Noel, No E.L.
Christmas 2010
The second post in a series, looking back at extreme cards of Christmas past.
I lost my original server space, so I am taking the opportunity to restore these older cards to my blog. It's fun to look back!
The envelope
Each one is personalized to show a bird's eye view of the recipient's neighborhood. This took a ridiculous amount of time. I was surprised by the number of recipients who did not recognize the aerial of their own house. (This one is my neighborhood.)
Card front
Our older daughter is (purposely) missing from this picture. Her initials are E.L, so here there is NO E.L. Get it?
Card Inside
First the card opens from right to left, showing that she's away at college.
"No...(HERE is) E.L."
Around the perimeter are the town names of everyone on our card list.
Next the card unfolds from bottom to top.
The "NOEL NOEL" part flips to the back to make a tent card with the tree part on the front. That's why the bottom "noel" is upside down--so when it's flipped to the back it is right side up!
Our Christmas letter is on the inside of the folded up tree. It expands into a large scalloped circle.
My daughter drew the caricature heads.
Technical notes
Completely unfolded, the card is 8" square. Folded up it is 4" square and fits in an A2 envelope.
Getting the card stock to fold up with the bulky tree inside was tricky. I ended up slitting the whole back. It gives the tree room when the card is folded, yet lies flat when the card is open. Because the tree is adhered to either side of the slit, the sides don't flap around as you manipulate the card.
Index of Extreme Christmas Cards
(Restoration of older cards to the list is a work in progress.)