Design Crafters

More and more every day, artists all over the world have opportunities to enter their artwork in competitions to be featured on an organization’s Christmas card this coming holiday.  Entries are already arriving at the many different organizations that hold competitions to be the winner, featured on the front of their 2008 Christmas card.  Such competitions are becoming widespread in popularity, both for the organizations (such as a charity or a school) and for the artists who enter the competitions.

It’s a win-win for everyone.  Are you considering entering a Christmas card competition this year?  Perhaps you are wondering what kind of art might be more favored by the judges.  Well, considering these are art competitions for Christmas cards, it’s probably safe to say that the subject matter should be some sort of holiday theme.  Snowmen, angels, Christmas trees, carolers, Christmas wreaths on front doors or windows, Christmas tree ornaments, and of course the perennial and timeless favorite:  Santa Claus.   All of these subjects and a great many more would make fantastic Christmas cards.  Even those subjects that aren’t as obviously Christmasy would work, as well, including snowy landscapes, starry skys, peaceful still lifes, and simple, unadorned Christmas trees growing in the forest.  The list of potential subjects is truly endless and it won’t be hard to find a pleasing subject for you.

One thing that I find especially interesting about such Christmas card competitions is to see the wide range of artists that enter their pieces of artwork.  It’s often a combination of seasoned, established professional artists and those more amateur, untrained artists who create art for the sheer joy of it.  You’ll also see many children enter their artwork in these competitions, and very often, their entries are among the most impressive and moving.  Who will win this year?  Maybe your art, but only if you enter it!

In my last post, I mentioned picking up baskets at yard
sales that could be used as gift baskets for Christmas presents. As long as they are in good shape,
you can put new or even used items that are in good shape in them as a gift.

Sometimes you can find items that are new or like new, some still in original
packaging at yard sales that could be added. Even if you end up buying new
items to put in the baskets, you can watch for Christmas sales for individual items to
put together, and if you can get the baskets at least at a yard sale, you can
save a lot on those. Gift baskets can be rather expensive and everyone know that, so
to give a nice basket filled with practical or even non-practical but fun
items, add a nice Christmas card, and that would be considered a great gift.

Next time we will discuss a lot of different variables/items that could be
included in a real nice expensive looking gift basket.