Whistling a Happy Tune

In an effort NOT be sucked in by all the coupons flooding my inbox, and to give EXPERIENCES, and SPECIAL THINGS, rather than just stuff, I am proud to say that I have completed my first special Christmas project (for which my husband is very grateful). I decided to make my own children's book using BLURB.com especially for my niece, and my son who are just the best of buddies.

I adapted Laura Joffe Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie into a fun book of the great times Jake and and his beloved cousin Avery have had this year. She is completely dedicated to him, and tireless in meeting his demands, as is the character in the original story.

I would like to say I breezed right through this project, and while having an audience of two took some of the pressure off my usual design job, in truth this took me HOURS! And, hours. And hours. But, I had a great time, and I hope that Jake and Avery will love their special book. Here's a sneak peek:

With regard to all the rest of my Christmas shopping, I confess, I gave in to many of those coupons, but WILL give a special gift to my nieces and nephew of a fun filled day doing something I think they'll love (but I won't say here, because you never know who's reading!

How have you been doing on your Christmas shopping? Are you making things? Do you have time? Do you know of any great coupons you'd like to share?