50 Christmas cards done...

[Carter Johnson]

I've reached a milestone. I have 50 Christmas card puzzles done. I'm shooting for 85 or so. This will be our 11th year to send them. I mail out aound 45 and give most of the others away to special people (like our granddaughter's teachers).

The photo below shows the color-line cuts for this year's card. Each one takes about 25 minutes to cut. The puzzle picture is the front page of the original card. The second page of the original (with the message) becomes the cover of the finished puzzle and I cut a colored piece of poster board for the backing. After I cut the outline, I spray the "card" with a glaze spray before cutting the pieces. It's mailed out in assembled form in its original envelope.

Most all of our friends who receive these bring them all out for display each holiday season. That makes it all worthwhile.

Have phun.....Carter

 

[StevieB]

Looking good Carter - impressive as usual! What size is the card? I count about 40 pieces there, do you work on a 2 per square inch or just as and where the puzzle image takes you?

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[Carter Johnson]

Steve, the card is regular card size, in this case about 7 x 5 inches. The original has a white border, which I cut out with a wiggly border for my puzzle.

The pieces of my puzzles vary in size. With the Christmas cards, I try to keep the number of pieces within 30 to 40, so families with small children can work on them together. You will see that some pieces (e.g. the snowman's hat and an edge piece at about 5 o-clock) are quite small because of the color lines, while others are larger. The color lines in the picture generally dictate the number and sizes of pieces.

Have phun.........Carter

 

[Gill]

It's yet another fine piece of work, Carter. I reckon I'd quickly get bored cutting the same design 85 times over, though.

I started my Christmas projects (3D compound cut baubles by Diana Thompson) a few days ago. It really confused my other half who used to say that he knew autumn (fall) was here when I started cutting Christmas projects .

Gill

 

[Carter Johnson]

Hi Gil...Good to hear from you.....I hope you're not flooded...

I get bored easily and that's why I cut these cards all year long. I already have my cards for December, 2008, and I'll start making them next January.

I'm almost never at the saw more than a couple half-hour sessions per day. If I have a busy schedule, I know I can hop downstairs and cut a Christmas card puzzle in about 23 mintues (or a stamp puzzle in a little over five). Then, no matter how unproductive the rest of the day becomes, I can always say I accomplished something!

Lo and behold! By the end of a month, I've usually produced 2-4 full-size puzzles (over 300 pieces), 8-10 cards and a dozen stamps. I can't remember being bored.

Have phun.......Carter