IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS CARDS

I had to come up with some ideas for Christmas cards yesterday since I had planned for my Tuesday morning class to do some.  I was lucky and my Strathmore blank watercolor cards came in just in time! 

Here are just a few of the ones I did - they are like Hershey kisses - you have one, then two, then three and before you know it, you have 7 or more! ha ha  And once you make you, you think of something else to do and make another, and another, and before you know it, an hour has gone by :)

I stopped painting cards for family members a few years back (I used to have an original card for each person) when it got to be too much and I was running out of ideas.

But there are always simple things you can do - like a single ornament with some extra things glued on.  (Although Sweetie says this looks like a bomb!)

Put some real or glass candy canes in a small or tall glass with some real or fake greenery (or tinsel) and paint a simple card, using black ink to draw around the candy canes if you leave the background white.






Or play with gessoed paper - did you know they make gold gesso and others of various colors.  The gold is fun to work with when you are doing ornaments.  Just paint right on the gessoed paper (once it's dried) and you can lift off anything you don't like.

And, of course, there's always pine cones or holly with red berries or snowmen and women or...the list just goes on and on!


The class seemed to have a good time.  They each brought some ideas or drawings or photos to use, or used inspiration from the table where I'd set up snowmen and various paper and card designs and showed them photographs of snow or ice-covered things.  

I had a new student come today.  I think she had a good time and will return next time to finish another card.  She did a great job and I can't wait to see her finished painting: a single pine tree in snow with a large star in a star-spattered (using liquid miskit) evening sky.

Do you paint your own Christmas cards?  Do you have them copied and send everyone copies or give out originals?  Is it hard to come up with ideas and paint your idea on a small size?  There is nothing like getting an original card from someone - I save them all - but I know how much work that can be.