This year I was in full Christmas mode already in mid-November, listening to my favourite Christmas songs whilst illustrating my card designs. To make the studio extra cosy, I got a tiny tree, with lights! It’s a potted tree, so hopefully he will be happy in the studio until next Christmas as well, and maybe many Christmases after that. I've named him Klaus, for obvious reasons. I might even decorate him differently for all seasons. How cute would a Spring tree be?
Initially I was only going to use my Christmas cards for myself to send out to friends and family, but I have a few extra cards sets that are now up in the shop. Since I was a bit late this year, I might have rushed the tiniest bit when sending them out to print, overlooking a rather crucial element in one of the cards. Rookie mistake.. Always double double check your finals!
When checking the printed cards, I noticed that the box with decorations that the elephant dad is holding was rather empty. Bah humbug! As I was complaining about this to my lovely friend Frances Ives, she had the best idea of using a tube of Gold Holbein acrylic gouache to fill in the star on top of the tree. I decided to use coloured pencil to add more baubles to the box and use the gold for extra details. So now, the card with the elephant family decorating the tree are hand finished.
If you happen to order a set of cards, the Tree cards might look slightly different than the one the photo, as all of them are hand finished. I love how they look now, and I hope you do too.
Stay festive and cosy my pretties!
X
Maris