Week 19 - 17-23rd December - The Wooden Christmas Cards

So quite predictably I’ve continued with the Christmas theme, and to be honest this seasonal holiday has been a blessing (excuse the pun) for the Create#52 project as I was going through a period not so long ago where I was starting to get stuck for ideas. That’s a wee fib really, I have lots of ideas, it’s just sometimes you have to be in the mood to follow them through, which I wasn’t but now I am thankfully. Nevertheless Christmas has brought me a few ideas, the Xmas tree, the perennial mix and now the wooden cards. 

I have to say that the cards idea just came to me, although I’m sure there are similar ones out there. The hardest task was finding a transfer paper I could use on wood - and after much research found something by Lesley Riley called TAP - artist transfer paper. It wasn’t cheap at £18 for a pack of 18 sheets, but does seem to work fairly well. I wanted to put some text on that retained the wood grain in the background.

The process was fairly simple, I designed the text and printed on the TAP - mirror image, as that’s what you do always with transfer paper. I then decided to use a photo I’d taken of the cheap Xmas baubles I’d bought from the 99p shop that dressed the Xmas tree in week 17. The baubles and tinsel are not as everything thinks on a tree, but are actually in a carrier bag on the way to dress the tree. This reminds me that we need to go and visit our tree as it’s been 2 weeks since we dressed it, I’m curious to see if anyone has added anything since.

I then cut my wood into 5 inch long pieces and ironed the transfer onto one side, which is hard work as you have to really press the iron for about a minute or so else not all of the transfer sticks. I had to try a few designs as the first couple didn’t look quite right but settled on an old school graffiti design - so the odd lucky person will have an early prototype card.

I then used Modge Podge glue to stick the image on the other side using the canvas photo paper I’d purchased for a previous Create#52. I seem to be building up my own craft armoury as a result of this project. I did try to write on the cards using a fine marker but the wood conspired to blotch the writing so sealed both sides of the card with the Modge Podge. The image side was improved by doing this as the Pop Camera image was too soft and the added sheen brought it out better. I was able to write on the card after sealing it with the glue, although my hand writing has probably degraded the card slightly; one person probably rightly commented that it would have looked better with no writing on it.

I posted a small batch off to friends with the CD, so the whole bespoke package cost more than your average card and took me more than a whole evening to make - but I think people do appreciate getting a bespoke gift. All too often, and I’m guilty of this, we write out Christmas cards with little more thought than they are a chore. The idea that we have an opportunity to write to distant and rarely seen family and friends about the previous year is a pipe dream for most. Making your own adds a little more, a bit of yourself to the card and gives people something different. It might not be the prettiest, funniest or brightest card people will receive this Xmas but it will be many other things, one of which being wood.