I love sending and receiving mail. In the past, I’ve spent hours laboriously gluing paper Christmas trees to cards and mailing them out to my nearest and dearest. But this year, I taught right up to December 23, and didn’t have the desire to spend time making a ton of individual holiday cards this year. Also, I’ve always loved it when people send cards at a bit less traditional times: New Years, Valentines Day, etc. and having a holiday time crunch seemed to be the perfect excuse to send things a bit later.
I have been playing around with watercolor and gouache and decided it’d be fun to combine the two to make a New Years postcard. See also: easier, because I could paint one and have it printed.
I sat down in front of the Christmas tree every night for a few nights and just played with paint.
I wanted to come up with a cheerful sentiment for a new year, but without it being a) too long and b) lame and unoriginal. After playing with a lot of different phrases, color combos and ideas, I finally came up with this:
It was colorful and cheery, which is what I wanted. A bit non-traditional, but my secret (or now, not so secret!) hope was that it wouldn’t get tossed out, but maybe displayed on a bulletin board or something since it didn’t scream HOLIDAYS. I used watercolor for the background and then painted the “Shine bright” in black gouache once it had dried.
I took a photograph of the painting, and created a simple back that looked like a postcard and just typed “Happy 2012!” at the top:
I had them printed through VistaPrint (no compensation here, friends—they were fast and cheap!) and I really liked how they turned out. The finished product was glossy on the front and matte on the back.
I had a great time filling them out for friends and sending them out into the world. I will definitely be using this method again in the future!
I received mine and thought it was absolutely adorable! It’s definitely going on my inspiration board. :) Thank you for thinking of me, friend! Love you! xoxo
Love this idea from @amy_estes – New Year’s postcards! So gorgeous & nice to receive after the holidays. (http://t.co/eCHovcgu)
LOVE this, Amy! So beautiful. I don’t suppose I could twist your arm to send me one? I’d love to put it on my bulletin board. :)
BRILLIANT & BEAUTIFUL! love this!
What a fantastic idea Amy! They turned out great – would love to see a photo of the finished paper product.
Happy 2012!
I had no idea you were responsible for the design! Lovely. And “brooding introvert coffee” made me lol when I read it. Happy 2012!
Fabulous idea! Good job on the design, it’s so pretty.
I got mine yesterday, & I stuck it in a pretty frame to go in my office this morning. Secret hope accomplished!
Absolutely Adorable!!
Got mine last night, and love it! You are the sweetest (and so creative)! xoxo
and they were really lovely to receive! :)
I’ve got mine on my fridge, but thinking I might need it at work! Thank you lovely lady!
(I failed at getting real cards out this year… valentines maybe… that seems doable.)
Love this idea! I like sending cards for different and wacky holidays to let people know I’m not just thinking about them during the December holidays.
What a wonderful idea and I love the sentiment for the new year!
Your postcards are amazingly happy and sweet! It was the best thing my mailbox has seen in a long time! :)
PS – I have it at work on my bulletin board, a sentiment for the year!
You made the postcards?! That makes me love mine even more. I actually went out today looking for a frame for it. I will cherish it forever. Thank you!
i didn’t realize you made the cards! it definitely makes them even cuter and cooler. also, mine is very much displayed at my work desk, love it.
I will just repeat what everyone else is saying! I didn’t know you made the cards, well done!! And you were right, it went straight on my bulletin board and did not get stashed with the Xmas cards. Lovely and beautiful. xo
I have this on my wall! I had no idea you painted it. Even cooler!
I just got mine the other day and LOVE it! It’s not on our fridge! Thank you!
very cool idea. i’ve used vista print for business cards in the past. nice & easy.
Love these! Happy New Year Amy!
I can’t believe you made that! When I got mine I completely thought it was professional. Love it!
What a lovely idea! I think I might try this. Maybe at a random time in the year to cheer up family and friends :)
This is SUCH a great idea!! I love the message and the design is so pretty!! I don’t suppose you might have an extra lying around or mayyyybe a file size that’s big enough that I could print a photo of it for myself? I think it would be so cute in Moriah’s room :)
I too love the idea of sending out cards at a more unexpected time, I think we’ll do that this year b/c I RUSHED to get out our Christmas card and I wasn’t too happy with how it came out =/ But there’s always next time! :)
I put most of my other holiday greetings taped up on a random door thing in our kitchen, but guess where yours is? Front and center, on the fridge. And it will probably be there for the next four months. I love it that much.
Such a fantastic idea, designing your own! You inspire me, lady. Truly.
So cute! Love the idea of having a New Year’s postcard!