Those of you who've followed my (highly infrequent of late) posts to my gallery over the years already know about my odd Christmas tradition, but for those of you who don't here's how I opened my own version of Pandora's Box: Many years ago now I was doing some freelance graphic design work, which spurred the purchase of higher-end color inkjet printer that could print large sheets (13" x 19") of paper. Unfortunately freelancing is not a good way to make a very good living, so when the holidays rolled around I had very little cash, but a good supply of ink and paper for my printer. So I decided to spice up my very meager presents with custom-designed wrapping paper. My family was quite enthralled by this, so much so that the following year they started asking what kinds of papers I was going to make a month or so before the holidays. After that, it's just something everyone kind of expects and even looks forward to. More so than the gifts inside the paper, I think! It's actually kind of fun to watch them carefully (almost surgically) cutting the tape while trying not to damage the paper. I frequently see my papers being re-used by family, and they've even been used for gifts to non-family members so that now there's an ever-expanding circle of people who see my creations and some of them are even saving and re-using them! It's kind of an honor, really, and even though in some ways it might seem like a a bit of a burden to make something each year that's not a disappointment to my family's expectations, it's also a great deal of fun for me. This is the first of my ideas, which have been very slow in coming this year. Last year I had close to a dozen variations in mind, but so far only this one. It was made in Adobe Photoshop, with many elements coming from Adobe Illustrator as well. Thanks for taking a look everyone, and I hope your holidays (whichever ones you celebrate) are filled with joy, family, and fun.