I had the absolute privilege of designing a book cover for my grandpa’s autobiography this spring. He turned 104 last July and he’s been working on his autobiography for a few years with some help from his eldest daughter and a few of us grandkids.
Traveling Gingerbread Man
My friend Jen has a kindergartener and his teacher was working on a project with the class; teaching them a bit about geography. The teacher sent out a paper to parents asking them to ask friends and family who don’t live in their town to send messages claiming they sighted the Gingerbread Man in their city or sometime during their travels. If they could include a photo, then fantastic. She even went on to say that email messages are fine, and even fictional messages are okay so long as they help the kids learn about different places on the map. They were mapping each sighting on a big map in the classroom.
I kicked it up a notch and had WAY too much fun in Photoshop. Here are the messages I sent:
“Hi Mrs. B's Class!
We are the Wong Family: Alex, Bill, Tommy and Matthew. We're friends of Jaxon's. We were exploring Arches National Park in Moab, Utah earlier this year and you wouldn't believe who we ran into: The Gingerbread Man! He must have been on vacation, exploring the desert. He was so nice by sharing some gumdrops with us and we shared granola bars with him on the trail. He totally photobombed us too! What a stinker!
Love, Tommy and Matthew Wong (ages 10 and 5)”
“Hi Mrs. B's Class,
It's Tommy and Matthew again, say hi to Jaxon for us, we miss him! We were on a road trip with our parents and we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats in western Utah to see if we could watch some race cars break land speed records. Lo and behold, we saw The Gingerbread Man too! He was scoping out some rocket cars and enjoying the weather. Thankfully it wasn't too hot, but wow, it gets bright when the sun reflects off of the salt! Sunglasses are a must! Wonder where he was headed next?
Best, Tommy and Matthew Wong”
“Hello, Mrs. B's Class,
Tommy and Matthew saying hi and sharing yet another Gingerbread Man sighting. He must have had the same road trip plans as us this year. We ran into him in the north shore of Lake Tahoe, California and he joined us for a swim in the crystal-clear water. We bid farewell when we got wrinkly fingers and advised him to do the same. Since he's made of gingerbread, we didn't want him to get soggy!
I hope he had a great time on the rest of his road trip!
Adios, Tommy and Matthew”
“Hello Mrs B's Class,
It's the Wong Family again, Tommy and Matthew. We were hiking with some friends in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the snowy Wasatch Mountains of Utah this week and we ran into our old friend, The Gingerbread Man. He said he was hoping to get in some skiing before another snow storm came through, and we hope he found some slopes, because it's supposed to snow again tonight!
We hope you're staying warm this winter.
Cheers, Tommy and Matthew Wong”
A big part of me hopes my youngest son’s kindergarten class does a similar activity… so I could make more photos. Hahaha!
Custom Holiday Cards
I created holiday cards that are currently available in my Etsy shop. Each listing explains what can and cannot be customized and if there are options for colors. Let me know how you're planning to print your cards and I'll make sure to set up the final files to the correct printing specifications.
Clicking on an image will direct you to its corresponding Etsy listing.
This is one of my current favorites! One image and a Christmas greeting, choose either the green or blue colorway.
This is a two-sided design with a large image on the front. You can have it say either Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays (or some variation of those). The back has space for up to five images along with a letter to friends and family about your family's year.
This design allows you to showcase five images and give your family and friends a top ten list of the highlights of your year. I can do either a green or blue faux chalkboard background and I have have the bottom say either Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas (or any variation of those). Please keep your "top ten" brief as space is limited.
This design is laid out to be sent in a #10 envelope. You can have the bottom greeting say anything you'd like and the space at the bottom of each polaroid photo can caption each image.
Six images and a non-Christmasy greeting. Great if you're like me and you struggle to get your cards into the mail before Christmas!
Share one image with a snowflake background and holiday lights for a border!
One family photo and a couple of giant snowflakes. I can customize the color of the flags at the top and bottom to correspond to colors that are in your photo or leave them as is. Let me know!
One family photo and sized to fit into a #10 envelope. You can choose between a red, green or blue swirly background too!
Simple design with a greeting you can customize. Choose either red, green or blue for the snowflake background.
Simple design that showcases one family photo. Two color options and it can say either Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or a variation of those.
I am working on new designs that I hope to be able to add to my shop within the next week or so.
Shoot me an email if you're looking for something custom or you want to rework one of these designs. Also check out the custom cards I've created for clients. I can rework those designs to fit your needs as well.