Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Magic Iris

Christmas is filled with creating new family memories and reminiscing over old ones. This card is meant to take our daughter back in time, if only for a moment. With its juvenile design, it was created to spark a specific childhood memory.

The card was created using the Magic Iris die by Lawn Fawn. The above photo shows the iris in the closed position. However, the magic happens when it is in the open position, as shown below. 

Honestly, the look on our daughter's face is priceless. It makes us smile every time we see it. You have to understand, our daughter NEVER pouted when she was little-- and you have to admit, this is an adorable pout. It was a total anomaly. 

As to the memory behind the photo, I enjoyed taking our daughter to get her pictures done every month when she was young. Since Christmas was soon arriving, I dressed her up in her Christmas finery and headed to the portrait studio. It just so happened that day they had a new photographer. If it had been any of the others, they would have known all you had to do was tell my daughter to smile, and she would. She was always a happy, smiley baby. Instead, the new photographer pulled out a long feather duster and started tickling my daughter with it while making a high-pitched squealing noise. I think it was a bit too much for both my daughter and myself, and her face told it all. Of course, I instantly told the photographer to take the picture. Later, it actually took quite a bit of convincing for the photographer to sell me the photo. 

This actual die is simple and straightforward. It is easy to assemble and has a great impact. 

The card base is 5" x 7".The digital paper is from Waterhousegraphics on Etsy, and the clipart is from PixelPaperPrints. The cute little presents were cut using Cricut Access elements. 

I used the theme, Santa Claus is Coming to Town because the song's lyrics go perfectly with the pout. Every year when we watch the old classic cartoon, I am reminded of that day in the photography studio.

Since I wanted this card to have a very childlike feel, I needed an appropriate font. Therefore, I downloaded Child Writing from dafont.com. Santa is from the same clipart collection I mentioned above. The stitched rectangular dies are from Stampin' Up. 

Although I always finish the back of a card, I don't always decorate it. However, since I had these adorable clip art images, I thought, why not? The snowdrifts were made using a cloud die from Lawn Fawn. For the final touch, I always add a Made for Ewe by Kristen tag. I dated it since it was for my daughter just in case she decides to keep it in her memento box.

I invite you to join me again on December 31st as I share my last Christmas card design of 2020!

Happy crafting, everyone!