Art Attack - Christmas Card Bonanza 

D-day approaches. 

Yep, you got it - Christmas! Jingle those bells and buy in the wrapping paper! 

Isn't it sad that 'Christmas' fills some of us with dread - We worry what to get for who, will it be enough - will they like it?! About the deteriorating condition of our bank balance, or ending up looking like the fat man in red yourself. 

If you're in the commercial sphere, then there are the additional worries of producing Christmas stock, and then selling it at a profit. 

This year I 'm guilty of dreading Christmas on both accounts - shops need their Christmas cards, and they need them quick. 'But it's nowhere near Christmas', you mutter, I don't feel Christmassy yet'. 

And that's before you've even got started on your little sister's wish list. How sweet that she's so good at writing now!

There are ways around the Christmas-brain-freeze (hope you enjoyed that pun). Some recommend playing Christmas carols. Or indulging in some mince-pies - only because you have to, obviously.

Collecting holly sprigs from our garden helped. These were the starting piece for creating some new designs, endowing my usual line drawings with some of the festive spirit. 

Playing Kiss Fm  very loud on the radio and singing all the (wrong) lyrics at the top of my lungs probably didn't.

If this is the first time you've seen this face - apologies. 

Of course, if you're lucky, then you'll have a cosy little nook where you can hide away to produce your mini masterpieces. This is mine - 

Time to get down to work! 

However I find the best way to get over these pre-Christmas blues is to remind yourself what it's all about. Getting back to basics, it's the story of perfect love. The kind of love that you'll sacrifice all for, even sending your son down in the most vulnerable form. The kind of love a mother has for her newborn baby. The love reflected in all the visitors meeting this little one for the first time. 

So my last endeavour tried to reflect this - the heart of Christmas.