christmas past

I've mentioned my Rockefeller Center Tree Christmas cards a couple of times on this blog, so I thought it was time to share them. I don't know when my obsession with the tree began -- not really too far from when I started making these cards in December 2000. I have a decent-sized collection of Rockefeller Center Tree images in various mediums (record album cover, photograph, watercolor, postcard, book, even an image on a record) that are displayed in my living room throughout the year. Christmas trees evoke such a warmth and happiness that you can't help but smile when you see one. And isn't that what this holiday is all about?

2000

Inside: Wishing You A Happy Holiday Season

The first attempt at card making was quick and simple, just using Photoshop to make this already cool 1937 image very graphic. It remains one of my favorite cards.







2001

Inside: Happy Holidays -- Best Wishes for a Happy New Year

For this card I got a bit more creative. I printed out black and white images of the 1964 tree and attached each one to the card using photo corners. That was labor intensive but it has a classic look that would be fine even today.






2002

Inside: Happy Holidays! Wishing You and Yours a Wonderful New Year

This one is unique. The three images, all from the 1990 tree, are simple and elegant. Photoshop was able to help me pull out the red and gold hues which really make these pictures pop.











2003

Inside: Happy Holidays! Wishing you and your a wonderful holiday season and a New Year filled with joy.

This card, although one of my favorites, took a long, long time to make. I printed another 1990 image onto vellum paper. Then I sewed the image onto card stock. The preciseness of each sewing pattern made this tricky for me. It must have worked pretty well though, since now almost all of my handmade cards have an element of sewing involved.








2004

Inside: "Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice." -- Barich Spinoza

This card went out the year the Iraq War started. Peace was a big message for me during that holiday season, so the card was a simple image of a recent tree (year unknown) during the brightness of day. This is also the year I started using quotations and sayings in my cards. This quote remains one of my favorites, and the one most friends and family have commented on.








2005

Inside: This Season ... Mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Write a love letter. Encourage youth. Keep a promise. Find the time. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Think first of someone else. Be kind and gentle. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the Earth. Wishing you and yours a magical holiday season. Happy New Year!

I love, love, love this image. So sweet, it's from a children's book about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. I cut the cover and inside separately, then sewed them together at the top. It was quick, unusual, and memorable. This is the card I've gotten the most comments about.







2006

Inside: A good conscience is a continual Christmas -- Benjamin Franklin. May 2007 bring you & yours a year of excitement, joy, & continual Christmas.

This card is my favorite, hands down. My friend Lisa brought me some awesome tree pictures from her visit to NYC in 2005. I wanted to use pieces of them in a graphic manner. I had cut up the photo into pieces already and had been playing around with them for quite a while when the idea popped into my head to use a triangle as an anchor. This card was also cut into two separate pages and attached with a small diamond brad in the top left-hand corner.







Well, those are the cards from the last seven years. I'll put this year's card up once I mail them -- nope, not one has been sent yet! I usually have these finished Thanksgiving weekend, so I am behind!!