Christmas Card Fun

I started making personalized Christmas cards a few years back for my closest friends here. It is now a tradition. And for some, something they look forward to during the Christmas season. A few people even have my holiday card in frames and put them out as part of their holiday decor. Not only does this instill a sense of pride, it makes me feel so incredibly good giving these cards to people I care about. It warms my heart!!!

This year, I decided to extend the love to the entire staff. 40 people in all. In addition, I also dabbled with making some ornaments using felt and embroidery stitches. I also learned how to make an envelope correctly. Can’t believe how simple that is compared to what I was doing before.

I wanted to put links to all the YouTube tutorials I learned from in the process of making these cards over the years. There are just too many to name. It may be easier to list the names of the people I learned from on YouTube. I am so thankful to these artists who give so much of their time and energy encouraging others to create and learn some awesome art skills:

Maremi SmallArt, creationsceecee, Wplus9 Design, Emma Lefebvre, KWerner Design, just to name a few.

The star and ornaments I got from another YouTube video, but I simply cannot find it. If anyone knows this person, please let me know so I can give her credit. All of these cards 9 (except the squirrels) are made from learning these tutorials and I do not want to plagiarize. I did not sell anything, just made gifts.

This was by far the easiest and best way to make envelopes:

https://www.teachkidsart.net/easy-envelopes-for-handmade-cards/

For the handwriting, I used very old calligraphy pens I found in the artroom and India Ink. Super easy too. Just make sure you let it all dry really well before you erase your pencil marks. It can be deceiving. It looked dry but I almost ruined a few cards and had to cover up my mistakes.

I also tried my hand at making a few ornaments. I learned a lot about embroidery stitches and really had fun. These cats are based on an idea I saw on Pinterest:

Wowza! Very detailed and beautiful. Here are some of my versions for my cat-loving friends.

Tried to make a dog face. Failed. It looked like a long-faced cat. Will keep trying over winter break. Hope you all make and create this winter holiday with love and happiness. Stay safe and take care of each other.