the challenge I chose to accept:

My oldest son celebrated his 12th birthday this weekend (yikes! how can I be old enough to have a 12 year old.....must be some mistake....).

After the party guests were gone and the wrapping papers cleaned up, and all the chocolate cake crumbs swept away, I sat down with him to compose his Thank You Note List.

I require all of my children to send thank you notes for any gifts they receive. They have done this since they were old enough to hold a crayon in their chubby wittle hands and scribble on a piece of paper.

I don't write the thank yous for the kids and I don't even dictate what they should write. I do, however, volunteer to make their cards and help them address the envelopes. I try to make cards that reflect their individual personality. Sometimes I even ask them what they would like to have on the card front. My 12 year old was quite specific:

*no pinks or light colors

*no flowers

*no ribbons or bows or buttons

*no cutesy sayings other than Thank You

*cards must be small so he doesn't have to write a lot

So, I heard his challenge and took him up on it. I'm so glad he didn't say no Special Papers or Brads.

And, so you know, the white lily pad flower is not a girly flower like a rose or a tulip so it is acceptable (grudgingly) to my son.

The card is a 4x4 made out of Always Artichoke. The Designer Paper is from a Christmas paper that Stampin Up retired after the Holidays. The lily pad is the wide oval punch. The non girly lily pad flower is the Trio Flower punch. The frog stamp set is Hoppy For You.