Christmas cards

All the Christmas cards are on their way, so I'm revealing this year's mystery.

I'll start with one of the initial designs:

By pulling the first string, the pattern folds into two separate presents:

By pulling the second string ...  

... the other paper piece folds into a decorated Christmas tree!

Pure Christmas magic :-) 

Christmas card spoiler

I am super busy cutting, gluing, sewing ... :-)

 

 

And no, I'm not making little piggies. I'm making Christmas cards. 

 

I am just using pink to sketch and plan as I know that these sheets won't be used for anything else ;-)

Thank you!

In the past month, two of my favourite painters/illustrators passed away.

Although Ančka Gošnik Godec was actually my second favourite illustrator when I was a child, there is this image in a book that was just perfect. It still is, actually. 

The story is about three foxes who love life, eat delicious food, drive fancy cars and live in luxurious houses. What is not to like ;-)

The second was Jack Vettriano. I've got one of his paintings (a poster, obviously) in my study, I've had his calenders and agendas, I have jigsaw puzzles, books and postcards with this paintings. I just love his style!

A picture taken from one of his calendars is permanently on my 'feel-good' wall. I could so imagine the woman being me...

Christmas cards

Almost all the Christmas cards have been posted, so I can reveal this year's mystery.

 

Folded 3D cards.

Not only did I change the colour for a bit of variety, every person got the mountains/town of where they live :-)

I am quite happy, especially considering that they are my plan B as the plan A didn't work. Oh well.

Christmas card teaser

I know I am tremendously late with this year's Christmas cards.

But I am slowly catching up! So the ones going abroad have already been posted, while the home-town cards are being made now.

And yes, my desk is a complete mess ...

Mail!

I got this in my mailbox today.

TODAY!

I am used to getting Christmas cards in February, sometimes even March. 

But May?

That's a first.

So Merry Christmas everyone :-) 

Christmas cards 2023 edition

This year I was/am short on time, so the cards are quite simple.

 

But shiny :-)

 

I got glittery shimmery shiny watercolours and painted baubles. Not two are the same.

 

But they all have the same hidden message :-)

In Morse code.

But of course.

Christmas cards teaser

This year I'm really short on time so the Christmas cards will be relatively simple. 

But beautiful nevertheless :-)

Christmas cards!

All the Christmas cards are on their way, so it's time to publish this year's design.

The spoiler mystery is now solved: it was epoxy resin ;-)

I cut balsa wood in the shape of trees, painted them in different greens and poured several layers of epoxy, one including some pearl white powder.

And the magic behind it? There are also dots of glow-in-the-dark resin, which, well, glows in the dark :-)

I wonder how many recipients will notice this ;-)

Christmas card teaser

After abandoning the initial idea for this year's Christmas Cards, I've already got another one. Which seems too be working. But the utensils are ... rather unusual.

;-)

Christmas cards!

With most of the Christmas cards on their way, I can finally reveal this year's design. I must admit, never before did I have this much trouble making the cards as sub-millimetre precision was required.

They are lots of fun. They work. 

But I am making something simpler next year!

 

P.S. The inspiration obviously came from  Rufus Butler's Gallop! - a wonderful children's book with plenty of such 'scanimations'.

Can I panic?

It's almost December and although I have all the material for this year's Christmas cards, I still haven't got a perfectly working prototype!

It requires extreme submillimeter precision and I am not quite there yet...

I just have to make it work.

Soon!

Pretty packages

Sometimes we are asked to give money as present and .. well .. you can't give just a few notes in an envelope, right?

So for someone saving money for a camera, what could be more appropriate than a camera shutter card with money placed inside?

And yes, the shutter opens and closes :-)

For someone who was celebrating a diamond occasion, I hid the banknotes into an origami diamond. I even found some iridescent paper (transparent isn't quite the way to go)!

Christmas cards 2020

Now it's the perfect time to reveal this year's Christmas cards!

As I've been working quite a lot with wood this summer (kayak, remember?), I decided to use wood for the cards as well. So everyone got a tiny Christmas tree :-)

Now everyone can have the tree just as they like it: aligned, twisted or random.

Getting ready

I know it's only the middle of October but I so want this year to be over soon that I already started thinking about Christmas.

Plenty of presents are already ordered (and some already arrived!) and I even started making Christmas cards...

So this is probably the earliest Christmas card teaser ever:

:-)

Christmas can come!

I am ready for Christmas.

1. Christmas cards are on the way and most of them have already reached their destination. My friends will be solving labyrinths this year :-)

And if they solve the labyrinth correctly, a christmas tree appears.

2. We've got snow! There just can't be a proper Chrismas without snow.

3. Most of this year's presents are neatly wrapped and ready to be placed under the tree :-)

4. Although there is a strike in France, the parcel I ordered arrived in time. Now the whole house smells like... sunshine ;-)

5. Although I've got tons of work to do, I don't care. I'm happy :-)

More little joys

It is the middle of November and

- this year's Christmas cards are already finished. All of them!

Here a little teaser for the impatient >:-)

- there are still strawberries (and raspberries!) growing in our garden!

- and we finally made an under sink cabinet for the ground floor toilet. Although it is oiled beechwood, it goes well with the oiled oak wood doors and the mirror. I think.

And it goes well with the fern photo I took several years ago. 

One "room" in the house finished. The others are yet to come.

School museum

Today we went to the School Museum to celebrate national cultural holiday.

We attended a Grammar class 1811 reenactment.

And guess who got the award (a holy card) for the best pupil :-)

Christmas cards!

This year's cards are on their way - some have already arrived at their destinations. So here they are:

My first attempts at calligraphy :-)

I'm ready

All the Christmas cards are already on its way, so I can finally show them. My first attempts at quilling.

 Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. I rushed taking pictures before sending them.

This one is for the Goth in me :-)

And I'm Santa is ready for Christmas.