Christmas Card 2012 - Danita inspired

Sally's finished Christmas Card 2012

Back a couple of months ago I took a class from Danita in person at Jenny Doh's Crescendoh Studio in Santa Anna along with my friend Elena. Here is the link to that blog.

The one done in class is a 12x12.  It was so much fun.  When I got home, I decided to give the boy in my painting a laser mustache and make it my son (who at 36 does have a mustache and a pug rescue dog). The bow tie references my son's first suit for cotillion which he picked out himself at JC Penny's in 4th grade.  It was black and white plaid with a black satin bow tie. All the rest of the boys wore blue blazers and camel colored slacks.  Love my son!  Never a follower - always a leader.

Sally's finished painting made in Danita's class

I had decided to make another Danita inspired painting/collage at home and make my character again, a little boy since I just became a grandma for the first time in March.  So this painting/collage represents my grandson.

Scanned actual painting

The actual painting/collage is dimensional. The white around the child's face and Rudy's tail is fur from JoAnn's.  There are actual beads in the center of the  poinsettia's and there is a laser cut little bird up in the flowers.

Jump forward to November and I am thinking about Christmas Cards for Ernie and I to send out.  I try to always make the 125 cards from scratch.  Last year was so much fun.  I Photoshop-ed Ernie's photo of when he was about 4 years old and a ring bearer in his aunts wedding into my dad's 1948 or 1949 Christmas Card. I am either  four or five years old.  Then I changed the greetings on the display that my dad had included.  The change said, "Greetings Ernie and Sally" instead of "Greetings Harry and Sally."  

Sally and Ernie's Christmas Card 2011

I am standing in front of a huge Christmas tree that was in the front yard of the house where I grew up. My dad obviously hung balloons on the tree to represent Christmas ornaments.  (I don't think you could get giant ornaments back then).  My adopted father was a single father and very creative and enjoyed doing this for his Christmas cards each year to send back to his family in Chicago. the cards were always a photo of me and in different places.  So much fun!
  
So this year I decided to PhotoShop the 8x10 canvas I did at home and fix a few things that can easily be fix/sharpened/re-size, etc. for the card in PhotoShop.

Now, those that know me well and my poor family that has to deal with my quirky mind, might figure out what I meant in my greetings and the drawing.  In Danita's class, I drew a young boy.  Well, my grandson is only 9 months old this December and so to make that point, "that blue thing" that is where a red mouth should be is his pacifier denoting in my strange mind, that he is really just a baby.

Plus, if you know what "Easter Eggs" are in the computer world (per Wikipedia, "A vitual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, inside joke, or feature in a work such as a computer program, movie, book, or crossword"), you will see I put a very small, hard to find and read "Easter Egg" on the front of the card too.  

Here is the clue: "What is my families favorite college football team?  Don't know me that well?"  Read on.

The greeting on the front of the card reads "Rudy, Nine month old Grandson Karl, Ernie and Sally. . ."  Rudy* refers to the sad wonderful movie, Rudy which takes place at Notre Dame.  Instead of calling the reindeer Rudolph, for my purposes (and in my weird mind), he was the inspirational Rudy.  

Then if you look really, really close to Rudy's collar, you will see two initials - ND - for Notre Dame.  Aha.  I know, who cares?  I care!  I'm not even sure my kids will get it. . .

This all becomes very significant since this year, ND is in first place in the BCS and will play second place Alabama in the National Football Championship Game on January 7.  Go Notre Dame!

So now you have my version of "the rest of the story." **

**phrase made famous by Paul Harvey

* Rudy is a 1993 American sports film directed by David Anspaugh. It is an account of the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite significant obsticales.  It was the first movie that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus since Knute Rockne, All American in 1940.

Merry Christmas 

and

Happy Holidays