Creating Unique Holiday Cards
Over 30 years ago, I started a tradition that I would hand make my holiday cards. It started when I was in grad school and I had an excess of some simple drawings, so I decided to create holiday cards with them. I actually have no idea where the original card is, but over the years, I have crafted many, many cards and of course I try to outdo myself each year.
For each of the cards, I explore some of the same themes that I explore in my artwork such as cards that reveal or unfold into other objects, creating little surprises for the receiver. In a few cases, I set a challenge for myself such as creating a Claymation, being a lover of Rudolf, or finding an old childhood record and making a holiday CD (long before streaming).
Within the last few years, I have become more involved in digital printing due to my business, Design Pool. A lot of the print companies are offering papers and product sizes that I was cutting by hand. Though these most recent cards are not completely made by hand (including the envelopes – yes, I used to craft my own envelopes), I am still manipulating the materials to create unique experiences. These are some of my favorite cards created using Moo.com based in Rhode Island.
2018 Holiday Card – Company Card
This card was created for my business customers. It provides the customer with the experience of unfolding the card to reveal the entire image. From a marketing standpoint, it can easily be tacked to a board to bring some holiday joy to your customers work environment while reminding them of your products.
Tools to create this card:
Ribbon
Whole Punch
2018 Holiday Card – Christmas Ornament
I designed the graphics and loved the idea of the “business card” size as an ornament. The ornament was purposefully designed to fit within the original graphic so as not to be super obvious. The receiver has the experience of opening the envelope, then opening the card to reveal an ornament.
Tools to create this card:
Whole punch
Clear stickers
Glue dots
Bone folder to score the folds
2019 Holiday Card – Scratch-Off
While continuing to explore the concept of revealing, I thought it would be fun to create a scratch-off card for my family and friends. After opening the envelope, you slide the card out to reveal a nickel which makes sense (or cents) when the card is flipped over. It is based off the twelve days of Christmas with the final scratch-off being a photo of my family.
Tools to create this card:
Sleeve Envelope – cut a ½ circle with 1” circle hole punch
Circle scratch stickers – can be found on online stores
2020 Holiday Card – Advent Card
After the “Scratch- Off” card, I thought it would be fun to create a full advent calendar and yes, I cut these all by hand (though I later smartened up and bought a Cricut). I created the imagery in Illustrator. This was a big hit with family and friends because of the daily interactivity, as well as bringing back childhood memories.
Tools to create this card:
Moo Post Card (2 one for the front and one for the back)
2017 Holiday Card – Company Card
This was my first card for my clients. It was a really simple card, but the luxe paper quality and simplicity of the design gives it a classic feel.
Tools to create this card:
