01/09/2026
Since 2003, when we first bought our house, Julie and I started mailing out our Christmas newsletter and, each year I would design a card and envelope to go with. On occasion, I get asked what my process is when figuring out a design for each year's card.
First off, most of the cards are fishing related, have a cat, two little blonde girls and Santa; except for the year I perplexed our readers with a cover that made little sense until they read the enclosed newsletter article when we set a trap to catch Anna sneaking out to take an early peek at presents on Christmas morning....and yes, the trap worked!
I always begin with my trusty clipboard, copy paper and a pencil and just do rough idea sketches, poses and general forms.
Once settling on the main subject, I do a more detailed pencil sketch and edit away with my gum eraser.
Satisfied with the art, I grab my tracing paper and trace over the initial copy paper sketch, further refine the artwork by adding even more detailing, smooth out rough areas, and add shading.
With the final pencil sketch finished, I pick up my Sharpie ultra fine black ink pen and go to work; this is the most nerve wracking stage because a mistake here can ruin the entire artwork!
After inking the drawing, I break out my box of trusty Prang 24 pack of colored pencils and add the color.
On the same sheet of tracing paper, I begin sketching out all other elements to be used on the card and envelope, ink and color them as well.
With the help of good lighting, I grab my Android phone and snap a few digital pics and email them to myself so I can take them into Adobe Photoshop to get rid of un-inked pencil lines, smudges and other little artifacts that I do not want printed.
For this card, I took my Polaroid sketch, trimmed out the surrounding background and the inside. Next, to give it a little more definition and shading, I used the Burn tool. I then created a second layer and brought in Santa to create the photograph.
The final layout is done using QuarkXpress where I have my Christmas card template. There, I import the artwork for the cover and inside, add in the Polaroid's text and update the message on the inside and the date on the back.
The cards are then printed 2UP on an 8½ x 11 sheet of 80 # medium toned Kraft cover off my digital press, trimmed, scored and folded.
The final, finishing touch is my signing and dating each of the 250 cards we mail out to family, friends, co-workers and clients.
For the A2 envelope artwork, I import the artwork into Adobe Illustrator and utilize the skew tool to give the artwork a dimensional flattening-out. When finished, print it out on the digital press.
That's it! That's the process. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
In the near future, I will be selling a few of the more general Christmas cards from years past for sale on Etsy. Each box of 10 cards will come with blank envelopes and sell for $15 + shipping. I will be creating another post with images of those cards over the summer when the Etsy store is up and running!
Until then, put your phone down, get out your sketch pads, and get just start doodling, writing and create!
