always put the customer first, sometimes at great personal cost; always choices to avoid hard or hurt feelings. I was honored to be along for the ride! So, now I'm a customer only and look forward to seeing what Claire produces in 2010.
Speaking of 2010, some blog changes are coming! I hope to have a new design sometime in the next couple of months and perhaps will be blogging less. I yearn to polish some of my stamping skills and not rush to produce something to keep the blog active. We'll see. The point is to breathe, relax and enjoy.
And so as 2009 winds down -- for those of you who celebrate Christmas, MERRY ON! And to all of you, thanks!

