Letterpress: Fizz the Season Christmas Cards

I really didn’t have anything in mind for this year’s Christmas card, but I did know I had a stack of donated paper sitting in my closet that was screaming to be printed on.

The paper had already been trimmed with a deckle edge to a four bar size card. The paper itself was beautifully soft and I had an assortment of gold & silver textures to play with. The challenge with using this paper was that the ink doesn’t stick to the shiny parts. I had tried to use it previously for some place cards with calligraphy but couldn’t find a suitable pen to use on it. I knew that whatever I printed could get lost in the pattern or potentially not print well at all.

When I was driving for my mom one day, I heard the idea for this card on the radio and texted it to myself. I drew the little illustration late on a Sunday night on my iPad and immediately ordered a cut of it.

Ultimately, I ended up with a small illustration of a champagne glass with little bubbles. I used my natural handwriting to scrawl “fizz the season” underneath. I thought this cut matched well with some minimal symbol cards I made earlier in the year. I also hoped the line weight would stand up nicely to the patterned paper.

I printed in grey ink (my favorite!) and completed the full stack in just under an hour. Registration and printing went so smooth. That alone was a perfect gift itself.

Because they are flat, I sent them out with little hand written notes on a separate little paper. This also let anyone print or hang the cards without any sappy messages from me on them. I also love that they work all season including New Years!

If you are interested in some extra, I have them listed on Etsy in assorted packs of 10! So if you forgot someone or need a spare holiday card, this champagne loving pressman has got you covered.

Wishing you a very happy holiday season and a bubbly new year!