I touched it 15 times!

If you received a handmade holiday card from us, I touched, or "handled" it at least 15 times throughout the card making process!

This year, I decided to hand-make 65 holiday cards for our family and friends.  I learned A LOT during this process that I can apply to future bulk orders. (Like next time, I won't create a design that requires so many steps!) But overall, it felt so satisfying to send out cards again, as I haven't done it in a few years.

The "theme" of the card was winter solstice, where I included a popular poem, a pine tree with red "baubles" on it, surrounded by a glowing yellow light and a curious fox looking on.  Inside, I stamped the sentiment "Peace is the beauty of life" to compliment the winter solstice poem. I also included an ADORABLE photo of my 5 year old visiting Santa and Mrs. Claus. To avoid forcing my 5 year old to SIGN 65 cards, I had him sign once and I scanned that.  Along with a warm note from our family (with the scanned signatures at the bottom), I included a note about the handmade card, and encouraging the recipients to reuse it in the future. 

To expedite the addressing of the envelopes, I learned of a new "mail merge" add-on for my excel sheet that worked AMAZINGLY!  That definitely saved a ton of time.  And finally, thanks to my partner for stuffing, sealing, and stamping the envelopes!

This entire process took 2 solid days. Although unfortunate for him, I was lucky that my normally super hyper and rambunctious 5 year old was knocked down (slightly) with a cold, so I was able to capture a little more time to work on them than I normally would have!

If you received a holiday card from our family, just know that through this hand-making process, I "handled" it about 15 times from start to finish!

1. I printed the poem onto each card.

2-4. I cut, score, and fold my cards by hand, versus simply buying blank scored notecard sets. I have yet to find a pre-scored card set that meets my personal criteria for being recycled/recyclable, AND a thick enough weight for my preferences. So this alone adds about 3 steps to the card making process.

5. Next up was creating the yellow light surrounding the pine tree.  I used yellow ink and a blending brush to create the aura of light.

6-9. I hand stamped the pine tree, fox, snowflakes, and the inside sentiment by hand.

10. Next I added the red 'baubles' to add a little color to the pine tree.

11-12. I printed the note from our family with the scanned signatures, as well as the sheet about the card making process - then cut them accordingly.

13. I spent an evening with my partner sticking the photos into the cards, using 4 black photo corners per card - this was the most tedious/difficult task because they were tough to get straight... (sorry! ha)

14. Back to the computer, I had to teach myself some new technology to merge my excel list of family addresses to the program where I wanted to print the individual envelopes.  After a bit of trial and error, I perfected a system that saved SO MUCH TIME.  I'm calling this one my biggest win because now I know for the future! I learned something new! :) 

15. Once I got all the envelopes printed, I created an assembly line for my partner to help me stuff the envelopes - each card had 2 inserts. After stuffing the envelopes, we sealed and stamped them.  DONE!!!

I headed to the post office the next morning, feeling quite accomplished! 

Happy holidays, everyone!!

Here is a copy of the note I included that encourages the recipients to reuse the card in the future:

The story about this handmade holiday card…

I’ve recently started hand making greeting cards, inspired by my own mother. She would spend many hours sending holiday cards, including handwritten notes in most of them.  I wanted to try to revive this personalized approach to sending greetings by creating some unique handmade cards.  I have posted a story on my website about the process of making this particular holiday card.  The poem is a winter solstice favorite, which embodies our family’s connection to the outdoors, especially in winter.  The pine tree and fox images were hand-stamped, while the “light” surrounding the pine tree was created by applying yellow ink with a blending brush. Subtle snowflakes and red baubles were added by hand, as well.  The inside sentiment was also hand-stamped. 

Why we didn’t sign the actual card…

In the spirit of giving, we would love for you to tuck this card away and reuse it next year! Just take the photo out, and replace it with a 3”x4” photo, or a piece of paper with your own handwritten message for the next recipient.  Feel free to include this note as well, and the giving and reusing can continue!

If you choose not to reuse the card, please recycle it (minus the photo). I’ve purposely chosen recycled/recyclable cardstock and eco-friendly/biodegradable inks in order to make this card 100% recyclable.  We only get one Earth - let’s take care of her!