Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas Card 2010


Here is this year's Christmas Card. I just got it in the mail yesterday. Next year I really am going to do this little project earlier so I am not doing the assembly line thing late at night so late in December (when I could be knitting or sewing or wrapping presents)!  The thing that set me back this year was the idea of using a photo of the girls in their Christmas dresses. We (probably more fair to say "I" as my husband thinks it's all much ado...) didn't do that last year and maybe won't next year. But I liked the idea of having them a bit dressed, probably because the card is being mailed with Tess' birth announcement so that makes the whole thing feel more formal to me.




Because they are mailing out together I wanted the two pieces to relate to each other a bit. I contacted the designer who did my Christmas card last year, Jill Means, and worked with her on this. I loved our card last year and Jill has some great off-the-shelf designs too. The custom approach made it possible to match fonts ("Bickham Script Pro" is the one with all the ligatures--I love it! and "MrsEaves Roman"). I was originally going to try and match paper and ink colors but with two different printers, two different designers and me all in different locations I opted to package the announcement with photo in its own vellum envelope so that they are companion pieces but don't need to feel as integrated. Probably I am the only one that even thinks about these sort of things, but I can't help it!

Some wringing-of-hands later I think it all worked. It's in the mail anyway.



So about the card. I kept thinking about how fortunate I am to have the miracles of three beautiful daughters. They seem angels to me and are likely the result of some angels above. It has made me think much about the Christmas carol, "Angels We Have Heard on High," which I love. More than most carols it makes me wish for a better voice! I wanted our card this year to feel joyful and thankful and I thought about using most of the first verse of the carol but ended up with the two references--to the Gloria chorus and the "gladsome tidings" the shepherds sing. I also thought the birth announcement was another gladsome tiding to be sharing this time of year. Once again, this type of thought may be lost on all the recipients but it makes it more meaningful for me.

As a sidenote, it is so fun to see the photos of the three girls together as they look so individual! Tess actually looks quite a bit like Audrey did as a baby but her coloring is lighter. We may have a blue-eyed girl in this mix afterall!






Such a merry Christmas!

8 comments:

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

Absolutely beautiful. Merry Christmas to you.

Krista said...

I LOVE your card. Your daughters are so precious and I am huge fan of your blog. Thanks for the inspiration!

Check out my holiday card here:http://craftinginthecloset.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-card-reveal.html

Krista

Julia said...

You have beautiful taste AND beautiful daughters. Your cards are wonderful. I just love your blog and look forward to each post:). Merry Christmas!

sertyan said...

Merry Christmas! I just found your blog today and I've be closely following. I love all the dresses you made for your girls, you are very inspiring to me as I also sew for my little girl. I also have a sewing blog:

http://sertyan.blogspot.com

And your girls are gorgeous!! I do not want to play favourites, but I think Audrey could win little Miss USA if you enter her! Or she should belong on the silver screen.

JKAndrus said...

Hi! My name is Kristin Andrus and my family and I are the ones buying your sisters house! We are so excited and it was fun to see your comment on CCinteriors blog. My 3 year olds name is also Audrey and it's fun to see your 3 girls with my Audrey (3) and Claire (8 months old). I have a private blog that I'd invite you to but it's mostly journaling the kids and not that exciting. My email is kristin.andrus@hotmail.com if you want to be invited and "keep tabs" on the new family in your sisters house. :)
Merry Christmas!

sertyan said...

Hello, it's me again!
I couldn't find an email addy in your blog so I am leaving you a message here. Thanks for visiting my blog. Regarding Japanese patterns, yes the instructions are all illustrated very well so I can figure it out even without knowing the language. You can buy the books here:-

http://www.yesasia.com/us/handmade-girls-wears-with-paper-pattern/1004012668-0-0-cssid.6-en/recommendation.html#&vn=33&cid=131&bpt=49&cssid=6&pid=1004012668&ss=100&l=1&s=1&bt=49&vm=32

(they offer free shipping for orders over $50)

And this Japanese ebay seller has most of the books and has a lot of scans from each book so you can see some of the patterns to decide on your purchases. She offers free shipping but actually the shipping fee is sort of included so it is actually cheaper to buy from the first link I provided.

http://stores.ebay.com.my/Simply-Pretty-Japanese-Beads-Books/_i.html?_fsub=5280556

And the Japanese books I have blogged about have pretty good patterns too, you can email me if you require help on the ISBN

And this a French forum where there are many daily posts contributed by its members who have made something out of the Japanese pattern books

http://japancouture.canalblog.com/

Enjoy! Merry Christmas!

Jan said...

We got your card today - and once again, there is only one word to describe it - exquisite! Right down to the return address. You outdo yourself every year.

xo

jan

@jenhalloran said...

So adore your cards -- even more (if that's possible) after knowing the stories behind them. They truly are little angels. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

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