I hope everyone had a fun last night and has made it out of bed this afternoon.
In high school, I used to watch one of my teachers hand make her own holiday cards every year. It was an immense task, as she hand cut snowflakes, snowmen, pine trees, and the like for what look like 50-75 cards. It was obviously a labor of love, and the pieces she created were truly amazing. At the time, I thought it was an amazing gesture and hoped that one day I'd be able to do the same.
Mrs. Gould was instrumental in my art training and my senior year helped me get into art school. After I graduated, I was overjoyed to find myself on her Christmas card list. Year after year, she has sent me a card since (which is more cards than I'd like to admit). I think in that time I have (maybe) organized myself enough to send out Christmas cards once... It's made me feel a little guilty that I'm still on her list, but I'm so grateful to receive them and have saved them all.
This year was different! Above you can see the card that I created for friends and family for the holiday season. I was so excited to send one to Mrs. Gould, especially. They're not quite a match to Mrs. Gould's cards intricately handmade cards, though. I hand-drew a single image, scanned, and printed with my HP LaserJet it at home; instead of hand-drawing all the cards individually. Also, I created less than 50. They came out beautifully, and it is a start, though. In the end, it was a fun process and a tradition I'd like to continue.
I received a few emails and comments from my friends and family that had received the cards, including from Mrs. Gould. They noticed that they were custom and wanted to let me know they were excited to receive them. If you like doing home projects, I really recommend trying this one year. You'll be glad you did!