Penguin with trees

Okay, I know I said the dragon card for my mum was the last Christmas card I was making this year, but I was wrong. My brain had focused so hard on making cards for family and friends which needed to be delivered that I managed to forget that I also needed to make one for my other half!

Browsing Etsy for digi stamp inspiration, I came across this cosy-looking chubby penguin. I didn’t have a specific idea what to do with him, but he appealed to me and, even better, he was on sale at the time.

Trying to come up with a card layout I was balancing “I don’t have long to do this” with “it’s for my other half, I have to do more than just colour it”. On top of everything I came down with a bug that completely wiped me out for a couple of days. Luckily I had a quiet evening where I could hide in my “studio” and do most of the work.

I settled on creating a layered design with the penguin in front of some snowy trees with a starry sky in the background. And a Satellite of Love (MST3K reference) hanging in the sky.

I struggled with the colour scheme a bit. I originally had some yellow in there but I really didn’t like it so I went over some of it with darker Copics and turned the pompom on the hat sparkly with a combination of glitter glue and flock. I added some details to the hat and jumper with a gold pen and finished it off by foiling the heart.

And that really is the last of this year’s Christmas cards.