Friday, November 14, 2014

Holiday Thank-You Notes

I send thank-you notes every year for my birthday and Christmas presents, and I have my children do the same. George is on his own. I'm not the boss of him. He's not the boss of me.

I am, however, the Minister of Finance in the Kingdom of Raihala, and that's why he's not getting an iPad, an iPhone 6, AND a new bicycle for Christmas. The Minister of Finance has spoken.

Anyway, I made a few cards using Papertrey's In the Meadow and Hero Arts Soft Silver ink, which is pretty cool ink, even if it just looks gray in the pictures. I love that sentiment as it makes holiday thank-you cards very specific and intentional...as if to say, "Yes, I am extremely grateful you gave me a gift! You thought of me! You care about me! Please do it again next year!"





That last card, of course, uses Hero Arts Red Royal ink rather than the soft silver. I actually prefer that card because of the delightfully minimalist pop of RED. The other cards do look better in real life than in the photos, but they cannot convey energy like a bright red bird can.

So put a bird on it!

Also note how the position of the image relative to the sentiment changes depending on the shape and size and orientation of the image. The rabbit, for instance, draws attention to "you" but looks in the direction of "thank"...that moves the eye around the card in a fun way.

But the squirrel looks right, so he's centered. He has lovely curves that contrast nicely with the straight line of the sentiment and generate some sense of movement, and he's looking down at "you." But not in a snooty way. He's a squirrel. He's only snooty to dogs.

The snowman doesn't move because he's not wearing his magic hat and therefore is, in fact, the least appealing (to me) of all four cards.

The bird is perched adorably on the ascender of the "h" and looks out over the thanks as if to say, "I own this card."

Or not. But he's cute.

What do you do for holiday thank-you cards? Do you make a bunch of the same holiday-ish card, or individual holiday-ish cards (like I do), or do you just use regular thank-you cards because that's so much easier? Do share!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey In the Meadow
ink: Hero Arts soft silver, red royal; Memento black
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: not a blessed one

10 comments:

  1. I like them all. I thought the snowman was singing Thank You with his arm out - like Olaf :)

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  2. I really like them all, but the card with the cardinal bird is my favourite. It's a pity that these birds aren't "available" here in Europe. Luckily I saw some in real life - many years ago when I visited my greandparents in NY.

    About your question. Usually I don't do "Thank you" notes - just because we aren't that much into the "gift" part of Christmas. We do celebrate and we'll meet our relations (those who live near by) but only the kids get some presents. Don't like the commercial part of this special season.

    But I do send out christmas cards to friends and family (esp. the ones who still live in the U.S.). Great chance to exchange some new pics of the kids :-)

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    Replies
    1. Cardinals stay year-round in the strip of trees and the flood management areas beside and behind our house. In the winter, their bright red pops against the generally gray skies, and I've seen as many as a dozen at one time, all aglow in the trees. It's amazing!

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  3. These are just great Susan. You have a way of creating with a purpose. I love that.

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  4. I am always amazed at how you know how to place images to draw a person's eyes in a specific direction. I guess I'm not that artistically knowledgeable because I'm just happy if I think it looks good! I generally make one design of thank you card, although I might switch up the colors a little, just because I don't have the time to be super creative with each one. I am very happy to hear that you encourage your children to send thank yous because it is just not done enough anymore.

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  5. You made me LAUGH. Put a bird on it...oh my goodness.

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  6. Apparently in 2012 I created and saved an ebay search for the Hero Arts Horizontal Graphics stamp set... and promptly forgot I'd done so. So I was surprised when an email popped up a couple days ago that one had been listed!
    I'd passed on the set when it came out but after seeing it through your CAS creative eye I'd changed my mind - too late, or so I thought. I'm here to tell you thanks for that long ago inspiration... I'm now the proud owner of the classic, discontinued Hero Arts Horizontal Graphics stamps!

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  7. loved the cards -but fav ones are the squirrel and hare -Like the bird in red though but agree with what you say - keep up the great cards and have a lovely festive season

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Thank you so much for taking time to comment!